By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON (AA) – Mosques across the U.K. were strewn with flowers in a show of solidarity with Muslims in the wake of deadly terror attacks in New Zealand.
A bouquet of flowers was seen at the front door of the Finsbury Park Mosque in north London, a clear sign that the mass shooting which killed at least 49 Muslims had affected people from other faiths too.
“In memory of all those who died in the Christchurch mosque attacks. May they rest in eternal peace,” a note on the flowers by Patrick read.
A gunman opened fire on worshippers during Friday prayers at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Members of interfaith groups visited the mosques across London as the Metropolitan Police tightened security measures around the buildings.
A vigil held outside Finsbury Park metro station saw the attendance of representatives and members of Christian, Jewish, Hindu and other faiths.
The Finsbury Park Muslim Welfare Centre itself was a scene of a terror attack on Muslims in 2017 as a far right terrorist ploughed into a group of worshippers, killing a Muslim man and injuring more than 10 others.
Sarah Mullally, the Bishop of London, and Rev. Alan Green, chair of the Tower Hamlet Interfaith Forum, attended vigils held in Muslim centres.
In a similar gesture, tulips were handed out to Muslims arriving at Birmingham Central Mosque for Friday prayers by non-Muslim members of the community.
A group of volunteers on behalf of the Riverside Church in Moseley handed out flowers in a heartwarming gesture of solidarity, according to a report by local Birmingham Mail newspaper.
Members of the Birmingham Faith Leaders' Group also attended the service held to commemorate the New Zealand massacre victims.
Also on Friday, the U.K.’s Board of Deputies of British Jews said they “are horrified by this sickening terrorist attack against Muslims at mosques in New Zealand.”
“To the victims, the survivors, and their families, together with Muslims around the world who have been targets of rising hatred, whipped up by media hostility, we express our absolute and resolute solidarity, ” the Jewish board said in a statement.
