Shock at racist abuse sparked by Hereford mosque plan

RACIST messages have been sent to fundraisers working to set up the county’s first Muslim place of worship. Although no location has yet been confirmed, the very idea has been met with abuse on internet sites.

Members of Hereford’s small Muslim community currently meet at the Kindle Centre near Asda but say that this venue is too small.

They have so far raised L40,000 towards a purpose-built community centre that would be dedicated solely to the Muslim faith.

A group was started on the social network site, Facebook, to garner support.

But racist comments posted on the Hereford Masjid Fundraising Campaign’s (HMFC) page resulted in the page being shut down on Tuesday. One abusive message posted on Sunday threatened to contaminate any land identified as a potential site and referred to the group as vermin.

The Muslim group replied politely, saying it would report any further racist comments to the police.

But this did little to stop the abusive messages.

"My country, my opinion and you will hear it,” came the response.

"The people of Herefordshire are happy with the way things are. They don’t want your lot changing it. No more mosques for UK.” (...)