Craven Arms Imam calls for solidarity after terror attacks
A Shropshire imam has said one awful event seems to be taking place after another, following Sunday's Finsbury Park terror attack.
Imam Sohayb Peerbhai of the Craven Arms Islamic Centre has said he has concerns over the way security in the UK is going after recent months that have seen four terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire.
The Craven Arms mosque had just held a multi-faith gathering and Iftaar meal to mark togetherness in memory of murdered MP Jo Cox on Saturday, when the Finsbury Park attack happened outside a mosque just over 24 hours later.
Imam Peerbhai said he had first heard about it on the night at the centre in Craven Arms, where members of the Muslim community are still observing Ramadan, but found out the details the following morning.
At the same time he received a show of solidarity from someone who had attended the Iftaar meal, he said, which gave him hope.
He said: "I got a phone call from a chap, a non-Muslim, that had been to our Big Iftaar event, saying 'I'm sorry for what has happened and I share the grief with your community'.
"And later a farmer from Hereford came into the mosque just to be with us.
"I think that we need to learn that regardless of ethnicity or faith, it is a terror attack and a life is a life.
"We in the mosque are all very upset about what has happened but I wouldn't say we are scared – although it is in the back of your mind that that anything could happen.
"Overall I'm just really worried that one thing is happening after another.
"One thing I've always thought in Britain is that we're good at putting front line services first, but the security in this country is going down a route that worries me."
West Mercia Police has said it will ensure a "visible" presence at mosques in the region following the attack and it has launched a new hate crime strategy that makes specific mention of Islamophobic hate crime for the first time.
West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion added: "Having spoken with chief officers t ... I am reassured that West Mercia Police will maintain a consistent, visible presence, particularly around our local mosques, to provide reassurance to worshippers. However it manifests itself, hate crime has no place in our communities and will not be tolerated."
