SHAFAQNA- Peterborough mosques joined together for a peace conference to confront what it believes is an unfair portrayal of Islam.
Over 160 people, including guest speaker Lord Nazir Ahmed, member of the House of Lords, attended the interfaith conference held on Saturday at the Faizan-e-Madinah Mosque in Gladstone Street, Peterborough Telegraph online news reported.
Other guests included police area commander for Peterborough Superintendent Melanie Dales, Bishop of Peterborough the Rt Revd Donald Allister, and the Chief Executive of Peterborough City Council, Gillian Beasley.
Chairman of the mosque where the event was held, Abdul Choudhuri said a tiny majority was distorting Islam’s message of peace.
“Lord Ahmed spoke very well about the contribution Muslims have made in this country” he said, adding that Muslims sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the world in the First and Second World Wars.
Choudhuri said the mosque promotes “peace and harmony” throughout society, stating “a lot of people are ignorant and do not know what goes on in mosques. There’s a total misconception.”
“There is a lot done in mosques to tackle extremism and abuse through weekly seminars and by encouraging people to ask questions.”
He added: “We should not be lenient with extremists. Anyone who commits these kinds of crimes should be locked up and the key thrown away. Britain is one of the most tolerant countries and we should respect that.”