EDITORIAL APPEAL FOR CALM WELL RECEIVED

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Editorial appeal for calm well received

An open letter to Mercury editor Richard Bettsworth:

On behalf of the Federation of Muslim Organisations, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the editorial published on Friday, May 24.

The shocking events that unfolded in Woolwich last Wednesday, when Drummer Lee Rigby was brutally slaughtered in broad daylight in full view of passing members of the public, has been almost universally condemned, including by most of the Muslim community.

We live now in most troubled times where the actions of a few criminals can unfortunately have a detrimental effect on other members of a law-abiding community.

Regrettably, there have already been a number of incidents of hate crime, targeting the Muslim community, which have been reported.

This is a clearly unacceptable state of affairs and we as a society must not accept or tolerate hate crime carried out against any individual, group or organisation.

It is against this background, that your editorial is much welcomed.

Your emphasis on the fact that the horrifying events in Woolwich are not reflective of the behaviour of an entire community could not have been expressed better.

Moreover, your appeal for calm has been extremely well-received by the community, as well as other communities who have asked us to relay their thanks to you.

There was absolutely no obligation for you to write this editorial.

However, the fact you have gone out of your way to do so reflects your humanitarian concern for safer and stronger community cohesion, something which we in Leicester have prided ourselves in for many years now.

At a time when some sections of the media have come under attack for their sensationalist reporting, yours is an example of balanced and just reporting which needs to be recognised. You have clearly set yourselves out as an example for others in the media to follow.

Suleman Nagdi, Federation of Muslim Organisations.