Community and faith groups from across Batley organised a vigil to remember the victims of the mosque attack in Finsbury Park, to reflect and pray, and to celebrate the diversity and unity that flows though the town and beyond.
The vigil took place on Saturday at 5.00pm when local people, children and families met on the steps of Batley Town Hall in Batley Market Place.
There were speakers from many parts of the local community - faith and no faith - including the local Batley and Spen MP, Tracy Brabin.
The Revd Mark Umpleby, Associate Priest at United Benefice of Batley said: “The vigil is an important opportunity for our communities of faith or no faith, to come together to remember the horrors of what took place in Finsbury Park. It also gives our community a chance for us to unite together once again - as we did last week for Jo Cox and the Great Get Togethers - as we remember and pray for those affected by these attacks and pray for peace.
Mark is a member of the ‘More in Common Batley & Spen’ group - a non-party political group of dedicated volunteers set up after the murder of Jo Cox. They supported the vigil alongside other local groups.
The Chair of the Indian Muslim Welfare Society (IMWS), Saied Laher, said: “Once again we were horrified to hear of another terror attack in the capital.
“Acts of terrorism have no colour, race or faith. They are the actions of warped minds filled with hate through biased and misrepresentations of an individual community.
“Muslims across the UK will at this time feel vulnerable. We cannot let these cowardly actions separate our communities. We must stand together, uniting all faiths and communities and send a strong and powerful message that the terrorists and hate preachers, responsible for all senseless murder, will not divide us."
Fiaz Rashid, Director of the Pakistani Kashmiri Welfare Association (PKWA), said: “These terrible events are a reminder of increasing bigotry, hate and violence by the small minority of extremists in our community. We will never cower and will not allow them to divide us.”