A group of Muslims wanted to use the Feed My Lambs church hall in Wales, UK, for “Quran and cultural studies”. They had already used the venue twice.
But after initially being allowed to hire the space, the Llanbeblig Rector changed its mind on the matter.
The Church in Wales have said the hall – which was part-funded by UK Heritage Lottery money – was available for “secular” activities, the Daily Post Wales reported.
But Kenny Khan, the councillor representing the Muslim group – said the decision was disappointing. “It was all explained clearly to the church that it was for religious and cultural classes. I was very clear that they were Muslims. There was no ambiguity.”
Three days after their first meeting, Khan received a phone call from the Reverend Roger Donaldson, who said there had been “a misunderstanding” and that they couldn’t accept the rental fee which was sent to Llanbeblig Parochial Church Council.
Kahn complained: “Christians and Muslims joined together in Bangor after the Manchester bombing. The church knew it was going to be used for cultural classes.
“Two men from the church came into the hall to collect the cheque and actually saw the congregation praying on their mats.
“These people pay local taxes. The hall has been Lottery-funded and is for the use of the community. They’ve accepted the cheque and something has happened.”
Reverend Donaldson told the Daily Post there had been a “misunderstanding”, because it was initially thought the group would be using the hall for Bible studies.
In statement issued by the Church in Wales, Reverend Donaldson added: “Feed My Lambs is used for Christian worship and is considered to be a place of worship.
“Feed My Lambs is first and foremost a church hall that allows community use, in a secular context. We apologise for any misunderstanding.”