Call for understanding as Craven Arms holds Manchester vigil

Speaking ahead of a vigil set to take place in Craven Arms today, Imam Sohayb Peerbhai of the town's Islamic Centre said something is "terribly wrong" if a British born young man, who was just a child at time of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre, can grow up to be a mass murderer despite more than a decade of attempts to tackle to roots of terrorism.

South Shropshire Interfaith Forum, which Imam Sohayb previously chaired for four years, was this morning holding the vigil in Craven Arms at the Pilgrim Centre on Dale Street, with a candle lighting led by current chairman and Jewish leader Mark Michaels.

Imam Sohayb said people from all backgrounds were being made welcome and were being invited to say their own prayers as part of the service.

But he said it would also be an important chance for people to discuss their feelings following the atrocity and ask questions of the interfaith group.

Craven Arms is the only town in south Shropshire with a substantial Islamic community and Imam Sohayb said they had thankfully not felt a backlash following the events in Manchester.

But he said there needed to be a new drive to understand why terrorism was so prevalent as the Manchester suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, was from a whole different generation to those who carried out the World Trade Centre attacks, but the problem had got worse, not better.

He said: "He was 22 years old, his parents were from Libya but he was British born and he was six years old, an innocent, at the time of the September 11 terrorist attacks – but he has become a mass murderer.

"We're going backwards, there's something terribly wrong.

"We are getting caught up in this. How many more memorials of silence will we be attending? We don't want to be walking away from a memorial thinking 'when's the next one?'"

He said the issue clearly had a political element, and while he believed British armed forces had integrity and wanted to be peace keepers first and foremost, the UK's foreign policy and involvement in conflicts abroad had clearly not helped.

"I think we should not be anywhere where people can point the finger and say 'you are responsible for civilian death'," he said.

"It think that needs to be addressed, civilians can never be killed."

Imam Sohayb was also at memorial of silence in Ludlow on Thursday, which he commended Ludlow rector Rev Kelvin Price and incumbent MP Philip Dunne for organising at short notice.

He said: "We had 200 to 300 people beside the memorial in Castle Square, a lot who came for the silence but a lot who were tourist or visitors to town who also stood in silence as the bells rang – you could hear the peace for about two minutes."