The BBC reports that two new mosques, in Cambridge and York, have been given planning permission. Both had been subjected to hostile campaigns aimed at forcing the local council to block the plans.

A leaflet was circulated in Cambridge last year denouncing the so-called “megamosque” and claiming that it was intended to “send a message of physical and numerical dominance”. This was followed by an English Defence League demonstration that ended in violence when EDL supporters attacked an Islamic book stall and threw Qur’ans at the Muslims running it.

The York proposal resulted in an EDL-supported petition and a Facebook page entitled “Say ‘NO’ to the York mosque” (which attracted 1,426 likes). The building design had to be revised after police objected that it lacked sufficient security measures to defend the mosque against attacks by racists.

So it is good to see two local councils taking a stand against the bigots.