King’s visit ‘means a lot to us’: Imam of mosque attacked in UK riots

Britain’s King Charles visited first responders and community members in Southport, where three young girls were killed in a knife attack which sparked nationwide anti-immigration riots.

Imam Ibrahim Hussein, Imam (prayer leader) at the Southport mosque, recalls being trapped inside the local mosque as rioters threw bricks outside. “We felt the whole thing shaking, and we had to do our prayers in the middle of all this,” he says, adding that King Charles “has always been championing the cause of the Muslim and Islam” and his visit “means a lot to us.”

The King, known for his particular affinity with Muslims, had previously met with survivors of the 29th July stabbing in which 10 people were also injured, eight of them children.

Ibrahim Hussein, the Imam of Southport Mosque stated, “We are in multicultural Britain, you know, we don’t expect that at all. We don’t expect some people to pick on a minority and say, ‘they are the cause’.”

Imam Hussein deeply acknowledged how the entire community stood with them during this difficult time. He said, “The community – it brings tears to your eyes – because they were there before we were, and they were cleaning up and they were tidying up, and they said, ‘you don’t have to do anything, we’ll do everything’.”

He appreciated the King’s gesture as he chose to visit the mosque in person, saying “It means quite a lot, actually, because His Majesty, to take time of his heavy schedule and he comes to support a small town like this, it means a lot to us. ”

The Imam was all praises for the King always having been a friend to Muslims: “His Majesty has always been championing the cause of the Muslim and Islam, and he always embraced it, and he always brought out the good side and what the Muslims have contributed to humanity.”