Mosque arson attempt – Police release CCTV footage of suspect

Police believe the attack was an Islamophobic hate crime

Police are appealing for information regarding the identity of a man seen in CCTV footage, who is believed to have attempted to set fire to a mosque.

In a statement released alongside the footage, Islington Borough Police confirmed that they are treating the incident as an Islamaphobic hate crime.

As reported this weekend, the man threw a jerry can filled with petrol into a window of Finsbury Park Mosque at around 8:30pm last Friday. He was wearing a white hooded jumper, white baseball cap and blue jeans.

Islington MP Jeremy Corbyn had visited Finsbury Park mosque just last week in support of the muslim community following the Paris attacks.

Mohammed Kozbar, the chairman of the mosque, spoke to reporters after the incident, saying "the good thing is that it was raining and the floor was wet so it didn't explode, otherwise it would be a disaster".

He commented later on the rise of islamophobia in the wake of the Paris attacks, believing it is muslim women who are suffering the most.

"They can't go shopping, they can't go to the tube station and buses anymore, so this is frightening," he said.