Robinson Makes Public Apology Over Islam Comments

First Minister Peter Robinson has publicly apologised for comments he made during an interview with the Irish News, in which he defended remarks made by Pastor James McConnell of the Metropolitan Tabernacle Church in Belfast that described Islam as "heathen " and "satanic".

Mr Robinson made the apology following a visit to the Islamic Centre in Belfast on Tuesday evening, during which he met with representatives of the Muslim community in Northern Ireland.

"I apologise if anything I said has caused them hurt and I can see that in many cases it has," he said. "I apologised to them face to face, personally, man to man the way it should be done.

"The very last thing that I would have ever have in my mind would be to cause anyone hurt or distress or to insult them and I make that publicly clear as well in the clearest possible terms.

"I cannot spend the rest of my life apologising but what I can do is spend the rest of my life building the united community that I believe we want in Northern Ireland."

Mr Robinson came under fire last week following the comments, during which he said he would not trust Muslims engaged in "Sharia Law", but that he would trust them to "go to the shops".

Prior to the meeting on Tuesday evening, the First Minister met Islamic leaders from across Ireland and gave them a tour of Stormont.

Ibrahim Noonan, Imam of the Galway Mosque, said he was reassured by what he had heard from Mr Robinson.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness welcomed Mr Robinson's apology.

"The visit by Peter Robinson to the Belfast Islamic Centre and the public apology he made there was the right thing to do," he said. "There is an onus on all of us in positions of political leadership to represent everyone in our society. That involves promoting equality, mutual respect and tolerance and standing up for all communities. Those are the key principles of the Good Friday Agreement.

"It also demands that we stand up to racism wherever and how ever it is manifested. I would now urge Pastor McConnell to take a lead from the First Minister on this and publicly withdraw his damaging and insulting comments.

"Our society has been enriched by the significant contributions made by the social, cultural and religious diversity of all the communities who have made their home here, including the Muslim community."

Alliance MLA Anna Lo said: "I welcome today's public apology from First Minister Peter Robinson. It offers us the opportunity to move forward, from words of reassurance to actions that will make a real difference to the lives of people from minority communities.

"Today also saw all political parties support an Alliance amendment calling for the Racial Equality Strategy to be implemented - not just published - as soon as possible, sending a clear signal that a seven year delay is not acceptable. However, it was disappointing that the First Minister failed to attend this debate.

"I hope Mr Robinson will follow up today's apology with swift action and move quickly to approve the Racial Equality Strategy. I look forward to seeing details of this strategy and accompanying action plan in the immediate future."

(IT/CD)