SO Khurshid Ahmed says he would like to win the hearts and minds of Dudley residents (Viewpoint, March 15).

How peculiar when a week or two ago he was telling residents to leave Dudley if they weren't happy with his plans.

Well, Mr Ahmed, we were quite happy here until you and the Muslim Association wanted to build a huge mosque in our medieval town.

However, it doesn't surprise me to hear him tell the people of Dudley to go, because that is what they say in most Islamic countries, one of which he comes from.

They tell Christians to go - only not so politely'!

I happen to know that in Iraq, for example, Muslims put placards up which state Christians go or we'll kill you' and they do.

I just think that Mr Ahmed rather than trying to win hearts and minds' is just buying time to try to win favour with those in authority who will help get what he wants.

As for his saying This is the death of democracy' it wouldn't have been the death of democracy if he had managed to get his own way about the mosque.

He hasn't got a clue what democracy is - Mr Ahmed it's the form of society which allowed you to say what you did on television and to make the above comment without fear of being arrested or imprisoned or worse - which is what would happen to people in your anti-democratic society.

And by the way, there were no right wing extremists outside the Council House when the mosque plan was rejected.

Personally I still haven't found out where he was going to get the £18m to build this mosque, perhaps from Saudi Arabia - you know, the country where a private person cannot even take his own Bible.

JM Jones Dudley