Republican News · Thursday 20 February 2003

Neo-Nazis join unionist anti-mosque campaign

Plans by a white supremacist organisation to campaign against the siting of a mosque in Bleary outside Portadown have been exposed by Craigavon Sinn Féin councillor John O'Dowd.

According to O'Dowd, the self-styled White Nationalist Party (WNP) is planning an intense campaign in the Portadown area against the planning application for the mosque. He described the racist group's campaign as "a disgraceful intensification of sectarian and racial abuse against a place of worship and those of a different religion and culture".

"The news that neo-Nazis are to start a campaign against the siting of a mosque in Craigavon is hardly surprising given the comments of unionist politicians on the subject," added O'Dowd.

The controversy over the mosque first arose after members of David Trimble's Ulster Unionist Party objected to the planning permission, with Councillor Fred Crowe claiming it would pave the way for an al-Qaeda cell in the area.

O'Dowd has reiterated his call for David Trimble who is MP for the area, to reign in his councillors and "begin to champion the cause of the Muslim community".