London mosque attack: Muezzin returns day after being stabbed

The Muezzin who was stabbed in the neck in front of hundreds of horrified onlookers, has returned to Regent’s Park mosque a day after the incident.

Septuagenarian Raafat Maglad who is the mosque’s muezzin said he was sorry for the alleged attacker, who was wrestled to the ground on Thursday after what one witness described as “30 seconds of mayhem.”

Asserting that as a Muslim he does not hold any hatred in his heart Maglad said “I forgive him. I feel very sorry for him. What is done is done, he is not going to return.”

With his arm in a sling Maglad was escorted in to the mosque by security. Saying that it was “very important” for him to attend Friday prayers, he added: “If I miss it, I just miss something very important. It is very important for us as Muslims”.

A 29-year-old man who is believed to have been attending prayers was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of attempted murder inside the mosque, officially known as London Central Mosque.