Unionists halt Portadown mosque
01 January 2003
Portadown's unionist have blocked the building of Northern Ireland's first purpose-built mosque, claiming that Muslims are plotting to destroy Christianity. The 200-strong Muslim community in Portadown, Co Armagh has been using a small community centre for their Friday prayer meetings, since their temporary mosque was burnt down five years ago. Planning permission has been granted for the new £200,000 mosque, which is funded by the Muslim community and will be located three miles outside Portadown, but final approval was delayed when Unionist councillors voted for it to be reconsidered. They raised objections on the grounds of "sewerage problems" and traffic congestion, with one councillor claiming that the development would pave the way for an al-Qaeda terrorist cell.
Portadown is a major centre for the Orange Order, which counts unionist politicians and loyalist paramilitaries among its numbers. An indicator of their religious "tolerance" is the violent, long-term campaign against the nationalist community on Portadown's Garvaghy Road, where the Order insists on its "god-given" right to march through the Nationalist community's streets while refusing to negotiate with their representatives over arrangements. When members of the Portadown lodge marched in London a few years ago they were stewarded by Combat 18. Portadown's small Muslim community has become another victim of Orange bigotry.