Muslim leaders voice 'deep alarm' after Edinburgh attacks which left five injured
‘There is a profound sense of shock, alarm and anger within Muslim communities’ - Omar Afzal
Muslim leaders in Scotland have voiced "deep alarm" after five men were injured in a series of violent attacks across Edinburgh.
A 36-year-old white Scottish man was arrested after the attacks on Friday night and counter terrorism police are investigating.
Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton described the attacks as "shocking" and said: “I want to send a clear message of support to all our communities that there is no place for racism or faith-based hate in a Scotland which is at its best when we stand together."
Police received the first call, at about 8.50pm on Friday, to the Sighthill area, where two men were injured and taken to hospital by ambulance.
Reports were then received about other incidents around retailers across the west and north of the city.
Three other men were attacked in the Telford Road and Leith Walk area, suffering differing injuries, before a 36-year-old man was detained by police around 9.30pm.
In a statement, the Scottish Association of Mosques expressed deep alarm and said the attacks had targeted Muslims and members of ethnic minority communities.
The statement said: "A number of individuals were assaulted across different parts of the city, including incidents in Leith, Broomhouse and Telford Road.
"Among those injured were two young worshippers from the Broomhouse Muslim community who were reportedly attacked after attending prayers at their local mosque. Both men remain in hospital and are understood to be in a stable condition.”
Omar Afzal, director of public affairs for the Scottish Association of Mosques, said: "There is a profound sense of shock, alarm and anger within Muslim communities across Edinburgh and Scotland today.
"These latest attacks are deeply disturbing. However, they do not exist in a vacuum. For years, Muslim communities have warned about the consequences of anti-Muslim hatred becoming normalised in public discourse.
"When prejudice is left unchallenged, it creates an environment in which some individuals feel emboldened to act on that hatred. What we are witnessing is targeted hatred spilling over into criminal violence at a time when anti-migrant and anti-Muslim mobilisation is being openly promoted online.
"Extremist groups appear increasingly confident in displaying both their presence and their intentions in public. Muslims across Scotland are reporting growing levels of hostility in their everyday lives.
"Communities are increasingly asking whether enough is being done to confront the underlying drivers of this hatred before it escalates further.
"These incidents should serve as a wake-up call to all of us. The time for treating these incidents as isolated events has passed. Scotland requires a coordinated national strategy to tackle anti-Muslim hatred, address the conditions in which extremism flourishes, and ensure that minority communities can live their lives free from fear."
Several video clips have been posted on social meda, including one showing police detaining a man who is face down on the ground and a voice says: "Dude took his top off, ran down the street after people with a machete, screaming. On the plus side, I don't think anyone was actually hurt and he's currently contained."
Another shows a bare-chested man run across the road, then kicking and hammering repeatedly on the door of a takeaway shop before walking away again.
And a third shows a topless man walking around carrying what appears to be a large knife at a petrol station.