A MEETING to try to help Burnley residents better understand the crisis in the Middle East around terror group Isis takes place tomorrow.

Building Bridges Burnley has organised the event as it aims to help educate local people of all faiths on the issues in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

As well as discussing the problems, speaker Mozaquir Ali will also try to explain if there is a threat to this country.

Colin Wills, chairman of Building Bridges Burnley, said: “There is a lot of confusion about what’s going on in the Middle East.

“There are a lot of people who don’t know who Isis are and what they are about.

“People hear a smattering of information about what’s going on.

“We want to explain more to them about the sunni and shia Muslims and the difference between the two and what the conflict is about.

“The aim is to give people a better understanding, to educate people about others faiths.

“There is no doubt it is a big issue and it is the topic of the moment.

“It is quite clear there is a lot of problems out there and we want to give people an idea of what they are and how they might or might not affect us.”

Mr Wills said he hoped plenty of people who wanted to learn more about the problems in the Middle East would attend on Sunday night.

He said: “It’s important people know as much as they can if they are interested.

“Sometimes there will be people who don’t want to know, but there are also a lot of people who want to find out as much as they can.

“There are people who are interested in understanding.

“There will always be a lot of rumours about something such as this and it is about separating rumour from fact.

“This can only help with cohesion in Burnley.

“Issues like this are strange to us because everyone gets on well in Burnley now.

“We have come a long way in 10 years and I think we have played a part in that.”

The meeting takes at 7.30pm at St Andrew’s Church, in Colne Road.

Building Bridges in Burnley is an interfaith and community cohesion organisation established after the 2001 disturbances.