- Title: Muslims “frustrated†and “marginalised†in north London
- Date: 20th June 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JUNE 20, 2017) (REUTERS) FINSBURY PARK STATION VARIOUS OF TRAIN DRIVING OVER FINSBURY PARK STATION PEOPLE WALKING PAST POLICE OFFICERS OUTSIDE STATION POLICE OFFICERS GUARDING STATION TRAFFIC NEAR FINSBURY PARK FINSBURY PARK MOSQUE MINARET THREE WOMEN WEARING MUSLIM CLOTHING TALKING VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WEARING MUSLIM CLOTHING WALKING THROUGH FINSBURY PARK VARIOUS OF FINSBURY PARK MOSQUE PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE FLORAL TRIBUTES AT THE MOSQUE SIGN OUTSIDE THE MOSQUE READING (English): "LOVE WILL WIN, TERROR WILL LOSE" VARIOUS OF FINSBURY PARK RESIDENT, 34-YEAR-OLD HAMID SHAIKH, WALKING TOWARDS LOCATION WHERE THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FINSBURY PARK RESIDENT, 34 YEAR OLD HAMID SHAIKH, SAYING: "We immediately rushed towards it, not knowing much, and we saw the commotion, we saw the police cars and we saw the police had sealed off the Seven Sisters Road where the actual event happened and yeah, it was very shocking to be honest, to hear what happened." VARIOUS OF SHAIKH TALKING TO PEOPLE BY FLORAL TRIBUTES ON ROAD WHERE THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE / SIGN READING (English): LOVE WILL WIN, TERROR WILL LOSE (SOUNDBITE) (English) FINSBURY PARK RESIDENT, 34 YEAR OLD HAMID SHAIKH, SAYING: "So we can clearly see that there is this kind of double standards when it comes to media coverage, the way we cover for example a Muslim extremist and the way we cover a white far-right extremist. And this is, you know, clear to see for example when we had the killing of Jo Cox, when we had the mass murder by Anders Breivik, when there were mass shootings in America perpetrated by white males from the far right, none of these ever were described as neither a terrorist or a terrorist attack, rather they were all, you know, labelled for example "lone wolf" or "mentally disturbed", and this is a clear pattern that we have seen now for many, many years. Which you know, frustrates many within the Muslim community because we feel that we believe that terrorism and the label 'terrorist' should not be designed for a specific label or specific group of people. It should be used against anyone who wants to do harm to innocent people." VARIOUS OF MEDIA AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS IN FINSBURY PARK (SOUNDBITE) (English) FINSBURY PARK RESIDENT, 34 YEAR OLD HAMID SHAIKH, SAYING: "I have been the receiving end of Islamophobic attacks, not physically thank god, but I have received many verbal racial slurs. I know many people, especially women, who have had horrific physical assaults simply for maybe appearance, being Muslim and wearing a headscarf. It is very common to hear these stories." SHAIKH SPEAKING TO WOMAN BY TRIBUTES WHERE ATTACK HAPPENED VARIOUS OF DAMAGE TO ROAD CAUSED BY THE ATTACK VARIOUS OF WOMAN LAYING FLOWERS WHERE THE ATTACK HAPPENED MUSLIM BOOKSHOP STREET IN FINSBURY PARK VARIOUS OF UNION JACK FLAG FLYING IN FINSBURY PARK POLICE WALKING DOWN STREET FLOWERS OUTSIDE MUSLIM WELFARE HOUSE POLICE WALKING PAST MUSLIM WELFARE HOUSE SIGNS READING (English): "UNITED AGAINST ALL TERROR / RACIST TERROR = ISIS TERROR" (SOUNDBITE) (English) CEO OF FINSBURY PARK'S MUSLIM WELFARE HOUSE, TOUFIK KACIMI, SAYING: "Most of Muslims feel like they are marginalised, and not well looked after, we would like the government to work with us, hand-in-hand, instead of working against us. We feel like we are part of the solution, we are not part of the problem." SIGN OUTSIDE FINSBURY PARK MOSQUE READING (English): "FIGHT AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA" FINSBURY PARK MOSQUE / WALL OF TRIBUTES CANDLE BURNING FLORAL TRIBUTES SIGN READING (English): "STAND TOGETHER FINSBURY PARK"
- Embargoed: 4th July 2017 18:20
- Keywords: security faith muslim Finsbury park attack community mosque flowers police
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
- Reuters ID: LVA0016M32GQV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Finsbury Park, north London, is a very multicultural part of Britain's capital.
It is where in the early hours of Monday (June 19), a man drove a vehicle into a group of worshippers, mainly of North and West African origin, after they left prayers at the Muslim Welfare House and nearby Finsbury Park Mosque, one of the biggest in Britain.
Police said it was clearly targeted at Muslims and Prime Minister Theresa May described it as a "sickening" terrorist attack.
Thirty-four- year old Hamid Shaikh, whose day job is a postman, has grown up in north London.
He regularly attends Finsbury Park Mosque, and rushed to the scene as soon as he heard the news on Monday. He said he was shocked at what he saw.
Shaikh said on Tuesday (June 20) that the Muslim community felt frustrated by how media covers attacks committed by far right extremists, in comparison to Islamist extremists.
"There is this kind of double standards," he said. "We believe that terrorism and the label 'terrorist' should not be designed for a specific label or specific group of people. It should be used against anyone who wants to do harm to innocent people."
In the initial hours after the incident, there was frustration that it hadn't been officially labelled as a terrorist attack. Shaikh later said he was glad both the media and government officials portrayed the attack's seriousness the following day.
In the wake of attacks on Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge this year, the number of hate crimes against Muslims has risen. Shaikh himself has experienced Islamophobia first-hand.
"I have received many verbal racial slurs. I know many people, especially women, who have had horrific physical assaults simply for maybe appearance, being Muslim and wearing a headscarf. It is very common to hear these stories," he said, outside Finsbury Park Mosque.
Just down the road, the CEO of the Muslim Welfare House felt similar frustrations. He said the Muslim community feels marginalised and wants to help solve the problem of Islamophobia.
"We are part of the solution," he said.
The suspect of Monday's attack was named by British media as Darren Osborne, 47, a father-of-four, who lived in the Welsh capital Cardiff.
He was restrained by locals at the scene and police later arrested him on suspicion of attempted murder and terrorism offences. He is still being questioned by detectives. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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