Muslim taxi drivers offer free rides home after London terror attacks

‘I have just had a Muslim taxi driver take me home and he has cried on me over the attacks tonight’

People walk away about 10 minutes after midnight from inside a police cordon after an attack in London

(AP Images)

Muslims are coming forward to offer help for people affected by the deadly terror attack at London Bridge and Borough Market.

Initial reports indicated those behind the attack which left seven people dead were inspired by extremist Islamist groups, with Prime Minister Theresa May saying the killings showed there was too much tolerance towards extremism in the UK.

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But people took to social media to share their experiences of Muslim taxi drivers and shop owners who supplied them with free rides, food and a place to stay in the wake of the killings.

Twitter user @JessSmith97 said a Muslim taxi driver took her home and “cried over the attacks”.

“I have just had a Muslim taxi driver take me home and he has cried on me over the attacks tonight,” she said. “Terrorism has no religion”.

One woman showed her gratitude, writing that it was a Muslim taxi driver that “got [her] out of that hellish situation and to safety”.

Twitter user @gxyred had been stranded in the area after major tube lines shut, and said Muslim shopkeepers offered him food and a place to stay.

YouTuber Luke Cutforth insisted that blame for the terror attack, which injured a further 48, did not lie with Muslims.

He wrote: “Blaming all Muslims for terrorism is just like blaming all males for terrorism! Most terrorists are male, so do you deport all of them?”

Activist and writer Aleesha reminded people of the indiscriminate nature of the attacks: “British Muslims are as terrified as British non-Muslims. This is also our country; I understand the anger but please refrain from hatred.”

In a statement about the attack, London Mayor Sadiq Khan expressed his shock, and said he was “furious that these twisted and cowardly terrorists deliberately targeted innocent Londoners and visitors to our city.

“I condemn these terrorists in the strongest possible terms. They are barbaric cowards and there is absolutely no justification for their evil and unforgivable actions.

“My thoughts are with the family and friends of the victims and everyone caught up in this horrific attack.”

Muslim taxi drivers were also praised for helping victims and concert-goers following the bombing at Manchester Arena last month.

A spokesperson for the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim organisation based in Manchester, echoed the London mayor’s sentiments, saying “real Muslims” were fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, and praying in mosques across the country.

“[They were] not killing innocent people, these crimes sicken our community,” they said. “It is no longer good enough for us to offer condemnation and solidarity, we need to confront this twisted evil ideology which distorts and lies about Islamic teachings.

“Firstly as a parent and human being my heart goes out to the victims, I cannot imagine their pain and anguish. Secondly as British Muslims we stand resolutely in support of our police and intelligence agencies in confronting this evil,” they added.

“The terrorists and the far right have one thing in common and that is to divide communities, create friction, mayhem and chaos. We must not allow them to succeed.

“From my home city of Manchester to London I offer our condolences, prayers and love. Our country will never be defeated by such barbaric crimes.

“Finally I promise this, we in the Ramadhan Foundation will not stop our work against terrorism and their twisted ideology no matter what the risks.”

Imam Tawhidi, a Shia author and researcher, blames the fundamentalist Wahhabist branch of Sunni Islam for the London attack, calling it a “cancer” on the religion.

Three attackers were killed by armed police, and the investigation is ongoing.