REPRESENTATIVES from Luton Council of Faiths say that action is needed to ‘wage peace’ not war in Luton.
Members of the council, including Churches Together chairman Chris Barnes, Qadir Baksh, Imam at Luton Islamic Centre, and council chairman Zafar Khan, met at Beech Hill Methodist Church yesterday to make final preparations for a peace vigil opposing Saturday’s protests in the town.
Organisers are expecting a couple of hundred people at the vigil at St Mary’s Church, in Church Street, at 4.30pm tomorrow.
Mr Khan said: “The event will demonstrate that Luton is at ease with itself despite the challenges that we face as a community.
“There are challenges, but no challenge is insurmountable if we put our heads together to root out extremism in our midst, whether that’s far right or extremism within the Muslim community or any other minority group.
“Extremism of any form is divisive and working together is a priority not only for us but for future generations.”
Peter Adams of St Mary’s Church added: “Peace is more than an idea. We have the teachings of our faiths which give us the groundwork from which to start from but we have to wage it.”