Regent's Park prayer leader returns to mosque hours after being stabbed in neck

A Muslim prayer leader has returned to the mosque he was stabbed at just hours after being attacked.

Raafat Maglad, who is in his 70s, a muezzin who makes the call to prayer, was attacked inside London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park on Thursday afternoon.

He was taken to hospital and seen with dressing to a wound on the right of his neck, but today has been pictured outside his home smiling, with his right arm in a sling.

He went to the mosque, accompanied by security, just after 12.30pm.

He had told the Evening Standard he felt “lucky” and felt he had been hit with a brick in the attack, which happened while he was praying.

Maglad added: “This attack won’t change my behaviour. Nothing will stop me praying, and I will be back calling prayers as soon as I can.”

He told reporters on Friday: “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.”

Asked if he knew the attacker he said: “This (mosque) is multinational, you don’t know who is walking in and out.

“I forgive him. I feel very sorry for him,” he said.

He added that as a Muslim he does not hold any hatred in his heart.

“What is done is done, he is not going to return,” he said, adding it was important to attend Friday prayers as a Muslim.

Witnesses described how Maglad was stabbed at about 3pm yesterday.

The Met is not treating in incident as terror-related and a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder at the mosque after worshippers tackled him.

The attack followed a string of attacks on religious sites around the world.

Ayaz Ahmad, adviser to the mosque, said: “Everybody’s reaction was shock and horror, the men were screaming.

“It was a vicious attack. We live in a society where we hear a lot about knife crime and what have you, but actually to physically be in a situation where you’re first-hand watching an attempted murder take place, it’s very shocking.”

Shaukat Warraich, chief executive of non-theological group Faith Associates, said: “Regent’s Park is the most iconic mosque in London because of its size and location, but it is probably also the most secure in terms of what they have and resources and manpower.

“But generally mosques are soft targets. Most don’t have any security apart from some CCTV.

“What we are seeing now is definitely a change in behaviour – women have stopped going and some children too, they have been advised by the menfolk not to come to prayer in the evenings and to worship at home instead, because there are concerns about being attacked at prayer or on the way to the mosques.

“People are looking over their shoulders, 100%.”