Councillors call for 'religious understanding' after church attack

Photo: David Butterworth

Councillor Mohammad Sharif

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Councillors have spoken out about a “lack of religious understanding” which has led to an attack at a local church.

Councillor Mohammed Sharif made a public appeal yesterday (Monday 12 January) at the Milkstone and Deeplish Area Forum, to educate local people about religious history and background, in order to prevent intolerance.

The appeal followed an attack on the Zion Baptist Church last week, when vandals defaced the walls with abuse relating to Israel and the bombing of Gaza.
Speaking at the meeting at Deeplish Community Centre, Councillor Sharif said: “What happened at this church is unacceptable and it is down to a lack of understanding in the community”.

Councillor Angela Coric said: “It seems people have taken the word ‘Zion’, which means Israel, and assumed that this is a Jewish place of worship. It is horrible that someone has linked them to the horrible events that are going on in Gaza.

“It’s this lack of understanding that leads to the intolerance in the community.

“The Zion church is a Christian church, and just like any other place of worship, there is no need for this kind of abuse”.