IT is very regrettable that the Sikh community here in Oxford (Mick Heavey’s letter, June 6) have been unable to establish a suitable site for a Gurdwara, especially given the nearest is the Gurdwara Sahib in Banbury.
However, Mr Heavey’s concluding claim that Muslims get whatever they want – such as the Marston Road Mosque/learning centre, is misleading and unhelpful.
The building complex, on land belonging to Magdalen College, to which Mr Heavey refers, is the soon-to-be-opened new Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS).
OCIS, which is currently housed in cramped quarters in George Street, is one of five recognised independent centres, all educational charities which, while not part of Oxford University, work closely with it in matters of research and teaching provision.
The other four are the Centre for Buddhist Studies, the Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, the Centre for Hindhu Studies, and the Centre for Energy Studies.
As such, these centres play a vital role in research and scholarship, here in Oxford and internationally.
The beautiful buildings and garden which will soon be home to OCIS do include a mosque, much as the older Oxford colleges have chapels, since the centre is, by design, a community of scholars working to generate a better understanding of Islam, past and present.
The delay in completion should not distract from OCIS’s importance, locally and beyond, as an asset-to-be for us all.
Bruce Ross-Smith Bowness Avenue Oxford
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