Don't let terror divide us

The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend David James, urged all faiths in the district "to build bridges" as a true memorial to the victims of the London bomb who died together.

The Bishop joined calls for communities to unite after revelations that one of the bomb suspects, Shehzad Tanweer, 22, was born in Great Horton, Bradford.

He said: "The terrorists want to divide us and set us against each other. We must not let this happen. We must bring good out of this terrible evil by building bridges of friendship and crossing these bridges to stand together, irrespective of creed or colour.

"Then we shall honour those who died."

The Bishop called for simple acts of friendship to transform not just the memory of the killings but "the whole life of our community".

He said: "Our hearts go out to all who have been caught up in these awful events - those who have lost family and friends, those who wait anxiously by bedsides.

"If each of us can offer just one such act of friendship every day we shall transform not only the memory of last Thursday but the whole life of our community." His thoughts also went to all members of the 999 services.

"It is at times like this that we really appreciate the courage and devotion of the police and the emergency services," he said. "They deserve our gratitude."

West Yorkshire Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn also appealed for calm.

"As Chief Constable I know that people will have increased concerns for themselves and their families," he said.

"I also know that there are those who will seek to exploit these concerns. I urge the public to continue to be alert but not alarmed.

"I also urge them to reject any form of extreme response."

Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe said he was sickened to learn of the city's links with the suicide bombers.

But he called on the community to unite and stay calm.

He said: "Everybody was horrified by the trauma of last week and clearly everyone is united in wanting to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"Then when you find out the perpetrators are from West Yorkshire, one from Bradford, it sickens you to the stomach that people could have lived in our midst with such murderous intentions."

Mr Sutcliffe backed Prime Minister's Tony Blair's calls for communities to stay calm and root out the extremists..

He said: "Like the Prime Minister said, we need to reflect and deal with it in a calm and considered way.

"If there was ever a time for a city to unite this is it.

"This is not a time to make matters worse, it is a time to grieve and share condolences with the families and friends and to pay tribute to the emergency services."

He said Bradford was "ahead of the game" in tackling disaffection in the community.

"In Bradford already on a daily basis the Council is meeting with leaders from the faith communities to keep an eye on how things are progressing and how to root out the people that could be potentially involved in this activity."

The Labour MP also warned the Far-Right British National Party not to capitalise on the revelations.

He said: "The majority of people in Bradford would condemn out of hand what happened, whatever community they are from.

"But we need to be united as a city, a city that's faced adversity on too many occasions over recent years.

"One thing I am concerned about is the BNP. This is not a situation for anyone to exploit for political gain."Up to 70 religious and community figures took part in a special meeting held by West Yorkshire Police last night, to discuss how Bradford could move forward in the aftermath of the bombings.

Muslim community leaders talked about taking individual and collective responsibility about sending the correct messages out to the community through mosques and schools and engaging with youngsters to make sure tensions did not escalate.

But concerns were raised over any possible backlash against the Muslim community by white youngsters and groups such as the British National Party.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, who works as an information and development officer, said: "It's important that community and religious leaders get together to reflect on what's happened.

"We must remain vigilant and alert and work closely with the police to help identify potential culprits and ring leaders.

"We are fearful of a backlash against Muslims and will be working with the police to provide protection.

"British Muslims have rightly show their solidarity with the victims of these attacks. No cause, no matter how sacred, can explain or help to justify these atrocities."

Abid Hussain, secretary of Community Unity - which works with young people in Bradford, said: "There is a danger now that groups such as the BNP will capitalise on this and provoke young Muslims. There have already been incidents of white youths provoking Muslim youths. We don't want this situation to escalate as it could do very easily.

"My message to young Muslims is - if you are being provoked and are feeling victimised stay calm and let someone know or inform the police. They must not react - we are at a fragile time."