OLDHAM – Hours after a deadly attack in Manchester Arena, a mosque in Oldham, Greater Manchester, was badly damaged after being set on fire by arsonist.
“At around 2.55am on Tuesday 23 May police were called to reports of an arson attack in Oldham,” a police spokeswoman told The Independent.
“No one was injured and enquires are on-going.”
The door of the Jamia Qasmia Zahidia Islamic Centre in Oldham, Greater Manchester, was set alight and badly damaged.
News was confirmed later at Victoria Park mosque in Manchester, where imams from across the city gathered to pray for the victims of the concert blast, Buzzfeed News reported.
The imam, Mohammad Saddiq, told The Daily Mail that a member of the public called the fire brigade and nobody was inside the building at the time.
“We have no idea why somebody would target us. We are a religious and educational center. I’ve been involved her for three years and never dealt with anything like this,” he said.
CCTV shows a man walking up to the front door and setting fire to it at around 3am.
“There’s a possibility that it’s retaliation to what happened in Manchester last night but we can’t confirm that,” he added.
Hamad Mukhtar Irfani, a committee member at the mosque, told the Manchester Evening News: “It’s absolutely disgusting. It’s a disgrace someone would do this. There is no place for this kind of thing.
“Of course it’s in relation to what happened earlier in the night, but I know, you know and I hope everyone knows it’s barbaric people who do that kind of attack on innocent people.
According to Saddleworth News, Labour MP Debbie Abrahams condemned the suspected arson attack.
Debbie Abrahams condemns attack on Oldham Mosque last night. Debbie said she condemns both the Manchester attack and the one on the Mosque. pic.twitter.com/kIqevZSOA9
— SADDLEWORTH NEWS (@saddleworthnews) May 23, 2017
Hate Not Tolerated
Detective Inspector Ian Harratt of Greater Manchester Police said: “In the wake of the atrocities that happened at the Manchester Arena, this man thought it was acceptable to deface and set fire to a local mosque.
“This behavior will not be tolerated. We are standing shoulder to shoulder with the community in Oldham and all the people who treasure this mosque as a place of worship.
“We have been working with people in the local community and the council to make sure that people realize there is zero tolerance around vindictive acts of this nature.
“If you recognize the man in the images, or the bike that he used, I’m urging you to please come forward because hate crime will not be tolerated at all in Greater Manchester. Stand up and be counted, you can make a difference in stopping acts like this happening again.”
Muslim taxi drivers were praised for offering victims and other concert-goers free lifts home after the explosion, directing passengers to safe places to be picked up, as well as offering water and helping to charge their mobile phones.
The attack has been widely condemned by British Muslim leaders, including the Muslim Council of Britain and Manchester’s Ramadhan Foundation.
The mosque that Manchester Arena bomber attended, Manchester Islamic Centre and Didbury Mosque, issued a statement on Tuesday saying its “thoughts and prayers” are with the 22 killed, including youngest victim Saffie Roussos, 8.
“The Manchester Islamic Centre & Didsbury Mosque condemns the horrific incident in Manchester on Monday”, it said.
“The thoughts and prayers of Manchester Islamic Centre is with the victims, their families, their friends and the Manchester community as a whole.”