|TOP|Church leaders have condemned the British National Party (BNP) for distributing leaflets depicting a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad last week.

A spokesman for the diocese of Lichfield said that the 5,000 leaflets also scorned plans for a new mosque to be built in Stoke-on-Trent. It was revealed that the BNP had offered the local council £100,000 for the land in Hanley that the mosque is planned to be built on.

“(People should) stand against the evil trying to divide us,” the Bishop of Stafford.

To show their compassion and unity, church leaders and various faith leaders gathered at the proposed site last week to offer prayers for continued peace and unity in the community.

A joint statement commented, “It is wrong and irresponsible that this cartoon has been produced by the BNP with the intention of causing hurt to our Muslim brothers and sisters and to divide a community who are working hard to cement the existing good relations.”

|AD|It added, “Right-minded people will see through this blatant and desperate exploitation.”

Rev Gordon Mursell, the Bishop of Stafford told, “This is important because we believe the BNP represent a really dangerous threat to all people who care about the future of our society.”

The BBC has also revealed that the piece of land proposed for the mosque has been empty for ten years.

Despite the £100,000 offer from the BNP, the Stoke-on-Trent Council has said that there are no suggestions that the plans for the mosque will change.

Phil Edwards, BNP spokesman retorted that the church leaders’ statement was nonsense and said, “We are not a threat to anybody”.

He added, “The pictures ask which is worse - a cartoon or the protesters carrying banners with death threats on them. It encourages a debate and that is what we are looking for.”

More inflammable comments followed as Edwards continued, “We are against any more mosques being built. But we are for a debate whether it is in the best interests of this country that so many should be built in Britain.”

These comments were also condemned by various religious leaders.