A White Man Drove a Van Into Muslim Worshippers in an Act of Terrorism

A man drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians near a London mosque on Monday morning. The New York Times reported that it was an act of terrorism meant to target Muslim people as a possible response to the attacks committed by Islamist extremists in the country this spring.

A 48-year-old white man drove into a group of worshippers as they finished their prayers around midnight. This all took place at the Finsbury Park Mosque and a nearby community center called the Muslim Welfare House, according to The New York Times.

One man died and 10 others were injured, with eight of them being transported to the hospital. Witnesses said the man intentionally hit the pedestrians. Bystanders in the North London neighborhood stopped the driver from leaving the scene and an imam (prayer leader) prevented a mob from forming and harming the attacker. The driver was taken into police custody, and the imam, Mohammed Mahmoud, is being praised for his brave actions to promote peace even among violence.  

This attack comes after other acts of terrorism in the United Kingdom, namely the Manchester attack at the Ariana Grande concert and a stabbing and car attack that hit people on the Westminster Bridge.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the Finsbury attack was classified as a terrorist attack within eight minutes, but some Muslims questioned whether there was a delay in labeling it terrorism because the victims were Muslim.

“We call on politicians to treat this major incident no less than a terrorist attack,” the Muslim Association of Britain said in a statement to Times. “We call on the government to do more to tackle this hateful evil ideology, which has spread over these past years and resulted in an increase of Islamophobic attacks and division of our society, as well as spreading of hate.”

They’re standing up against a tiered system by which criminals of different ethnicities can be treated differently by law enforcement. It’s crucial for people to recognize that terrorism committed against Muslims is as atrocious as that committed by Islamist extremists, which may have sparked this retaliation against innocent mosque attendees. 

"It is a reminder that terrorism, extremism and hatred take many forms; and our determination to tackle them must be the same whoever is responsible,” May said, according to the BBC.

Twitter users reacted to the attack with grief and anger: 

President Donald Trump has yet to tweet about the attack.