Until Eid Starts
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Police and Fire crews were called to Masjid Al Falah in Cheetham Hill on Sunday 9th December 2018 at around 10.30pm after a fire had been started on the ground floor.
Police are treating the incident as a deliberate arson attack and have started investigations. Firefighters spent several hours battling to put out the flames which damaged building materials, windows, part of the ceiling and a carpet that the Mosque had only recently installed. The Mosque was undergoing refurbishment and the arson attack has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.
This is not the first time the Mosque has suffered from an attack. It has had it windows smashed several times in the past. The MCB has contacted the Mosque to offer support and will keep up to date with updates to the investigation.
Harun Khan, Secretary General of the MCB said, “It is concerning to see a pattern of arson attacks and damage to Mosques gradually increasing. Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident, but the fact that this Mosque has suffered from attacks before shows there is a real urgent need to take action against hate crimes against Mosques and places of worship. We need to see real progress against the Government’s Hate Crime Action Plan and leadership to tackle the scourge of Islamophobia in all the ways it manifests itself”.
Home Office statistics published this year found that hate crimes targeting Mosques and other Muslim places of worship more than doubled last year between 2016-2017.
Any witnesses or anyone with further information can contact GMP on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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