Madam,
Plans to convert the Moriah Chapel in Llanbedr have attracted a lot of media attention (‘Mosque Plans for Abandoned Chapel’, Cambrian News, 26 March).
I listened carefully to some community reactions in the community hall recently.
The Moriah Chapels are named after the hilltop on which Abraham planned to murder his son Isaac. That he didn’t because God intervened is, I think, what made him a major icon in Judaism, Christianity..... and Islam.
I think that confluence of the three religions is worth celebrating and building on.
Given the Moriah Chapels’ role in the 1904-05 Welsh Revival, wouldn’t acceptance of a Mosque by the people of Llanbedr be an appropriate start for a ‘New Revival of Welsh Tolerance’?
At the meeting it was emphasised that the activities at the Mosque would include cultural and health activities. That sort of thing is surely well within the remit of places of worship in Wales. I think of the Methodist Centre in Aberystwyth in which secular choirs, for example, can practice.
At the meeting, some of the aftermath of the horrors and tragedies of the Middle East wars was mentioned. Most now think those wars a great mistake. Our sense of ‘community’ in the little Cambrian coastal towns may rightly include that sense of loss and misdirection that disastrous wars cause in our people, but is that a reason to close down our communities to incomers? Surely inclusivity is a step towards avoiding such wars in the future?
The Llanbedr Community Council is not opposed to the application for the changes, and the son of the architect thinks his father would have approved. (‘Chapel architect would be pleased’, Cambrian News, 6 April)
Surely all is set fair for the people of Llanbedr to take a decisive step in the struggle for world peace and harmony?
Yours etc, Ian MacIntyre, Shelbourne Court, St John’s Hill, Barmouth.
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