A 42-year-old white man has been arrested after a Muslim worshipper was allegedly assaulted outside a mosque in Leyton, East London, in what police are investigating as a racially-aggravated hate crime that has left the local community “deeply shaken.”
Met Police officers received reports of a racially-aggravated hate assault at a mosque on Leyton High Road, Waltham Forest, at about 22:00 BST on Tuesday.
Noor Ul Islam Mosque said that CCTV footage showed the victim, a local Muslim man in his 50s, being randomly targeted as he was leaving evening prayers.
Videos from the aftermath of the attack show the suspect with a bloodied face after he allegedly assaulted the victim and local Muslims in the area retaliated.
Police said that the 42-year-old suspect has been arrested and remains in hospital after suffering a head injury.
Reports from local witnesses also state that the suspect was shouting anti-Muslim racist slogans outside the mosque building in the moments leading up to the attack. Aslam Hansa, operations manager at the mosque, said this was caught on CCTV footage.
The victim appeared in a video shared across social media with a bloodied head, as a Met spokesperson said they had found the man in his 50s at the scene, confirming he had been assaulted and subjected to racist abuse.
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Impact on local community
The victim’s injuries were deemed neither life-threatening nor life-changing, according to the Met Police, and he has since been discharged from hospital.
Speaking to the BBC, Hansa said that CCTV footage showed the alleged attacker leaving the scene and returning with a white bag “with something heavy in it”.
According to Hansa, the congregation of the mosque has been left “shaken up” by the incident. “The congregation is very worried. Is this a lone wolf or a team targeting Muslims?” he said.
“The mosque has been here 35 years, we get on with the local community, we get on with everyone, there are no issues.”
The mosque also runs a pre-school for children, with Hansa adding that parents are now “very worried”.
Statement from mosque
The Board of Trustees at Noor Ul Islam Mosque issued a statement following the attack:
“At approximately 9:40 PM, a member of our congregation was subjected to targeted racist and Islamophobic abuse before being violently assaulted outside the mosque.
“Emergency services responded and the victim was taken to hospital where his injuries were confirmed to be neither life-threatening nor life-changing. He is now safely recovering.
“The Metropolitan Police attended the scene and arrested a male suspect. The police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. While our community is deeply shaken and upset by this cowardly attack, we refuse to let fear divide us.
“This unprovoked incident is a painful reminder of the ongoing threat of Islamophobia, but it does not represent our vibrant, multicultural neighbourhood. We extend our gratitude to the emergency services for their response, and to the local community for their overwhelming messages of support and solidarity.
“We are working closely with the Police to ensure the continued safety of our worshippers. We ask everyone to remain vigilant, to look out for one another, and to stand united against hatred. Noor Ul Islam remains committed to promoting respect, inclusion, dignity and understanding.”
Muslim Council of Britain statement
The Muslim Council of Britain also released a press statement on July 8 addressing the racially-motivated attack.
“The Muslim Council of Britain is appalled by the racially aggravated assault that took place outside Noor Ul Islam Mosque in Leyton, East London, last night. Metropolitan Police officers were called to the scene, and we want to recognise the courage shown by local worshippers who stepped in to stop the attacker from causing further harm.”
Mustafa Al-Dabbagh, Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “Hate crimes against British Muslims are spiralling out of control, and the fear this creates is felt right across our communities.
“Yet certain politicians and parts of the media continue to underplay how serious this is for the people living through it. Religious and racially- motivated hate crimes still go underreported, and we’re calling on police forces and our politicians to meet these offences with the full force of the law, so that justice is done and hate crime is stamped out against every community it targets,” Al-Dabbagh concluded.
The MP for Leyton and Wanstead, Calvin Bailey, also said in a statement that he believed there was “no further threat currently perceived to our community” following the arrest of the suspect, describing the attack as “deeply distressing”.
“We must be clear: there is no place for hatred in Leyton and Wanstead. An attack on someone because of their faith is an attack on all of us,” Bailey said.
The Met Police have said that they have increased their patrols in the area. They added: “We take reports of racially-motivated hate crime extremely seriously and recognise the profound impact such incidents can have on victims. Officers are committed to bringing those who commit such offences to justice.”
