Eye Witness Calls London Mosque Stabbing '30 Seconds of Mayhem'
London: A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a stabbing inside a central London mosque.
The victim, in his 70s, was injured in an attack at the London Central Mosque, near Regent's Park, which police are not treating as terror-related.
He was taken to hospital by paramedics where his condition has been assessed as non-life threatening.
A 29-year-old man was apprehended by worshippers who broke from prayer to restrain him until police arrived.
In a statement, the mosque said the injured man was the muezzin, the person who makes the call to prayer, and he had been stabbed shortly after 15:00 GMT during afternoon prayer.
Ayaz Ahmad, an adviser to the mosque, said the stabbing "would have been life-threatening if it wasn't for the worshippers".
Images from inside the mosque showed a white man wearing a red hooded top, jeans and with bare feet being pinned to the floor by police officers.
One video showed a knife on the floor under a plastic chair.
Mustafa Field, director of the Faiths Forum for London, told reporters the attack was "one stab, one strike, around the neck" of the victim.
He said: "Then the congregation members, some of them broke their prayers, and intervened, restrained the individual.
Abi Watik, who witnessed the attack, said the arrested man had been seen at the mosque previously and the muezzin was stabbed once in the shoulder.
"He was praying behind him [the muezzin] and then he stabbed him.
"He was waiting for him I think to start praying. He was right behind him."
The 59-year-old added that the suspect "was silent the whole time".
Miqdaad Versi, from the Muslim Council of Britain, said: "It is deeply concerning that this has happened... Given other recent attacks elsewhere, many Muslims are on edge," he said.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted he was "deeply saddened" by the stabbing and his "thoughts are with the victim and all those affected".
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the Met Police would be "providing extra resources in the area" following the attack.
"Every Londoner is entitled to feel safe in their place of worship," he tweeted. – BBC
Describing the harrowing event that took place, adviser to London Central Mosque Ayaz Ahmed told The Guardian: "When you had the scuffle, the muezzin obviously screeched [...] when he got attacked. The imam quickly ended the prayer and everyone just jumped because obviously no one knew what was happening […] it was a very distressing moment."
"The guy who gives the call to prayers [the muezzin] has been working here for 25 years […] five times a day he has been giving the call to prayer. He is a very respectable and well known man in the community. It’s just very shocking," he added.
"We have 24-hour security and security guards. There are security guards standing at the back, behind the prayer hall always. But obviously in that situation or scenario it's unforeseen [that] something like this would happen."
Ahmed also thanked law enforcement agencies and the ambulance service for their prompt response. "I called the ambulance service, they came immediately as well so a lot of gratitude to both the police and the ambulance services."
In a tweet on Friday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: "Places of worship should be sanctuaries — a safe haven. No one should be scared to attend mosques, churches, synagogues or temples."
The mayor added that in order to show solidarity with Muslims residing in London, he will offer prayers at the London Central Mosque.
Reacting to the incident on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said: "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."
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