A DOCUMENTARY about the quest to open a Muslim place of worship in Clitheroe is to be screened around the world.

For the past month, film crews have been in Clitheroe speaking to local people and getting their views about the site of the town's first mosque, at a former Methodist church in Lowergate.

Commissioned by Arabic media organisation Al Jazeera International, the documentary looks at the building and people's attitudes towards it, especially in wake of its conversion to a mosque and multi faith community centre.

Sheraz Arshad, who led the fight to get planning permission for the mosque, is interviewed in the film alongside local authority officials and people who opposed the project from the outset.

When Ribble Valley Council gave the go ahead for the mosque last December, they ended the Muslim community's 30-year search for a place of worship in the town.

Documentary maker Paul Sapin is making the film for Al Jazeera's Witness series of films and believes the mosque is an issue that prompts strong feelings in Clitheroe. Mr Sapin, originally from New York but now living in Manchester, used to live in Nelson.

When he originally moved to the UK he lived in the south and then moved to Lancashire after visiting friends.

He said: "Al Jazeera, like many other production companies and media outlets such as the CNN, BBC and New York Times, saw this proposal as a seminal moment in the life of a rural English market town.

"There was a reluctance amongst a number of people to talk about this issue, especially those who opposed it.

"There was an anxiety and fear about expressing their views over why they thought it should not have been passed. They were concerned about being branded racist or even being sued for giving their views.

"A central part of the film is about the identity of the town. People have a strong sense of what Clitheroe is and a number of them feel it is not the right place for a mosque.

"They felt it would affect the nature of the town and that Muslims from other towns would come to Clitheroe. I think that's unlikely to happen but that's the view some had."

Mr Arshad said he felt the time was right to speak to a documentary team about the building and that Al Jazeera's angle to the film was something he felt happy to go along with.

He added: "It's looking at the history of the building from a detached perspective which incorporates its current use as a mosque, that's something we were happy to go along with."

Al Jazeera, which is based in Qatar, launched its UK channel last November.