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| Britain |
| Brit Army criticised for 'mosques' on firing range |
| 2010-04-09 |
| Bradford Council for Mosques said the features on Bellerby firing range at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire should be taken down immediately. The Army has apologised but said it was vital soldiers trained in an environment which replicated where they were deployed. A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said the structures were ''generic Eastern buildings'' and were not used as target practice. Mohammed Saleem Khan, chief executive of the Bradford Council for Mosques, said the shape and colour of the structures - a green dome - symbolised an Islamic place of worship. ''It is so obvious. Even a non-Muslim recognised the significance. The first person who raised the issue with us was a non-Muslim,'' he said. ''We are trying to achieve unity and cohesion and encourage British Muslims to participate in the Army and we accommodate visits from the Army. ''It is clearly very offensive. We feel there should be an apology and they should be removed straight away. If it was a mistake it should be removed straight away.'' The MoD spokesman said: "We apologise for any offence that we may have caused. It was never our intention for these generic structures to look like or replicate mosques, only to provide a setting similar to operational environments in which our personnel could train. "We are seeking a meeting with representatives from the Muslim community to hear their concerns in order to discuss the way forward." |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #4 The Mosques are not realistic targets. There's no secondary explosions when they're hit. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2010-04-09 10:42 |
| #3 were not used as target practice The minarets darm well should have been used as target practice! The enemy would be positioned there, either to spot or snipe. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-04-09 09:40 |
| #2 Labour are always bowing and apologising to a community who have made no effort to integrate or offer anything positive to the host nation like taxes! |
| Posted by: Paul2 2010-04-09 07:09 |
| #1 We apologise for any offence that we may have caused. *Sigh* Consider the possibility that training-up the troops is what they are actually 'offended' by. |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-04-09 06:51 |