Prayer leader stabbed in mosque attack says he forgives knifeman

A MUSLIM prayer leader returned to the mosque where he was stabbed and said he forgives his attacker.

Raafat Maglad, who is in his 70s, told how he was left with a “very deep cut” to his neck after he was knifed from behind on Thursday afternoon.

He was rushed to hospital but returned to the London Central Mosque in Regent’s

Park less than 24 hours later for Friday prayers.

A 29-year-old man is in custody after he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after he was tackled by worshippers.

With his right arm in a sling and a bandage over his wound, Mr Maglad, inset, said: “I forgive him. I feel very sorry for him.

What is done is done, he is not going to return.”

The muezzin, who makes the call to prayer, was stabbed at around 3pm in an attack the Metropolitan Police is not treating as terror-related.

Mr Maglad, originally from Sudan, said he had seen the attacker previously worshipping at the mosque. “He hit me. I just felt blood flowing from my neck and that’s it. They rushed me to the hospital, everything happened all of a sudden,” he said. Mr Maglad, who has been the muezzin for 30 years, said that as a Muslim he does not hold any hatred in his heart and that it was “very important” for him to attend Friday prayers.

“If I miss it, I just miss something very important. It is very important for us as Muslims.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan praised Mr Maglad after meeting him as he attended Friday prayers. “He was keen to return to the mosque and he is quite clear he is not going to allow this attack to stop him going about his business,” he said.

The stabbing, following a string of attacks on places of worship around the world, has prompted safety fears.

The Islamic Cultural Centre’s director general, Dr Ahmad Al Dubayan, said “everybody is worried” since the incident, which took place at a mosque that attracts around 2,000 people every Friday for midday prayers.

“These kind of attacks sometimes are copied by some people and that’s why we are worried,” he said. Those in charge will “evaluate” the level of security at the mosque, which already has CCTV.