MORE than 50 people spent the day learning about Islam at a special event hosted by Building Bridges.

The community cohesion group is holding a series of seminars on different religions, aimed at increasing understanding and tolerance.

On Monday, at Christ Church, Nelson, a mostly white audience were told about the traditions of Islam, and the differences between denominations.

Salim Jogi, inter-faith development officer at Building Bridges, said: "These events are designed to attract as wide as possible an audience of any religion, or no religion. We had three key speakers who discussed their traditions, and the history of their denomination.

"Through initiatives like this, we try to take positive action to bring people together.

"We do have people coming to this kind of thing from community groups or companies, but mainly we do this for the ordinary man in the street, to reach as many people as possible."

Further seminars are planned to discuss Buddhism, on July 4 at Brierfield Community Centre; and Hinduism on September 6 at St John's Church, Colne.

The project will finish in November with talks on ways to improve relations among different cultures.