The murder of a soldier in south London on Wednesday has prompted fears of a backlash against British Muslims after the English Defence League staged an impromptu rally in the capital and two mosques were attacked.
The BNP leader, Nick Griffin, has also reacted to the killing with provocative tweets calling for a protest in Woolwich and claiming the crime is the result of “mass immigration”.
Farooq Murad of the Muslim Council of Britain said the EDL’s rally in London on Wednesday night was cause for concern.
“When attacks like these happen there’s always the danger of far-right extremism also raising its head,” he told the BBC.
“I think any form of extremism, any form of encouragement or incitement to violence, is something we stand firmly against.”
The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, stressed that the murder should not be viewed as a religiously motivated crime, saying: “I want to make one obvious point that is that it is completely wrong to blame this killing on the religion of Islam and it is also equally wrong to link this murder to the actions of British foreign policy.”
The blame, the mayor added, lay “wholly and exclusively in the deluded mindset of the people who did it”.
Julie Siddiqi of the Islamic Society of Britain pointed out that the British Muslim community had been quick to condemn the atrocity and warned against letting the far right exploit the situation.
“We can’t allow the voices of Nick Griffin and the far right to become louder than ours in the coming days,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“They will say what we have to say and it gives us even more incentive to speak out and come together and not allow people like that to divide us as a country,” she said.
“The people who did this act yesterday do not speak in my name, do not speak for my community or the rest of the country. We have to come out with the strongest condemnation, which is what I’m seeing this morning.
“All of the Muslim organisations have come out with the strongest possible terms to say there is absolutely no excuse whatsoever, no justification for anything like this.
Scores of supporters of the English Defence League threw bottles at police and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in Woolwich hours after the murder of the soldier on Wednesday afternoon.
About 100 men, including some wearing balaclavas printed with “EDL”, engaged in running battles with police for less than an hour.
A police commander said officers cited section 60 of the Public Order Act, which allowed them to stop and search individuals within a specific area without evidence of a crime being committed.
The EDL leader Tommy Robinson said: “They’re chopping our soldiers’ heads off. This is Islam. That’s what we’ve seen today. They’ve cut off one of our army’s heads off on the streets of London.
“Our next generation are being taught through schools that Islam is a religion of peace. It’s not. It never has been. What you saw today is Islam. Everyone’s had enough. There has to be a reaction, for the government to listen, for the police to listen, to understand how angry this British public are.”
The men congregated near Woolwich Arsenal station with flags bearing the cross of St George after plans for a protest were circulated on social media. Hundreds of police including riot police were stationed around Woolwich.
Elsewhere, two men were arrested after separate attacks on mosques. A 43-year-old man is in custody on suspicion of attempted arson after reportedly walking into a mosque with a knife in Braintree, Essex. The secretary of the mosque, Sikander Saleemy, told Channel 4 News he felt it was a “revenge attack”.
He added: “The police said it’s too early to try and link it to what happened in Woolwich, but those of us who were here feel that it was some sort of revenge attack. It was clear from the man’s behaviour.
“We absolutely condemn what happened in Woolwich, but it had nothing to do with us. It was an appalling act of terror – but it wasn’t Islamic in any way. I wish it wasn’t described like that, because sadly people will now start to blame Muslims.”
Meanwhile, police in Kent were called to reports of criminal damage at a mosque in Canterbury Street, Gillingham, at 8.40pm. A spokesman said a man was in custody on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage.
Police in Manchester are investigating a “malicious” tweet sent after the attack. Greater Manchester police responded to people who had been offended by the message and raised the alarm on Wednesday night, tweeting: “For everyone who highlighted the Woolwich tweet thank you, we are aware and looking into it.” The tweet has since been deleted.
A spokesman for the force said on Thursday: “We take all reports of abuse on social media very seriously and are reviewing this matter to establish whether a criminal investigation is required.”