Queen to visit ethnic communities

The Queen is to visit Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Jewish communities during her Golden Jubilee tour of Britain, Buckingham Palace announced today.

The visits are a priority for the Queen and reflect the important role played by varied religious groups in modern, multi- faith, multi-cultural Britain, the Palace said.

The Queen will also host a reception at Buckingham Palace for representatives of different faith communities, on 10 June.

The high-profile efforts to make the Jubilee celebrations embrace all communities take on an extra significance at a time when political leaders are warning of the dangers of an advance of the Far Right. In the wake of Jean-Marie Le Pen's success in the French elections, there is growing concern that the British National Party will be able to exploit voter apathy to make advances in local elections next month.

Gurbux Singh, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, has arranged talks with all the main political parties in the hope of encouraging a "united front against racism, xenophobia and the politics of disunity".

It is hoped the Queen's first visit to a mosque in Britain will also send a strong message of unity following concerns about a growth in Islamophobia after 11 September. Buckingham Palace said: "The purpose of the visits is to indicate respect for the diversity of faiths, to support inter-faith dialogue and to show that non-Christian, as well as Christian, communities are central to contemporary Britain."

The Queen will visit the mosque at the Islamic Centre in Scunthorpe on 31 July. Other visits will include Highgate Hill Murugan Hindu Temple on 6 June.

Eighty children from Christian and other religious backgrounds will take part in a Golden Jubilee Young People's Youth Forum, at St James's Palace in June.