Police crackdown on religious hate crime
Chiefs in pledge to Muslims after killing of shopkeeper
ANY sectarian conflict, hatred or extremism following the death of shopkeeper Asad Shah will be ‘dealt with swiftly and strongly’, police warned yesterday.
They have attempted to allay the fears of the Muslim community after the popular newsagent was killed in what police described as ‘religiously charged’ attack.
Two senior police officers have written to mosques, charities and other groups.
Mr Shah, 40, suffered multiple stab wounds and head injuries in the attack outside his shop in Glasgow’s South Side and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
A 32-year- old man arrested by police over the killing is expected to appear in Glasgow Sheriff Court today. It is understood detectives are probing whether the attacker may have become enraged over Mr Shah’s posts on social media.
The l etter was written by Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Ruaraidh Nicolson and Commander Mak Chishty, Lead for Race, Religion and Belief at the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
It has also been sent to the various local policing commanders in Greater Glasgow to be circulated in their communities.
Addressed to ‘community friends’ they wrote: ‘We would like to reassure you that we will be working very closely with all communities, and any sectarian conflict, hatred or extremism will be dealt with swiftly and strongly.
‘We are proud of our community cohesion.
‘Through continuing to work and engage with our communities we will ensure they remain safe and are always protected.
The police chiefs said they were unable to discuss details of the case, but added: ‘What we are able to say, having engaged with many denominations within the Muslim communities, is that they all resolutely condemn any form of hatred, extremism and violence.’
They said their main aim now is to ‘ensure that justice is delivered for Mr Shah, his family and indeed the wider community’ and assured those concerned that additional police patrols have been arranged to offer reassurance at ‘this difficult time’.
Mr Shah was a Muslim and belonged to the Ahmadiyya sect, which preaches ‘love for all, hatred for none’.
But its members are despised as non-Muslim blasphemers by some in the Islamic world.
The shop keeped was attacked on Thursday night on Minard Road in the Shawlands area hours after posting on Facebook ‘Good Friday and very happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation’.
It is thought the killer travelled hundreds of miles from Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Officers investigating the murder seized an Uber taxi parked near the shop at 2.30pm on Friday.
Over the weekend Mr Shah’s fami l y, originally f rom Pakistan, revealed they were ‘fearful for their own security’ in the wake of his death.
Last night a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for Mr Shah’s family reached more than £80,000 in just three days. More than 3,500 have donated.
‘Ensure justice is delivered’