Exeter Muslim group withdraw planning application after hostile leaflet campaign

Categories: Latest News
Monday February 16 2015
The Exeter Express and Echo and Devon Gazette both report on the withdrawal of an application for the building of a Muslim community centre in Exeter after a hostile leafleting campaign was discovered last week.
Leaflets distributed in the St Thomas area of the city showing two beheaded figures, a male and a female, and containing false information of a mosque being built in the area were titled “Jihad zone” and circulated in the local area along with stickers bearing slogans against the proposed centre. A group calling itself St Thomas Residents Awareness Alliance is said to be behind the leaflets.
Mahmood Hameed, of the South West Ahlulbayt Centre, put in the application for a new centre after using rented premises for a number of years. The Centre has around 150 members and applied for the building of a community centre for members to gather for social functions.
Hameed’s family, who have lived in the area for 15 years, have been so alarmed by the anonymous hate campaign they have decided to withdraw the application.
Devon and Cornwall police have confirmed that the campaign literature is being investigated as a hate crime.