STURGEON TO PROMOTE PEACE

FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon will stress the need to promote peace, tolerance and understanding as she visits the mosque attended by murdered Glasgow shopkeeper Asad Shah today.

She will meet members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community as they launch a campaign to increase awareness and understanding of their beliefs – which differ from those held by most Muslims.

As well as visiting the mosque, Ms Sturgeon will speak at a Peace Symposium taking place at Glasgow University.

The First Minister said: “The Peace Symposium demonstrates the commitment of the Ahmadiyya community to promoting the values of peace, tolerance and understanding and is an important opportunity for us to restate our shared values and our shared aims.

“The launch of the True Islam campaign is an important educational tool to increase awareness and understanding of the religion. It will help combat fears and prejudices that foster hatred.”

She added: “There is no doubt this kind of engagement is vital to tackling the root causes of prejudice and hatred and to create the inclusive, tolerant and cohesive Scotland we all want.”

Ms Sturgeon, whose constituency covers the area where the murder took place, attended a vigil in the aftermath of the killing.