A man suspected of setting a worshipper on fire after leaving a mosque in central England asked his victim if he spoke Arabic before setting him alight and “casually walking off”, witnesses have claimed.
The alleged assailant, who had been attending the mosque in Birmingham for about three weeks, was arrested the following day after reportedly returning to pray.
On Thursday, police said he had been charged with two counts of attempted murder after linking the incident to a similar attack in west London in February.
West Midlands Police said Mohammed Abbkr, 28, from Edgbaston in Birmingham, will appear at Birmingham Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The force said Mr Abbkr is alleged to have sprayed a substance on two men and set it alight in separate attacks, in Ealing on February 27 and Birmingham on Monday.
Mohammed Rayaz, 70, was set alight on his way back from Dudley Road Mosque in the Edgbaston area of the city at about 7pm on Monday.
Witnesses said his son was heard shouting at the scene “my dad’s on fire”.
Shahbon Hussain, the family’s spokesman and lawyer, told The Daily Telegraph he was one of the first on the scene.
He said: “He spoke Arabic to him. He asked ‘do you speak Arabic?’ and he said, ‘no, I speak Urdu or Punjabi’, and then he tried to walk off — at that point he threw fuel on him.
“My guess is he has mental health problems and he is looking for a vulnerable old man and an easy target.
“He’s got a bit of a cockney accent but mainly a foreign accent.”
Mr Rayaz remains in hospital with severe injuries. Reports suggest he has burns to his hands, face and body.
Police said the incident was connected to a similar attack on a man walking back from West London Islamic Centre in Ealing on February 27.
Mr Abbkr, described as of North African origin, was arrested on Tuesday.
Sahir Adam, secretary general of Dudley Road Mosque, said a man came into the mosque and sat down before the attack.
“He was pointing in the wrong direction,” Mr Adam said. “I continued watching the CCTV, observing all the way.
“I thought when he comes downstairs I will confront him, rather than inside the mosque. At that point, when I see him coming towards me at the front door, I said to him 'Assalamu Alaikum'.”
he said the man did not respond. He ran outside and stood outside the front gates, at which point Mr Adam called the police.
“It's the beginning of Ramadan. And this makes an effect, not just here in this mosque, he makes an effect nationwide,” Mr Adam said.
“Now the whole of England will be shaking wherever they hear about this. They will be frightened. Now this is what's happening.”
The mosque's chairman, Mohammed Rashid, told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday the alleged assailant spoke both English and Arabic.
“They arrested him because he came into the mosque the next day to pray,” he added.
“He came in to pray and some of the people recognised him as the same person and the police were round as well. Then everything went wild.”
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police’s west area command are working closely with West Midlands Police, which is leading the investigation, to establish the full circumstances surrounding the attacks.
Chief Supt Sean Wilson, of the Met’s west area command, said: “We completely understand the shock that resonated throughout the community following this incident.
“Despite a man having been arrested, we continue to be vigilant and urge local people to do the same.
“Highly visible patrols ... will continue in the coming days to provide reassurance to local people and I urge anyone who is concerned to approach officers.”
Chief Supt Richard North, commander of Birmingham Police, said officers were “keeping an open mind to the motive” and that a counter-terrorism unit with “specialist capabilities” was supporting the investigation.
“This is a really serious incident, as I have said, and we are using all the resources that are available to us at this time, and that does include the counter-terrorism unit,” he said.
“Our investigation continues with support from Counter-Terrorism Policing West Midlands CTU, who have access to specialist capabilities to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.
“We have officers patrolling the local area to reassure people and we are visiting local faith establishments to keep them informed.
“Our officers have been working through the night to establish what happened and who is responsible.
“We are taking this matter extremely seriously and are using all resources available to us. We are keeping an open mind to the motive of the attacker and we won’t speculate further at this stage.
“We’re examining CCTV and speaking to witnesses. I’ve been speaking to people this morning, and so I know just how concerned they are and that people are after answers.
“We are determined to get those answers as soon as possible, and I’d urge the community to work with us and to avoid any speculation at this stage.”
Earlier, police said of the victim of the attack had been “taken to hospital with serious injuries, which are, thankfully, not believed to be life threatening”.
Extra officers will be in the area to speak to the community and to provide reassurance.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said the incident in Birmingham was a “concerning case”.
