02 December 2015•Update: 07 December 2015
LONDON
Turkey’s envoy to London on Wednesday visited a mosque that was the target of an Islamophobic arson attack.
Consul General Emirhan Yorulmazlar met officials from the Finsbury Park Mosque in north London to show his support after a man attempted to ignite a makeshift petrol bomb last week.
The Metropolitan Police is treating the attack as a hate crime.
“We see the government taking necessary actions regarding rising Islamophobic attacks,” Yorulmazlar told Anadolu Agency.
He added: “I hope that in the future the messages given by both politicians and Muslims will help reduce Islamophobic opinions.”
CCTV images from Friday night’s attack show a man in a baseball cap and hooded top attempt to light a container filled with petrol before hurling it over the gates. He fled on a moped before police arrived.
Mosque Chairman Mohammed Kozbar said: “The increase in Islamophobic attacks after Paris is quite dramatic. Our members of the community, especially women, face with physical and verbal attacks.
“Muslim women come here and say that they can’t take their children to school, they can’t walk alone and many of them stopped using public transportation. People want to feel safe. These perpetrators must be brought to justice. We need to show them the Muslim community is protected by the police.”
The mosque is to hold a vigil on Friday for people from all faiths and backgrounds to show solidarity in the community.
“It is a matter of unity and wisdom within all communities,” Kozbar said. “We will keep promoting community cohesion and harmony among all communities.”
