350 mosques warned against attacks

Fire bombs have been thrown at a mosque, and an Iraqi-owned restaurant in northern England. Madinah mosque was hit by a petrol bomb last week.

While the Muslim Council of Britain has issued official warnings to 350 mosques around Britain about the risk of racist backlash following the start of the war in Iraq, there have been reports of some racist attacks against Muslims in Britain.

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Fire bombs have been thrown at a mosque and an Iraqi-owned restaurant in northern England. The Madinah mosque in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, was hit by a petrol bomb last week. Luckily, it caused minimal damage.

The week before, a petrol bomb was hurled at a pizza restaurant run by an Iraqi in Redcar, Cleveland, as staff served customers. A man aged 34 was arrested after the attack.

However, Muslim leaders do not expect the same level of hatred that was shown after the September 11 attacks, although there have been cases of verbal abuse. Two Arab students in Dundee were insulted, while a woman wearing the hijab was spat at in Sutton, Surrey.

The Muslim Council of Britain has issued posters this month advising mosques, Muslims schools and other centres to step up security and brief themselves on their legal rights. Its spokesman, Iniat Bunglawala, told the media that far-right racist groups such as the British National Party were probably trying to orchestrate a backlash, but with little success.

The incidence of stop and search has increased noticebably.