CAIRO – A British local council has axed plans to distribute thousands of leaflets that invoke the name of Allah to encourage Muslims not to drop litter for worries of offending the minority, the Yorkshire Post reported.
“A leaflet encouraging people not to drop litter, specifically targeting believers in Islam is so outrageous that I still find it hard to believe that this has happened,” said Councilor John Robertshaw, Chairman of the Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
“What next, leaflets to individually alienate our Christian, Hindu and Buddhist residents?”
The Bradford Council had planned to distribute 16,000 fliers to encourage Muslims not to drop litter.
“What does Islam say about the environment we live in?” the leaflet says.
“We should respect Allah’s creation and not act with ungratefulness by treating our surroundings with disrespect and throwing litter.”
The leaflets quote verses of the Noble Qur’an that Allah has declared the whole of the earth as a place of prayer for Muslims.
“There is no excuse for dropping litter and living in a dirty neighborhood. Dumping rubbish on the streets makes the area look horrible. It is also illegal,” the leaflets says.
But the fliers have raised concerns that they could offend the Muslim minority in the city.
“If these had gone out the council could have been charged with inciting racial hatred, suggesting that litter dropping is exclusive to or more prevalent amongst Muslims,” said Robertshaw.
‘Honest Mistake’
The leaflets have brought the local council under fire over allowing the offensive project to go despite its high cost.
“I find it impossible to accept that particularly in these financially-difficult times no-one proof-read the original draft and prevented money being wasted on a leaflet which could never have been distributed,” said Robertshaw.
“I was mortified to learn that the Council has 16,000 of them, double sided, full color and glossy, sitting in a room collecting dust. Apparently it was not until they were about to be distributed that a Labour councilor noticed that the content was offensive.”
The Bradford Council admitted that the leaflets were an “honest mistake” by a junior officer.
“We are not in the business of hanging a junior officer out to dry,” the council’s leader Ian Greenwood said.
“These leaflets were well intentioned but misguided, and were stopped as soon as a senior officer realized the content.”
Britain is home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 2 million. The majority of the multi-ethnic minority has Indian, Bengali and Pakistani backgrounds.Related Links:
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