By IRNA
London : Bishop of Oxford the Rt Rev John Pritchard has revealed that he has been sent death threats after voicing his support to allow a local mosque broadcast a Muslim call to prayer, Adhan, in the city every Friday.
“I received extraordinary mail. One said, ‘resign’ six times in a large font. One called for me to be beheaded and another said: ‘I wish I lived closer so I could spit on you’,” said the bishop, who is one of the most senior in the Church of England.
“The dark underbelly of British society was coming out,” he was warning in the Daily Telegraph Tuesday.
The bishop, who is also a member of the House of Lords, expressed his support for Oxford Central Mosque to be able to play the muezzin’s traditional call through a loud speaker across the historic city back in January.
“I believe we have good relationships with the Muslim community here in Oxford and I am personally very happy for the mosque to call the faithful to prayer,” he said in an interview with the local Oxford Mail.
“Faith is a very important factor in the lives of 80 per cent of the world’s population and a public expression of that faith is both natural and reasonable,” Pritchard said.
“I would say to anyone who has concerns about the call to prayer to relax and enjoy our community diversity and be as respectful to others as you would hope they would be respectful to you,” he said.
A dispute over the mosque seeking permission to broadcast Adhan has been raging since last year with some of Oxford’s residents reportedly opposed to the approval.