fbpx
Search Donate

Show results for
  • News
  • Videos
  • Action Alerts
  • Events
  • Resources
  • MEND

Envelopes containing “white powder” sent to UK mosques

Envelopes containing “white powder” sent to UK mosques

Categories: Latest News

Friday July 08 2016

The London Evening Standard reports on envelopes containing “white powder” which have been sent to mosques in Leyton, Tottenham and   Finsbury Park. Envelopes containing the substance has the words “P*** filth” written on them and one bore an image of a mosque with a line crossed through it.

Noor ul Islam mosque in Leyton received an envelope containing white powder and “offensive language”.

The Muslim Welfare House mosque and centre in north London also received an envelope and several other locations have been targeted including a business address in Canning Town.

The news comes a day after parts of Parliament were sealed off to investigate the receipt of an envelope containing white powder by Muslim peer, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham.

Specialist officers in hazard suits attended the various locations where envelopes had been sent. It is believed the white substance is chalk.

A worshipper at Masjid Ayesha, in Tottenham wrote on a Facebook post concerning the incident: “A committee member from the mosque called the police after his dad felt itchy from the white powder.

“What was alarming however was how the police had been to six other mosques today [which] were sent the exact same type of package.”

“Someone somewhere is trying to send the Muslim community in the UK a message. And whether we like it or not Islamaphobia is real,” he added.

Police confirmed the incidents are being investigated by the North East Counter Terrorism Unit following similar incidents reported in Yorkshire.

It is not the first time suspicious packages have been sent to mosques in the UK. In 2011, five mosques in London were in a state of high alert after packages were received containing white powder.

The Metropolitan Police Commissioner recently announced an escalation in anti Muslim and racist hate crimes in the capital following the Brexit vote saying the force had recorded three hate crimes an hour in the days following the referendum. With the high rate of under-reporting of hate crime, the actual number of incidents is likely to be much higher.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has vowed a “zero tolerance” policy on hate crime in London.

Newsletter

Find out more about MEND, sign up to our email newsletter

Get all the latest news from MEND straight to your inbox. Sign up to our email newsletter for regular updates and events information

reCAPTCHA