What made attacker Darren Osborne, 47, from Wales hire a van and drive up to London and attack Muslim worshippers as they left Finsbury Park Mosque at midnight? Was the attack just random or did Osborne know it was the Muslim month of fasting and reflection called Ramadan when he plowed his van into an assembled crowd outside the mosque?
Obviously, the recent attacks by Jihadis in Manchester and London may have been the reason why he did what he did as according to the crowd, he shouted that he hated Muslims. His family back in Wales say he has mental issues so maybe that was the reason he tipped over the edge and did what he did.
Without medical evidence and an absence of feedback at this time, it is hard to say what was running through the mind of Darren Osborne that night.
Osborne allegedly killed one person and injured others, some of whom are still receiving treatment. As the van crashed he tried to escape but was caught by the people in the area. A crowd held him and understandably were angry but the Imam of the mosque intervened and protected him until the police arrived. As police took Osborne away he was unrepentant and shouted to the crowd "Come on" and "I've done my bit".
Mosques being protected
Attacks on mosques probably happen somewhere in the UK every day but go largely unreported by the media it seems. However, this attack was the worst attack on a mosque in the UK.
Police are patrolling areas where there are Muslim communities and mosques, reported the BBC North West last night.
Groups like Islamic State or Al-Qaeda wish to see strife between Muslims and the Christian/English community as that would be a recruiting asset for their cause. Of course, there are also extreme political or Christian groups that would also wish to see trouble between communities so we are dealing here with two very dangerous ideologies.
Communities that seemingly live in isolation from one another should interact more and realise that besides race, nationality, and religion we are all human beings. Of course, this is easier said than done in many cases but something like this would surely help to defuse tensions.
Tit for tat attacks
Are we now going to witness Tit For Tat attacks as in the case of Darren Osborne and the Jihadist attacks in Manchester and London?
Will hotheads who take the law into their own hands use violence? Unfortunately, human nature being human nature for all the peaceful people on both sides there will be those either operating on their own or inspired by some group or working directly with a group that will use violence.
To quote Jesus Christ "Those who live by the sword die by the sword" and sad to say this seems to be the case with extremists on both sides.
