HERO OF THE MOSQUE
Imam stops angry victims from attacking suspect
AN imam bravely stopped an angry crowd battering a terror suspect who had driven a van into Muslims.
Mohammed Mahmoud threw himself over Darren Osborne, inset, at a London mosque despite the horrific attack. Mohammed said: “We managed to protect him.”
The imam’s sister Marian said: “He is a hero.”
AN imam who rescued terror suspect Darren Osborne from a furious mob yesterday told how he feared the alleged attacker would be seriously harmed.
With no thoughts for his own safety, Mohammed Mahmoud threw himself on the 47-year-old to shield him from the blows and kicks raining down.
Osborne was set upon after he allegedly drove a van into a crowd of worshippers outside a mosque late at night.
One witness claimed he heard him shout “I’m going to kill all Muslims” and “I’ve done my bit”.
But brave Mohammed stepped in to stop him coming to any further harm until police arrived. He shouted at the mob: “Do not touch him.” The Muslim leader’s sister Marian said: “He is a hero.
“What he did was incredible. We are so proud of him. He is a peaceful, good Muslim his actions don’t surprise us. He does not want more violence.” Mohammed leapt into action after the van was driven at worshippers helping a man who had collapsed outside Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park, North London. But Mohammed tried to play down his heroics. He said: “By God’s grace we managed to surround him and protect him from any harm. We stopped all forms of attack and abuse that were coming from every angle. Some tried to hit him, either kicks or punches.”
His friends flagged down a passing police vehicle as the crowd continued their bid to attack Osborne.
Mohammed added: “We told them there’s a mob attempting to hurt him. If you don’t take him God forbid he might be seriously hurt.
“So we pushed people away from him until he was safely taken by police and put into the back of the van. And that’s all that we did. It wasn’t me alone, there were a group of brothers.
“We managed to calm people down and to extinguish any flames of anger or mob rule that would have taken charge had this group of mature brothers not stepped in.”
The man who collapsed died at the scene but it is not known if that was as a result of the alleged attack. Ten people were injured in the carnage at around 12.02am and were last night being treated in hospital. Witnesses Adil Rana, 24, said: “The van was driving towards us to try to hit us at speed, everyone was shocked and people were screaming. There were people on the floor. “The driver jumped out and he was pinned down to the floor and people were punching him and beating him. And then the imam of the mosque came out and said, ‘Don’t hit him, hand him over to the police, pin him down’. “He [the suspect] gestured and mocked the crowds as he was taken away by police. When he got arrested, he was taunting, saying, ‘I’d do it again, I’d do it again.’” Abdulrahman Saleh Alamoudi told he was helping the collapsed
What he did was just incredible. We are so proud of him MARIAN SISTER OF IMAM MOHAMMED MAHMOUD
elderly worshipper when the van swerved towards them. He said: “This big van just came and went all over us.
“I think eight or 10 people got injured. I escaped. And then the guy came out of his van and I got him.
“He was screaming, he was saying, ‘I’m going to kill all Muslims.’ He was throwing punches. Then we managed to get him on the floor. He was saying, ‘Kill me.’ I said, ‘We are not going to kill you. Why did you do that?’”
The suspected terror attack is the fourth in the UK in recent weeks.
Osborne was arrested over the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorism including murder and attempted murder. After being held, mobile phone footage showed him smiling and blowing kisses from a police van. The suspect, from Cardiff, was thrown out of his local pub for allegedly ranting about Islam and calling regulars “inbred” just a day before the mosque attack.
Jack Norman, 20, was one of the men who said he kicked him out of the Holly Bush. He claimed: “He was a big fella and being really intimidating having a go at people for sleeping with Muslims.
“Shouting at people that they were taking over and he was going to stop it all. He was getting aggressive so me and the lads said we’ve had enough of you and your hate, mate, get out.”
But Osborne’s sister Nicola, 50, speaking at the family home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, said: “He’s not interested in terrorism.”
Neighbours claimed the suspect had a “privileged life” and was a “hot and cold” character. But friend Damien Marley said: “I speak to him every morning, our kids are friends, he has never come out with anything like this ever before. No one had a clue he thought this way. Everyone is in shock.”
Osborne was born in Singapore but moved Weston-super-Mare. He later settled in Cardiff with his wife and children. His home there was yesterday being searched by officers.
He is believed to have hired the vehicle from Pontyclun Van Hire, 15 miles away. The company said: “We are shocked and saddened by the incident.”