In recent days, the Muslim Council of Britain has sounded the alarm about the security of mosques, and the need to provide more protection equipment for Muslim places of worship, after the increase in racist attacks on them.
Finsbury Park Mosque in the British capital, London, stands out as the mosque that has been most attacked on a racist background, especially after witnessing an incident that ran over a number of worshipers in 2019.
The director of the mosque, Muhammad Kuzbar, says that the quarantine period witnessed a rise in racist messages received by the mosque “by phone and e-mail, as well as through letters thrown inside the mosque.”
Kuzbar stressed, in a statement, that “the extreme right fuels hatred against Muslims, and some politicians are taking advantage of events such as the assassination of a parliamentarian by a young man of Muslim origin, to promote dangerous messages against Muslims.”
The director of the mosque does not hide his frustration with the British police’s interaction with these events. He says, “We report every incident, but in the end the result is not satisfactory and the investigations are closed.”
The council released a 6-step guide to enhance the security of mosques and protect them from any attacks fueled by “Islamophobia” (prejudice, hatred and fear of Islam or Muslims).
The Council stressed that this evidence has become an urgent necessity, after worrying indications about the increase in hate crimes against Muslims, and Muslim women in particular.
The guide stipulates the necessity of appointing a security team for the mosque, training people to secure mosques’ educational centers, and appointing a mosque spokesman to speak to the media in the event of any attack.
The Council stresses the existence of a monitoring system for all gates and corners, ensuring that the required recordings are provided in the event of any accident, and seeking advice from specialized companies to find out if the mosque building has the technologies required for security.
