BOURNEMOUTH’S Imam has spoken out saying that “Muslims are proud to be British”.

Majid Yasin of the Bournemouth Islamic Centre and Central Mosque in St Stephen’s Road was responding to a letter from Communities Secretary Eric Pickles saying Muslim leaders had “an important responsibility in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity”.

But Mr Yasin said that faith in Islam is part of British identity.

He said: “The Muslim society is British therefore they are not different. They are British.

“Many Muslims are now born in this country and they are proud that they are British.

“It’s important that we build a bridge between the Muslim community and the other societies so they can understand Muslims. We consider ourselves British.”

The letter was sent to 1,000 Islamic leaders in England urging them to root out extremists and prevent young people being radicalised.

He added: “We do not accept radicalism in this group because Islam means peace. Islam in Arabic means peace.

“Our big responsibility is that if we see an extremist, if he is dangerous, we should contact the police. Our duty is to contact the police to stop him by law.”

Mr Pickles’ letter has also been criticised by the Muslim Council of Britain.

The deputy secretary general Harun Khan said: “We will be writing to Mr Eric Pickles to ask that he clarifies his request to Muslims to ‘explain and demonstrate how faith in Islam can be part of British identity’.

“Is Mr Pickles seriously suggesting, as do members of the far right, that Muslims and Islam are apart from British society?”