Quote: Freedom of worship for Ahmadis

Quote: Freedom of worship for Ahmadis

This story came up almost two years ago, and when a reader sent me a tip on it, I thought it was the same old story. Turns out it's the final result. The Ahmadis were trying to build a mosque in Walsall, and the Muslim community joined in the fight against it. They succeeded. The local council rejected the idea. This was just a few days after the Swiss were called 'racists' for deciding to ban minarets. Talk about cutting the branch you're sitting on.

Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain in the Guardian:


Here we go again. The Wolverhampton Express and Star reports that an "application to build a mosque" has been refused by a town council, this time Walsall council. The proposal to convert an empty town warehouse into a place of worship was rejected by planning officers on the grounds of it being an "unsuitable location" and that it would cause "traffic congestion". In addition, more than 800 complaints were received from local residents.


But wait – what's this? Those doing the complaining appeared to be mainly Muslims. A photograph in a local paper shows Muslims demonstrating against the plans and holding up placards saying "Listen to police advice" and "No more congestion". What's going on? The news report quotes a local Muslim as saying "There are enough places of worship in the area." Another added: "We are happy the right decision has been made. It would have been a public nuisance and is a relief." What's going on?


(..)


Rather than demonstrating against Ahmadi plans to build a place of worship, British Muslims could do better by learning from the organisational skills of the Ahmadi community and the commitment and dedication shown by their members towards financially supporting the growth of their community.