Christian churches and Muslim leaders in Britain have welcomed a decision by the British government to drop part of proposed anti-terror laws which would have enabled the police to close places of worship linked to extremism.
"We thought it a disproportionate response to a problem that could better be tackled in other ways," said Anglican Bishop Tom Butler of Southwark in London, welcoming the December 15 announcement by British interior minister Charles Clarke.
"It is wise that the government has had second thoughts on this element of their proposals," Butler said in a statement issued by the Church of England.
The proposal was originally part of a plan to fight terrorism following in the wake of the July 7 London bombings. Under the proposal, police would have been able to seek a court order for the temporary closure of a place of worship if extremist behavior or terrorist activity was believed to be taking place.
The plan triggered a sharp reaction by religious organizations and by senior police officers who saw this part of the proposed 12-point anti-terror measures before Parliament as unworkable.
The proposal followed allegations that the Finsbury Park mosque in north London was being used as a base for Islamist extremists, but Butler said that problem had been resolved under existing law.
Welcoming the decision, United Reformed Church spokesperson the Rev. David Lawrence told Ecumenical News International: "There is existing legal provision covering people who seek to promote terror."
Stuart Dew, the denomination's secretary for church and society issues, said: "The closure of a church or mosque would have undermined the opportunity for worship by believers who had not engaged in any incitement, and who may be voices for moderation."
Sir Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, had said in a message to the government: "Mosques are being mis-identified and stereotyped as incubators of violent extremism, while the social reality is that they serve as centres of moderation."
