UK mosques urged to step up security measures

Following an increase in racist attacks on Muslims in Britain, an American Islamic group has urged British mosques to install security facilities like panic alarms and safe rooms.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has discussed security measures with the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) in the wake of the killing of a British soldier in Woolwich, south-east London, warning that Muslims in Britain are now at greater risk than in any other western nation.

CAIR said that the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby has also incited racist attacks in the United States.

"From the outside it definitely seems UK mosques are more at risk than anywhere, including the States. There have been a number of recent incidents targeting UK mosques, groups like the English Defence League marching on mosques and a spike in violent right-wing groups,” CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper warned.

Since the Woolwich killing, around 12 mosques in Britain have been targeted by racist attacks, including one in Grimsby that was hit by three petrol bombs.

Meanwhile, a recent arson attack on a Muslim community centre in Muswell Hill, north London, is being investigated by the police after they found fresh graffiti reading “EDL”, which stands for the far-right anti-Islam group English Defence League, on the building’s walls.