THERE was a clear message of knowledge and unity as hundreds of people gathered at the University of Southampton.

The University’s Islamic society welcomed people from all different faiths to join in prayers in a time of reflection.

The group was led by British Muslim broadcaster, Mohammed Ansar who said that he wants to give a wider knowledge of what it means to be Muslim and how the actions of extremists are the actions of a few.

He said: “These extremists are using Islam for their own actions and interests and we as the Muslim community need to stand against this.

“The world around us is asking us questions and it is up to us to respond to them.

“There are attacks happening all over the world and a lot of the victims of these attacks are Muslims.

“It is our duty as a community to provide more knowledge within our religion.”

The Society wanted to host the event to give an insight into their religion and how the Muslim community has outright condemned the actions of the so called Islamic state.

“What people need to realise is that extremism is not about religion,” added Mr Ansar.

“We all follow different teachings but people have different interpretations of these teachings and we hope to guide people along the right path.”