Preston mosque attacked

A councillor has condemned vandals who attacked a Preston mosque which has been at the centre of a planning row.

The windows of the Masjid-E-Salaam mosque in Fulwood have been smashed three times in the past six weeks. This follows the approval of controversial plans to demolish the current building in Watling Street Road, to make way for a large, traditional looking mosque and Islamic school in the conservation area.

College ward councillor Bobby Cartwright said: “It’s absolutely appalling. The people who have done this should be found and reprimanded. The people who have done this should be found and reprimanded.”

Councillor Bobby Cartwright said: “We are normally quite vandal proof round here but recently we’ve had a spate of attacks. These yobs deserve to be punished because what they are doing is unforgivable.”

Mrs Cartwright was among local councillors who raised concerns about the development before the plans were approved by Preston City Council, last month.

The £2million new building is around 40 per cent larger than the existing mosque and will only have car parking for 30 vehicles, a figure which is less than half the council’s recommendation.

Iqbal Bux, a mosque trustee, said: “I’m absolutely horrified that this has happened. The mosque has been here for more than 10 years and this is the first time we’ve had an incident like this. It’s very unfortunate.

“We hope that nothing like this will happen again. We have informed the police and they have told us that they are dealing with it.

“If people aren’t happy with the decision for us to build a new mosque then they should come and talk to us. We want to hear what they’ve got to say and we will definitely take it on board.”

Preston Citizen, 8 May 2007