- TitlePig remains dumped in mosque hate attack
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- MaterialArticle
- NotesIslington Tribune filed at A-Z periodicals (Islington Local History Centre)
Islington’s new community safety chief has called on police to “expend every effort” in their bid to catch a man who threw pig remains into the grounds in the latest attack on Finsbury Park Mosque.
Councillor Andy Hull said “actions speak louder than words” when it comes to police efforts to stamp out hate crime.
A pig’s head and fake anthrax have been left at the mosque in separate incidents, and an unsuccessful firebomb attack was staged in November last year. All have so far gone unpunished.
“Despite the best efforts of police some people who have perpetrated hate crimes against the mosque have got away with it,” Cllr Hull said.
A bag containing pork sausages and meat remains was found in the grounds of the mosque in St Thomas’s Road in the early hours of last Thursday.
Police have issued a CCTV image of a man they would like to speak to in connection with the incident.
“It is really important every effort is expended to catch this guy,” Cllr Hull said.
He welcomed the fact that police were treating the incident as a hate crime, but added: “Actions speak louder than words. The best thing police can do to encourage people to come forward and report these kinds of crime in future is for them to see this guy brought to justice now.”
He added that two people who had been sending threatening messages to the mosque via social media were caught.
Cllr Hull is developing a new hate crime strategy with Islington Council.
On Tuesday, he is meeting representatives from the police, prisons and courts to discuss what more can be done to stamp out hate crime.
Mosque chairman Mohammed Kozbar said of the latest incident: “This is really quite offensive to us. We are taking it very seriously.”
In November, a man set a jerry can of petrol alight and threw it over the gates but it did not catch fire. No one has yet been caught for the failed arson attempt.
Mr Kozbar said: “We want to put a very strong message out there that we will not put up with this. We want to see this guy prosecuted and behind bars. Ramadan is coming up soon and we will be very busy – we have to deal with this.”
In March, MP Jeremy Corbyn organised a meeting at the mosque to discuss an increasing number of Islamophobic attacks on women in the community.
Detective Inspector Ralph Coates, of Islington Community Safety Unit, said: “We take hate crime extremely seriously as we know how destructive these offences can be, both to individuals and to communities.
“I would urge anyone who recognises this man or has any information that will help the investigation to contact police.”
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