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Petition Drive in U.K. to Prevent Conversion to Mosque
With additional reporting by Mohamed Ayub Khan
BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom, Dec. 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Plans to convert a spacious private house in Birmingham into a mosque have run into trouble after more than 400 people signed a petition against it.
Area resident Tim Sandhu launched a petition drive against the conversion of the 1930s built seven-bedroom house in Handsworth Wood Road, Handsworth, into a mosque and a madrassa, or Islamic school.
Sandhu, a college lecturer, and his supporters have formed the Handsworth Wood Preservation Association to keep the area residential.
"This is not a religious thing. We would be objecting to this plan whether it was for a mosque, a temple or a synagogue," he told
The Birmingham Post newspaper. "The mosque will have a detrimental effect on the character of the area and two primary schools are very close by, so there will also be highway safety and parking problems."
A plan proposed by The Anjuman Ishaat Islam, those advocating the conversion of the building to a mosque, includes a prayer hall, four classrooms, two kitchens and 14 parking spaces.
In the recent past, a number of property changes have occurred in the area, including converting homes into hotels and senior citizen homes, without any objections.
Opponents of the mosque plan handed their petitions to Councilor John Tyrrel, who appears to be supportive of them.
"We regard Handsworth Wood Road as an 'area of restraint' in terms of change of use," Tyrrel told the
Post.
"But some time ago we adopted a policy not to give planning permission for changes from residential to institutional use," added Tyrrell. "I don't think there is a need for this mosque because there is not a big Muslim population in this part of Handsworth."
Birmingham City Council's development control committee will not be considering the plan before the end of January.
Racial tension has been simmering in Birmingham and other British cities since last summer when they witnessed several clashes between Muslim youth and members of white racist groups. Governmental reports on the unrest blamed race segregation as the reason for the riots.
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