Lake District mosque protesters are racist, says Labour MP
Police were called as protesters, who support and oppose the new development, clashed on Saturday outside the building site for the controversial £2.5m mosque.
Demonstrators holding placards with messages reading 'Muslims welcome here' were met with protesters holding Union flags with messages reading: 'No to the mosque' and 'Not racist! Just patriotic!'.
Michelle Scrogham, a Labour MP for Barrow and Furness who attended the counter-protest, responded to the objections by saying: 'There's absolutely no place for racism in Cumbria.'
She added: 'The comments that plague the social media pages constantly don't represent the people of this area.
'The people of this area have always been incredibly welcoming. We've had immigration on a mass scale for many, many years.
'Anybody that wants to come here and say you're not welcome, they're wrong. It's just utterly wrong.'
Construction of the South Lakes Islamic Centre, situated in Furness, Cumbria, started in January this year.
The centre will be the only masjid within a 50-mile radius, serving both the local Muslim community and visiting tourists.
The group said the space would cater to the 40 to 50 practising Muslim doctors at Furness General Hospital and their families.
Protests have previously taken place on the site, with both sides of the debate shouting at each other across the road last month as the anti-mosque group waved the Union flag.
Paul Jenkins, who organised a counter-protest on behalf of Furness Stand Up To Racism, said: 'The protest against the Islamic Centre does not speak for the majority of people in Dalton or Furness.
'The majority of our people here are from Furness, including Dalton. We celebrate our multicultural, multi-faith community and defend the right of the Islamic Centre to be here.'
Henry Goodwin, a demonstrator, said: 'There are five British values, which include tolerance of other people's faiths and beliefs.
'We're standing up for proper British values.'
Opponents have criticised the development, saying it is not needed in Furness, although those demonstrating against the mosque refused to speak to reporters on the ground.
Residents have previously voiced their concerns over social media about the construction of the mosque, calling it an ' absolute monstrosity '.
Another said: 'Absolutely disgusting… total blot on the landscape … totally unwelcome … how on earth has this been passed in planning?'
One other resident said: 'There goes the beautiful Lake District – with a huge building plonked there.'
Planning approval for the mosque was granted in Dec 2022 after 30 objections were raised.
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