May 24 2007 | |
By Poppy Brady, Birmingham Mail | |
OFFENSIVE flyposters urging "Muslims to rise against British oppression" are upsetting residents who have been bombarded with such radical material for years, an inter-faith community group claimed. The Saltley Gate Peace Group has moved swiftly to condemn the latest batch of propaganda which has appeared all over Alum Rock on telephone boxes, bus stops and street lamps. The group, based at Saltley Methodist Church in Alum Rock Road, has written to West Midlands Police and the city council urging that the controversial posters are ripped down immediately. The offending material, which is littering several roads including Alum Rock Road and Coventry Road, has been there for the past two weeks. Adam Yosef, who chairs the SGPG, said: "It brings great distress to residents in Saltley and the wider inner city areas, when communities who have worked so hard over the years to build and regenerate their neighbourhoods, are suddenly faced with the problem of vandalism on such a large scale. "The material itself is radical in nature but anonymous in its origin, with no contact details for any group or organisation. "In the past similar material has upset local residents, although attempts to use any kind of propaganda, religious or otherwise, to disrupt the harmonious relations between people of various faiths in the inner city have failed." Mr Yosef said similar material had been posted in the past by radical political and religious groups Al-Muhajiroun, Al-Ghurabaa and Hizb-ut-Tahrir. Material dating back to 2003 and 2004 is still on public property. He added: "The material is political in nature, but unlike in the past, it doesn't glorify or promote terrorism. However, that said, it is still vandalism. "Flyposting an entire community does nothing but cause contempt for the individuals responsible along with their message, which could, in this case, undeservedly reflect poorly on the Islamic faith." A Birmingham city council spokesman said: "We take this issue very seriously and are looking into it." |
Source: Birmingham Mail
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