A Finsbury Park Mosque leader has branded Lee Rigby’s killers “sick” while calling for a halt to a spate of racist attacks in which worshippers have been called “terrorists”.
Mohammed Kozbar, chairman of the mosque, called for calm while announcing Islington’s Muslims stand united with the wider community against acts of terrorism which are not in the name of Islam.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today it has shared its recently-published security guidelines, “Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety,” with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) after a number of incidents targeting that nation’s mosques.
MCB said the guidelines would help to review its own advisory, circulated to all affiliates immediately after the recent killing of a soldier in London. That attack was strongly condemned by CAIR, America’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, and by British Muslim organizations.
A man who posted a vile racist rant on Facebook after the murder of soldier Lee Rigby is facing jail. David Lee, 48, of Ullswater Drive, Middleton, wrote comments encouraging people to carry out attacks on Muslim businesses.
Lee hung his head as his words were read out at Bury Magistrates Court – littered with expletives, derogatory to Muslims and urging people to vandalise a shop near his home.
He pleaded guilty to sending numerous messages and Facebook profile comments that were of a grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character on May 22 and 23.
A teenager took a handgun to a bowling alley in Barnwood and told colleagues it was “protection against Muslims”. Armed police burst into tenpin bowling centre on Sunday afternoon after the 17-year-old took the Second World War handgun to his workplace.
The boy was arrested and later cautioned for possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. He was also suspended by his bosses and admitted it had been “stupid”.
Police are continuing their investigation into reports of an attack on a mosque in Brixton, south London.
Officers were called at 3.04am last Monday (May 27) to deal with vandals who threw a stone which smashed a window of religious building and Islamic Cultural Centre, in Gresham Road. Although no one has been arrested as of yet, the police has informed The Voice it will continue to investigate the crime.
Police are investigating reports of racially offensive Twitter messages as they appealed for calm in the wake of the Woolwich terror attack. Officers have moved to reassure faith groups and have made visits to the Capital’s three main mosques at Potterrow, Blackhall and
Annandale Street.
It comes as a number of allegedly racist and offensive tweets made by a user going by the handle @edininfidel were reported to the police. It is understood there were two complaints in response to tweets posted after the Woolwich terror attack on Wednesday last week. Officers confirmed they were investigating the tweets, and said they were monitoring social networking sites.
A man has been charged after allegedly threatening on Facebook to make a bomb and massacre Muslims following the killing of drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich. Tony Perrin, 27, was arrested close to his home in Norbury on Saturday, May 25, after police were made aware of his alleged threats on the social network.
A picture of a man, wearing a balaclava and pointing a gun at the camera, was posted on a Facebook page belonging to ‘Tony Croydon’, the day after the death of Drummer Lee Rigby last week. A message claiming revenge would be taken was also allegedly posted on the page, belonging to Tony Mundy. The page also advocates support for the English Defence League (EDL) movement against Islamic extremism.
Two more men have been charged by Dorset Police following an alleged attack on a Poole mosque. Windows were smashed at the Dorset Islamic Cultural Centre, Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole, on Thursday afternoon.
Michael Manyweathers, aged 49, of Poole, and 34-year-old Jeremy Rochester have been charged with racially aggravated criminal damage. Rochester, of Bournemouth, has also been charged with assault.
Grimsby’s Muslim community has pledged to continue worshipping as usual, despite fearing somebody could have been killed during a vicious petrol bomb attack on the town’s mosque.
Three petrol bombs were thrown at the Islamic Cultural Centre on Sunday night as dozens of people – including young children – were leaving after evening.
Bricks had been thrown through the windows of the Weelsby Road building just three days earlier following the murder of solider Lee Rigby in Woolwich, London, on Wednesday.
Yesterday, as almost 300 people took part in a march from Grimsby to Cleethorpes in memory of Drummer Rigby – passing by the mosque – Imam Dr Ahmad M Sabik has pledged that the Muslim community will not be beaten by the attack.
He said: “Somebody could have been seriously injured or even possibly even killed by the petrol bombs. This attack has made us worried about our families and our children who come to the mosque.
“It is a place of love and worship where we teach people to respect one another and it is hard to believe that anybody would try to damage a site like this. We will continue to pray and use the centre as usual because we refuse to be frightened away from our place of worship.”
Two ex-soldiers have been remanded in custody this afternoon after being charged with arson with intent to endanger life. It follows an incident at the mosque on Weelsby Road, in Grimsby, on Sunday.
Stuart Harness, 33, of Dixon Avenue, Grimsby, and Gavin Humphries, 37, were arrested by police shortly after the incident took place. Both men appeared at Grimsby Magistrates’ Court today.