They say it ‘could not have come at a worse time’ in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo atrocity. In a letter to The Daily Telegraph the leaders said: ‘From religious efforts at tackling ebola in West Africa, to the interfaith solidarity that has so far helped prevent the horrors of France being imported to these shores, religion remains a force for change at home and abroad. Religious literacy is essential to the diversity we treasure in Britain – and a tonic to the extremism and intolerance that threaten it.’