On 1st August, a Rotherham mosque received a bomb threat. Less than three weeks later a man has been arrested and is being questioned.
The bomb threat arrived by post in a letter – not so much a letter as a scrappy note – saying simply “Next time it will be a bomb you Muslim scrum”. It was sent to the Jamia Masjid Abu Bakr mosque in the Eastwood part of Rotherham. Sabir Hussain, secretary of the Mosque, told the BBC that the Mosque was the target of abuse on an almost daily basis, but this bomb threat appeared genuine and was both appalling and very frightening.
Anti-terror officers agreed the note constituted a credible threat and investigated – as well as advising all mosques in Rotherham how to take extra security measures. There are reports that similar letters have recently been sent to a range of addresses in north, central and west England.
Early in the morning of 19th August, police arrested a 43-year old man from Plymouth under the Malicious Communications Act. He remains in custody and investigations are continuing.
Muslims in Rotherham have been feeling increasingly isolated by a number of factors. First, the Jay inquiry into sexual exploitation of young women and girls in the area had caused tensions because the exploiters were mostly of Pakistani origin, which had put the whole community under a cloud. Second, there had been a great deal of overt right wing activity locally – which had been given an extra boost by the racism and xenophobia expressed during the referendum campaign.
There have been several attacks on mosques this year, mostly in terms of offensive materials being thrown at buildings – but this is throught to be the first credible bomb threat.
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