There has been widespread condemnation from Muslims and non-Muslim groups after a man drove a van into worshippers near the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park.

In a statement posted on its website, the Finsbury Park Mosque said it "condemns in the strongest terms a heinous terrorist attack".

"The van driver deliberately mowed down Muslim men and women leaving late evening prayers from Finsbury Park Mosque and Muslim Welfare House just after midnight," the statement said.

"This is a callous terrorist attack, which coincides with the murdered MP, Jo Cox, anniversary."

The mosque's chairman, Mohammed Kozbar, described the incident as "a cowardly attack which is no different than the attacks in Manchester and London".

"Our community is in shock, our thought and prayer with those who have been affected by this," he said.

The statement added: "Finally, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

"We urge all attending mosques and going about their business to remain vigilant in this difficult time."

Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Shomrim, a Jewish neighbourhood watch group, was at the police cordon to show "solidarity" with the community.

He told the Press Association: "We have very good community relations here.

"(My reaction was) deep shock and deep concern about the ramifications of this terrorist atrocity.

"On one hand, I feel the people deeply appreciate our presence here and feel reassured that we are here with them, but on the other hand a lot of anger and frustration that members of their community have been attacked."


The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said, “The Metropolitan Police are responding to a horrific terrorist attack on innocent people in Finsbury Park.
“One person has died at the scene, eight more are injured in hospital and two more were treated for injuries at the scene.
“My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected. I am grateful to our emergency services, who responded quickly and have been working on the scene throughout the night.
“I have been in contact with the Met Commissioner and senior officers and am being kept updated on all developments. I have also spoken with community organisations in the area, local MP Jeremy Corbyn and leader of the council Richard Watts.
“We don't yet know the full details, but this was clearly a deliberate attack on innocent Londoners, many of whom were finishing prayers during the holy month of Ramadan.
“While this appears to be an attack on a particular community, like the terrible attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge it is also an assault on all our shared values of tolerance, freedom and respect.
“The situation is still unfolding and I urge  all Londoners to remain calm and vigilant. Please report anything suspicious to the police, but only call 999 in an emergency.
“The Met have deployed extra police to reassure communities, especially those observing Ramadan."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said, “The Finsbury Park attack is senseless barbarism. Yet again we are rocked by a horrific incident for which there is no rhyme or reason.  
“People who commit these heinous acts want to divide us, force us to turn in on ourselves and fight each other. We cannot and must not let them win.  Our values matter, we must stand together.  
“My deepest sympathies are with the victims and their families.
“I would like to pay tribute to the bravery and dedication of the emergency services, who, yet again, have gone above and beyond to help those in need.
"In these moments while others run in the opposite direction, our emergency services run towards danger.”

Advocacy group MEND said, "We are calling on the Government to urgently look into how this man was radicalised and why the Governments counter terrorism strategy does not focus enough on the far-right.
"We also condemn the initial ambivalent response of, and language used by the media in reporting this as a terrorist attack. We would contrast this with their response to the similar Westminster attack that was immediately described as a terrorist attack. We call upon the media to ensure even-handedness and objectivity in their reporting of such incidents regardless of the alleged perpetrator or victims.
"MEND has a strong grassroots presence in London. We are a strong community and will grieve together. We also pray for the swift recovery of those injured.
"We urge anyone who has any information about this incident to report this to the Metropolitan Police.  MEND will offer any assistance to the Metropolitan Police in their ongoing investigation."

Bhai Amrik Singh, the Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) has responded to the Finsbury Park incident, said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the appalling incident at Finsbury Park."
"Worryingly vehicles in London have once again become the latest weapon in the hands of terrorists.  Unfortunately this means every innocent pedestrian going about their daily lives has become a target."
"The incidents in the last three months suggest there needs to be an honest dialogue and a fundamental shift in the way government tackles all forms of hate and terror.”  
“Hate and terror must be stamped out by directly confronting all those who promote an ideology and philosophy based on hate and terror."  
"Sikh teachings, history and the Sikh way of life offers not only hope, but direction on how to tackle hate and terror. Those making policies in governments across the globe need to draw upon belief systems and thinking designed to deal with hate and terror head on.”

Mr. Mohammed Shafiq, Chief Executive of the Ramadhan Foundation said, "I utterly condemn the senseless and evil van attack against Muslim worshippers outside the Finsbury Park Mosque in London. According to eye witnesses this was a deliberate attack against Innocent Muslims going about their life. 
"We should make clear that if this attack is confirmed as a deliberate terrorist attack then this should be classed as an act of terrorism. The British Muslim community requires all decent people to stand with us against this evil violence. 
"Rampant Islamaphobia has been on the rise for a number of years and those on the far right have perpetuated hatred against Muslims. They should be called out for their hatred. 
"The days ahead will be difficult, but with unity and tolerance we will prevail. We will not allow these far right extremists to divide our diverse communities. 
"Enough is enough, my condolences and prayers for all the victims and their families. They are in my prayers. "

CAGE Director, Dr Adnan Siddiqui said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of what appears to have been a deliberate attack on worshippers outside Muslim Welfare House in the Finsbury Park area.
"There can never be any justification for such acts which occur at a time of an epidemic rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes.  We urge all to remain calm and do their utmost to not inflame an already volatile and distressing situation.  We should allow for the investigation to continue and for facts to emerge.
"This is not the time to hold certain sections of society collectively guilty for the acts of a few criminals.
"We have always called for the Rule of Law to be applied so that we can assure the protection and safety of all people irrespective of their beliefs.
"The cycles of violence that are devastating innocent lives must be brought to an end. After #Manchester and #LondonBridge, there is need for serious pause in order to find ways to safeguard the public from harm and bring an end to the cycle of violence.”

Muhbeen Hussain, founder of British Muslim Youth, said: "We strongly condemn this horrendous suspected terrorist attack and pray for the innocent victims and their families that have been affected by this incident.

"I have personally visited the scene of the attack and spoke to many eyewitnesses, many of whom were quite emotional after witnessing a murder and seeing many people being injured.

"There were also high emotions as many witnesses saw this as a deliberate attack on Muslims.

"Other reports even suggest that the individual that has now been arrested for the incident was taken under citizen arrest by many of the Muslim worshippers at the scene and handed over to the police. I have also heard that this individual was shouting, 'I want to kill all Muslims'. In less than a month, we have witnessed horrific attacks in Manchester, London Bridge, Borough Markets, a tragedy at Grenfell Tower and now this horrific attack.

"We as communities stood united in all of these difficult times and we must come together once more. I also urge anyone that has further information to speak to the police, so they have as much information as possible to deal with the on-going investigation."

Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell Mama, which works on tackling anti-Muslim hatred, said there had been an increase in anti-Muslim sentiment in recent weeks.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The way it works is pretty much there are very large spikes or spikes, we call them measurable spikes, after major terrorist incidences, so Islamist extremist incidences create the largest spikes we see.

"We saw that very clearly after Manchester, a very high peak, we saw that clearly after London Bridge, we didn't see it after Westminster.

"So the answer to that is yes, these peaks of anti-Muslim hate incidences reported in do go up in very high numbers after terrorist incidences."