I READ the article by David Thomson (March 26) misleadingly headlined "Muslim demands an end to nude poster". I was pleased to see the principled stance taken by Mr Sam Cohen, Councillor Yvonne Creswell, Mr Azmat Hussain, and Mr Khalid Hussain against obscene posters erected near places of religious worship.

I was then dismayed by the abusive and personalised attacks on Mr Hussain on the Letters page (April 2). The most disturbing comments were those stating "If you don't like it, live elsewhere", "If they are not happy, they know what to do, but I doubt they will", "It will make more vote BNP", and "We are set on a dangerous path to a fundamentalism that has no part in this country".

Councillor John Byrne, as the leader of Bury Council, should be ashamed of himself for making divisive and inflammatory remarks against individuals who are trying to preserve the purity of religious places. Does he not realise that his remarks are against Articles 9, 10 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights?

Modern western society will not tolerate the kind of extremist views espoused by Coun Byrne and other contributors.

As a member of the local Jewish community, I would like to remind readers that it was Mr Hussain who condemned the racist poster campaign against the Jewish community in 2000, perpetrated by fundamentalists. It therefore amazes me that Coun Byrne and others accuse Mr Hussain and Mr Cohen of being fundamentalists.

PROF. NORMAN DAVIS