Religious leaders last night said they were “shocked and saddened” by the terrorist attacks in Brussels.
Right Rev Dr Angus Morrison, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said his heart went out to all the families and friends of those caught up in the attacks.
He teamed up with Omar Shaikh, of the Islamic Finance Council, to film a short video condemning the atrocity – while appealing to community to work harder than before to build bridges.
Mr Shaikh, an advisory board member, said “we are all in this together” and promised that ordinary Muslims would continue to play their part.
Dr Morrison added: “The Church of Scotland is shocked and saddened by the terrorist attacks in Brussels.
“We feel so sad that something like this has happened again.
“We have to work harder than ever to build bridges to one another in different communities to make sure atrocities like this become a thing of the past.”
Rt Rev Bob Gillies, Episcopal Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney, last night described the attack as a “wanton depth of depravity”.
He said: “Few, if any, words can adequately describe how appalling is this tragedy. When we hear and see such things we are jolted into the realisation that those who did this are flesh, bones and blood just like the rest of us. And yet so ideologically warped is their mentality that somehow, for some rationally inexplicable reason, they see fit to kill and maim as well as destroy the lives of those who are bereaved as a consequence of their wrongdoing.
“In these days before Easter the Christian Church has the innocent suffering of Jesus as its focus. Out of that suffering hope for something better emerged. May it be that at this time the deaths and injuries borne in Brussels will similarly find their human, and I would add, eternal purpose.”