An image of a man being held down by police officers at a London mosque. Murshid Habib / Twitter
An image of a man being held down by police officers at a London mosque. Murshid Habib / Twitter
An image of a man being held down by police officers at a London mosque. Murshid Habib / Twitter
An image of a man being held down by police officers at a London mosque. Murshid Habib / Twitter

Man stabbed at London mosque


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  • Arabic

A knifeman stabbed a muezzin in the neck at one of London's largest mosques during afternoon prayers, police said on Thursday.

The injured victim, in his seventies, had intervened to prevent the imam from being attacked at London Central Mosque in Regent's Park, witnesses said.

Rafaat Maglad was leading the call to prayer at the busy mosque when he was stabbed with a kitchen knife.

The attacker, 29, reportedly said nothing during the attack but was grappled to the ground and held by worshippers.

Scotland Yard confirmed the attacker had been attending prayers at the mosque but the incident was not being treated as terror-related.

The attacker was an "unknown individual", London Central Mosque said.

A video on Twitter showed a man with a red top sitting cross-legged after being detained by a man in uniform.

He was led away by five police officers after being arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

"The guy was behind him and he came up with a knife," said worshipper Abdulsalam Watik, 59.

"Then we heard screams. We didn’t know what had happened. He was waiting for us before it started."

Mr Watik said he had seen the attacker before because he had been attending prayers at the mosque for about six months.

“It was 30 seconds of mayhem,” Ayaz Ahmad told Sky News.

The Metropolitan Police said that the victim's injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

Walid Mohammed, 39, who was at the mosque, said: “I personally know Rafaat. He’s genuinely a softly spoken person. He’s someone everyone would say hi to.

“If that could happen to such a lovely man, perhaps we all have to watch our backs when we’re here to pray.”

Mr Maglad was a long-term official at the mosque and had spoken about the 1997 funeral prayers of Dodi Fayed, who died in the car crash that killed Diana, Princess of Wales.

London interfaith leader Mustafa Field said it was unclear what had actually happened.

"Last week we had Britain First threatening mosques in northern Britain," Mr Field said. "We hope that this incident is not linked to extremism.

"But we don’t know what has actually happened. The community in London wants to show that they care and will not be divided."

Fiyaz Mughal, founder of monitor Tell Mama, which charts anti-Muslim violence, told The National: "My colleagues over the past decade have seen a rise in targeting of mosques.

"The bigger picture is clearly there's a risk to faith institutions. The government has to have a programme for security for mosques. We need a fund focused on them."

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted to say he was "deeply saddened" by the attack.

"It's so awful that this should happen, especially in a place of worship," Mr Johnson said. "My thoughts are with the victim and all those affected."

A leading Jewish organisation condemned the attack.

“We must learn lessons from history, stop the spread of intolerance and give it no quarter in our politics, media or society,” said Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.

Police are to step up their presence in the area, said Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.

“Every Londoner is entitled to feel safe in their place of worship and I want to reassure London’s communities that acts of violence in our city will not be tolerated,” Mr Khan wrote on Twitter.

The mosque was closed after the attack as police launched an investigation.

The incident came less than 24 hours after a gun rampage in Germany left 10 dead.

Officials there blamed an extremist who wanted to attack people from the Middle East.

The Regent's Park mosque was built in the 1970s with donations from the rulers of Saudi Arabia and from Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding President.

The attack is the latest to target mosques in the UK, with campaigners highlighting a sharp rise in anti-Muslim violence.

Armed police were called in May after a gunman entered a mosque in east London during Ramadan prayers, and fired a weapon before he was chased out by worshippers.

In June 2017, a right-wing extremist drove a van into a group of Muslims outside the Finsbury Park mosque in north London, killing one man and injuring 10.

Darren Osborne was later convicted of murder after being radicalised online and jailed for a minimum of 43 years.

TALE OF THE TAPE

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Reading List

Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:

Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung

How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever

Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays

How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen

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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.

The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.

“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.

“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”

Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.

Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.

“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

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What drives subscription retailing?

Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.

The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.

The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.

The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.

UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.

That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.

Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.

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Winner Shanaghai City, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.

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Get inspired

Here are a couple of Valentine’s Day food products that may or may not go the distance (but have got the internet talking anyway).

Sourdough sentiments: Marks & Spencer in the United Kingdom has introduced a slow-baked sourdough loaf dusted with flour to spell out I (heart) you, at £2 (Dh9.5). While it’s not available in the UAE, there’s nothing to stop you taking the idea and creating your own message of love, stencilled on breakfast-inbed toast.  

Crisps playing cupid: Crisp company Tyrells has added a spicy addition to its range for Valentine’s Day. The brand describes the new honey and chilli flavour on Twitter as: “A tenderly bracing duo of the tantalising tingle of chilli with sweet and sticky honey. A helping hand to get your heart racing.” Again, not on sale here, but if you’re tempted you could certainly fashion your own flavour mix (spicy Cheetos and caramel popcorn, anyone?).