Richard Sudan
Press TV, London
It was time for prayer at this mosque near Regents Park. Worshipers say the Imam leading the prayer started to pray faster than usual, then people started screaming and they saw the blood and the knife.
The stabbing of a Muslim man in a prominent London mosque has shaken the community to its core, raising serious concerns about safety and the ever-growing tide of Islamphobia here in the UK.
This man reportedly ran into the mosque and stabbed the Muezzin. According to the daily mail, he was a regular at the mosque. After stabbing his victim in the neck, he was brought down by several worshipers and then arrested. The victim, who is in his 70s, is now in hospital and in stable condition. Police say another man has been arrested at the mosque on suspicion of attempted murder.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tweeted, 'I'm deeply saddened to hear of the attack at the London Central Mosque. It's so awful that this should happen, especially in a place of worship. My thoughts are with the victim and all those affected.'
But Britain’s Muslim community has lost trust in the government. 52% of all hate crimes last year were aimed at Muslims. But mosques are struggling to get government funding allocated to protecting places of worship. They receive a fraction of what other faiths are awarded.