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Mosque attacked in Reading.

muslim news | 04.05.2003 14:47 | Oxford

Press release

The Muslim News


Mosque attacked in Reading

Jame Mosque in Reading was attacked in the early hours of Friday morning in the
latest Islamophobic incident to afflict the country’s 1.6 million Muslim
community, reports The Muslim News. Speculation was that the backlash could have
been caused by all the media hype about the latest suicide-bombing against
Israeli atrocities in the occupied territories being carried out by a British
citizen.

The Imam at Jame Mosque Yasir Hafiz told The Muslim News that he discovered a
window was broken when he woke for morning prayers at 4.30 am and later the
Mosque called the police. He said it was a particularly malicious attack because
the window was double glazed. Hafiz suggested that could be connected with the
backlash over the suicide bombing or may be linked with three other attacks that
have been carried out against mosques since the start of the war with Iraq.

Reading has a high ethnic-mix, with Muslims making up 4 per cent of the
residents, according to the latest census. The Mosque itself may also be an easy target for students being near
to the city’s university.

Secretary of the Mosque, Bashir Choudhury, described the attack as a “disgrace.”
He said he was very sad about the incident and did not know why it happened, but
also suggested that it could have been provoked by all the adverse publicity
against Muslims following the latest suicide bombing in the occupied
territories.

Editor of The Muslim News, Ahmed Versi, accused the media of launching a “new
witch-hunt” against Muslims. “The press has again been linking Islam with
terrorism, when this is certainly not the case,” he said. He also criticised
broadcasting organisations, in particular the BBC, for again focusing on
extremist groups and falsely portraying them as being representative of the
Muslim community.

Please acknowledge The Muslim News when using the extracts from the press
release.

The Muslim News
P.O. Box 380
Harrow
Middlesex
HA2 6LL
United Kingdom

muslim news

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

Doesn't have to be Zionists

04.05.2003 15:49

There are many Islamphobes who would have such a motive, and the same ppl tend to also be anti-semitic, a bit like the author (well cut 'n' paster) of this article. I have a feeling that this is another attempt blame the Jews for everything, the main body of the article doesn't mention Zionists or Jews, and anyway, very few Jews (and indeed Zionists, tho there are some), are Islamphobic.

Thomas J


conclusions

05.05.2003 00:35

this is a press release - any conclusions that you draw thomas J are your own.

mm


eh?

05.05.2003 03:27

where does it mention zionists at all?

confused


Re: eh?

06.05.2003 08:19

I think it has been edited by IMC to remove an incitement to religious war. Reading what is left, I would conclude the Imam is paranoid - drunks or hooligans could have broken his window..

Or, I wonder what that Mosque has done to stop the Sharia stoning of women - members supporting the planned Nigerian stoning to death of a woman buried up to her neck in the ground is a far more likely cause of an attack.

Those who are in spiritual unity with that action should go and live there, not try to impose their vicious ideology on this country. Those Moslems who are not should be publicly demonstrating en mass outside the relevant embassies.

Ilyan


we have more in common

06.05.2003 18:17

Wether the attack on the Jame mosque was politically motivated or not the fact is that meny people in Britain are becomeing more devided along racial and cultural lines. Islamic extreemism is on the incrase in Britian and so are facist groups like the B.N.P. Simalar reactions to simalar problems faced by essentially similar (working class) people. In my mind only the re assurgence of a strong workers' movenment can cut across this. History is litterd with examples of how this can be done (early US labour movenment, the anti poll tax campaign ect. ect...)

mac


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