Mosque comes under Islamophobic attack in UK

Rasa - Islamophobic sentiments are rising across the United Kingdom, with the latest incident involving an attack against a mosque in the southeastern city of Norwich,

News ID: 2126

Date: 14 February 2015 - 01:23

RNA - Unknown vandals recently stormed the Ihsan Mosque in Chapelfield East, Norwich, smashing about 11 panes of glass while the worshippers were inside the building.

The replacement of the windows would cost around £1,000.

According to local sources, the reason for the attack is not known, but many believe that such assaults are related to a rise in Islamophobic sentiments in Britain following the recent wave of terrorist attacks in France.

“Unfortunately whenever we have incidents like this, it usually follows something negative about Muslims and Islam in the media,” Amal Douglas, a member of the Ihsan Mosque said.
He further explained that Islamophobic hate crimes take many forms, including offensive graffiti, throwing bricks through windows of Islamic centers and even insulting religious values.

However, locals have shown a heartwarming reaction to the victims of the new hate crime in the city.

In a move to show their solidarity with the local Muslim community, Norwich residents have offered to help raise funds for repair work, showering the mosque with messages of love.

The latest desecration assault comes as early in January a report revealed that Muslim students are increasingly being targeted by fellow schoolmates and the London government is failing to tackle the problem.

According to the British charity monitoring anti-Muslim hate crimes, Tell MAMA, there has been a “significant” rise in incidents in British schools, with both parents and teachers reporting verbal and physical attacks against Muslim students in the wake of the terrorist assaults in Paris earlier this month.

On January 7, two gunmen attacked the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo magazine, killing 12 people. In a separate incident another gunman killed a police officer and then attacked a supermarket in the capital, killing four hostages. All assailants were slain by police.

The al-Qaeda branch in Yemen later claimed responsibility for the attack on the Charlie Hebdo office.

Muslims worldwide condemned the Paris attacks, saying the perpetrators have nothing to do with Islam.

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