THE failed bombing in Exeter strengthened the relationship between Muslims and the wider community, the director of the Plymouth Islamic Education Trust said.

Mohamed El M'hamdi, centre director for the trust known as Piety, said the incident had been a shock for "the whole city – not just Muslims".

"That was something we never expected," he said. "For myself, the judgment on this was it worked the other way around. It did not damage our relationships with others – it strengthened the relationships between us and other parties. It brought us closer together.

"We are very grateful for all the support we've received from the groups and parties involved and we thank them for what they did for us, for the support they gave us."

At the time, Piety was trying to raise funds to create a model Islamic centre for Muslims in Europe. It was searched as part of the police investigation.

Mr El M'Hamdi, who saw Reilly the day before the bombing, admitted some of those who had used the centre no longer did, out of fear and anger at the trustees' decision to grant police access for their search.

However, he claimed it was more to do with their own personal fear rather than for religious reasons.

He said: "Most of those people who were upset are asylum seekers. They do not have papers. They are already living in fear themselves. They are not familiar with the police or do not understand their investigation.

"We have to protect our children, the people of the city. There are wider issues at stake. Perhaps in 10 or 20 years, those people will understand what we did was the right way to deal with matters.

"The trustees encouraged police to search the centre, because it was in the benefit of the Muslim community and our neighbours.

"Our relationship with the police, with the community, with the council, with every other organisation is very good and of value. We want to make the city better and that is why we valued a good-quality partnership.

"Sometimes I look at it and believe it was a test, a challenge. Is it going to stop our good work or make us even better? I can say it is going fantastically well.

"Building a good bridge takes many people, the architect, the engineer, the builders, the whole lot. But you only need one man to destroy the bridge.

"I look at what happened in a different way. To build good communities we must stick together, hand in hand and not let one person come and destroy it."