Faith Leaders Unite Ahead Of EDL March

Faith leaders in Peterborough are inviting residents to add their signature to a book open at the Town Hall confirming they 'value diversity in the city.'

This comes ahead of a march by the English Defence League, who say they are 'anti-Islamic extremism,' on Saturday the 11th of December. 

Peterborough City Council and Cambridgeshire Police are working together to make sure the EDL march as well as the counter demonstration by the Trade Union Council are both peaceful. Previous events in Leicester and Bolton have ended in violence.

 

 

Peterborough inter-faith statement

We, leaders of faith communities in Peterborough, value highly the
diversity of the city and the contribution different communities
make to the wellbeing and quality of life in our city. We welcome
all that happens to celebrate that rich diversity, within the context
of our commitment to the unity of the city of Peterborough.
We share a common belief and conviction that the human race is
one through its origin in the one creative act of God; and whatever
our religious background we commit ourselves to reconciliation
and unity. We stand together against all who seek to divide our
communities and sow the seeds of distrust between them.
We fully endorse the words spoken by Her Majesty the Queen in
welcoming Pope Benedict on his state visit:
“Your Holiness, in recent times you have said that ‘religions
can never become vehicles of hatred, that never by invoking
the name of God can evil and violence be justified. Today, in
this country, we stand united in that conviction. We hold that
freedom to worship is at the core of our tolerant and
democratic society”.
We will continue to work with all people of goodwill to encourage
mutual respect, valuing the dignity of every person and we
encourage all citizens of Peterborough to do the same.
 


Members of the faith community who have signed the Interfaith Statement:

Rt Rev Donald Allister                                                                                           
Bishop of Peterborough                                                                                             
Church of England                                                                                              

Rt Rev Michael Evans
Bishop of East Anglia
Roman Catholic Church

Rev Terry Oakley
Moderator of East England Synod
United Reform Church

Very Rev Charles Taylor                                                                                     
Dean of Peterborough                                                                                                 

Father John Warrington    
RC Dean of Peterborough
 
Canon Malcolm Griffiths
Rural Dean of Yaxley
 
Qari Muhammad Munir                                                                                                        
Faizane Madinah                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                       
Brian Keegan                                                            
Representing the Interfaith Council             

Rev Tim Woolley
Director of Mission Methodist – Northampton   

Syed Shabbir Ahmad Bukhari                                                                                
Masjid e Khadijah                                                                                                               

Moulana Tariq Nawaz  
Dar Assalaam

Representative of the Husaini Islamic Centre

Jaspal Singh                                                                                                                        
Sikh Community                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                              
Aubrey Corran
Orthodox Jewish Community
 
Rev Tim Edworthy
Baptist Church
 
Rajni Reddy                                                                              
Hindu Community                                                     

Kelsang Yeshe    
Buddhist Community 
 
Dr S Firoozmand
Baha’I Faith
 
Dr Clive Morton                                                                                                                                             
Churches Together in Central Peterborough

Fr David Jennings    
Faith & Cohesion Network

Salvation Army

The statement has also been endorsed by:

Rev David Rogers, Baptist Regional Minister, East Midlands, Rev Peter Hancock, Methodist, Chair N’hants District,
Rev Hugh McCurdy, Archdeacon of Huntingdon.

The statement has the support of:

The Faith and Cohesion Network, The Interfaith Council of Peterborough,  The Imams Council of Peterborough
and the Churches Together in Central Peterborough