Saudi Imam Urges British Muslims To Promote Peace

London, June 11--(AP) Several thousand Muslims filled London's oldest mosque and the streets outside Friday to hear a sermon by a top Saudi Arabian preacher who urged them to help dispel misconceptions that sometimes result from the war on terror.

The service began a weekend of ceremonies marking the formal opening of a six-story community center attached to the East London Mosque, aimed at improving dialogue between Islam and other faiths and reducing unemployment in the East London, one of Britain's poorest areas and the home of many Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh.

"The history of Islam is the best testament to how different communities can live together in peace and harmony," Abdel Rahman bin Abdel Aziz al-Sudeis, the imam at the grand mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, said in his sermon. "Muslims should exemplify the true image of Islam in their interaction with other communities and dispel any misconceptions in some parts of the media."

He praised Britain's Muslims for recently promoting peace and cooperation among the country's many different religions.

In April, the Muslim Council of Britain wrote to the country's 1,000 mosques, urging worshippers to remain nonviolent and to report any signs of terrorist activity to police. But the council also complained about widespread "Islamophobic propaganda" in the media, saying it has damaged Muslim relations with the larger community.

Friday's large crowds listened to the sermon inside the mosque, or via speakers in the streets outside and the new community center next door. Most kneeled on prayers mats, but some had to make do with newspapers spread on sidewalks.

Prince Charles had planned to attend, but he was in Washington to represent Queen Elizabeth II at the state funeral for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. Instead, Charles spoke via a recorded video message, congratulating Muslims on their new community center and its noble goals.

Nsheila Ahmed, a 20-year-old law student from East London, praised the imam's message. "There's so much interest in Islam at the moment that I think this will be a good thing to help people find out about it," she said.

The new London Muslim Center, which is attached to the 94-year-old East London Mosque, cost 10.4 million pounds (US$19 million). It was funded by the city, the European Development Fund and local residents whose small donations won them the privilege of using a black magic marker to scrawl their names onto bricks used in the construction.