UK: Leaders on all sides moves to ease tensions after van attack on London Muslims

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Toufik Kacimi, chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House, told Sky News the attack clearly targeted Muslims leaving evening prayers during Ramadan.

PHOTO: KEVIN COOMBS / REUTERS

Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The China Daily / AP
By Associated Press | June 20, 2017

[Excerpts]

LONDON - British authorities and Islamic leaders moved swiftly to ease concerns in the Muslim community after a man plowed a large van into a crowd of worshippers outside a north London mosque early Monday, injuring at least nine people.
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The Metropolitan Police Service, already stretched by its investigations of the earlier attacks and a high-rise apartment fire that is believed to have killed 79 people, immediately announced it was putting extra patrols on the streets to protect the public.

Police will assess the security of mosques and provide any additional resources needed ahead of celebrations marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, British Prime Minister Theresa May announced.

"This was an attack on Muslims near their place of worship," she said in a televised address. "And like all terrorism, in whatever form, it shares the same fundamental goal. It seeks to drive us apart — and to break the precious bonds of solidarity and citizenship that we share in this country. We will not let this happen."The attack occurred about 12:20 am when a speeding van swerved into worshippers who were giving first aid to a man outside the mosque. That man later died.
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Toufik Kacimi, chief executive of the Muslim Welfare House, told Sky News the attack clearly targeted Muslims leaving evening prayers during Ramadan.

"We have a witness saying that the guy who did what he did, the driver of the van, said 'I did my bit,' which means he's not mentally ill," Kacimi said. "This person was conscious. He did what he did deliberately to hit and kill as many Muslims as possible, so he is a terrorist."But Kacimi said there was no need for the community to panic, because police and government officials have been "very, very supportive.""At this stage, we are calling for calm," he said.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, London's first Muslim mayor, urged residents to focus on their shared values and to stand together during an unprecedented period in the capital's history. The attack Monday hits a community already feeling targeted in the fallout from the London Bridge killings and other attacks blamed on Islamic extremists.

British security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with official policy, said hate crimes directed at Muslims have increased nearly five-fold in the wake of several attacks in Britain.

"While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge, it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect," Khan said.

Vowing "zero tolerance" for hate crimes, Khan declared "we will not allow these terrorists to succeed ... we will stay a strong city."The attack laid bare the frustrations of Muslims who feel they've been unfairly equated with the extremists who carry out atrocities in the name of Islam. Ali Habib, a 23-year-old student, said residents are angry that the mosque attack hasn't been portrayed in the same light as other attacks across Britain.

"There has been an outpouring of sympathy for all for the recent terror attacks but hardly a whisper on this attack," he said. "People are both scared and angry. Parents are scared to send their children to evening prayers. I don't think people understand how much these attacks affect all of us."May attempted to counter that feeling in her speech, declaring that police arrived at the scene within one minute, and that it was classified as a possible terror attack in eight minutes. The prime minister, who has been criticized for failing to show compassion to victims, traveled to the attack site within hours, and met with community and faith leaders.

Standing outside her Downing Street office, May sought to convey that Britain and London would not fold in the face of the unprecedented series of horrific events.



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