Under pressure from churches and locals, the town of Camberley, south East England, has voted against a plan by the local Muslim community to build a mosque.
Thirty-four of the 36-member Surrey Heath Borough Council voted against a plan by the Bengali Welfare Association to build the mosque, the Daily Mail reported Thursday, March 11.
The council had initially approved the mosque plans proposed by the Berkshire, Hampshire & Surrey Bengali Welfare Association (BWA) in January.
The change of decision came after a campaign by local churches and residents, who oppose the mosque’s design and site.
The mosque was to be built on the site of a locally-listed Victorian former school bought by Muslims 14 years ago and used as an Islamic center.
BWA asserted that the building no longer met the needs of the growing local Muslim community, and people wanted to worship in a mosque and not in a school.
The Churches Together coalition had campaigned against the proposal, saying the mosque would spark "antagonism between the Muslim community and the wider community in Camberley for years to come."
Among other biased Christian authorities, John Denham, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, had also threatened to review the council’s decision if it approved the mosque plan.
The decision widely disappointed Camberley Muslims.
BWA chairman Abdul Majid said he felt the vote had been "hijacked by political influence."
Nahrni Choudhury, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of BWA, accused some of the campaigners of racism.
"I am upset. It's not just about what the buildings will be," she said after the meeting.
"It's about the fact that we are Muslims and we are an ethnic minority and they don't want to see a mosque here."
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