A counter extremist think-thank has written to mosques urging them to help minimise local tensions in light of recent far-right fascist activity. The letter from the Quilliam Foundation warns that far-right fascists may be planning demonstrations against

A counter extremist think-thank has written to mosques urging them to help minimise local tensions in light of recent far-right fascist activity.

The letter from the Quilliam Foundation warns that far-right fascists may be planning demonstrations against Muslims as they prepare to celebrate the end of Ramadan.

It calls on imams and mosque committees to hold open-days for local people in mosques, raise money on Fridays for local schools and hospitals (not just for Muslims), too refuse platforms to Islamist and extremist Muslim groups who bolster the message of the far-right and ensure that young members of their congregation do not respond to the far-right with violence.

The foundation has also issued a paper which it says exposes and counters the flawed arguments of the BNP: 'In Defence of British Muslims: A response to BNP racist propaganda.'

The paper will be sent to parliamentarians next week in a bid to equip them with answers against the allegations of the BNP towards Islam and British Muslims.

Quilliam was co-founded by Ed Husain, a former activist of Hizb ut-Tahrir and Jamat-e-Islam, who turned his back on such groups to become a strong critic of extremism and Islamism. He is the author of 'The Islamist', shortlisted for the George Orwell Prize for best political writing.