Churches condemn KKK stunt as ‘sacrilege’
CHURCHES in the North have united to condemn the actions of a group of men who posed as Ku Klux Klan members outside an Islamic prayer house in Co Down.
Police are treating the incident in Newtownards at the weekend as a hate crime. Pictures have emerged showing the group in white KKK garb and carrying wooden crosses at Greenwell Street, right beside the Bangladesh Islamic Centre.
One of the men was also pictured on the same night embracing Sharon Mellor, the girlfriend of London-based National Front leader Tony Martin, in a pub in Newtownards.
The Rev Norman McAuley of Greenwell Street Presbyterian Church, which is next door to the centre, appealed to the men to identify themselves.
“If it was just a Halloween prank, then come forward and explain it – hold your hands up and say so,” he said.
“Just admit it was a joke that in hindsight was in very poor taste.”
The images, which have made global headlines on CNN, have drawn widespread condemnation.
“We regard these members of the Islamic community as our neighbours and our Christian faith teaches us to love our neighbours,” Rev McAuley added.
“These men stood with wooden crosses and from our point of view the cross is a symbol of the unconditional love of God,” he said. “What we saw at the weekend was sacrilege.”
Ards Churches Together has offered its full support to those in the Muslim community who feel intimidated after “symbols of hate” appeared outside their place of worship and “hurt a whole community”. “We stand with you,” it added.