Jeremy Corbyn warned Muslim women are facing repeated harassment on British streets as he, along with the prime minister Theresa May and London mayor Sadiq Khan, took part in a nationwide mosque open day.
The Labour leader was visiting his local mosque in Finsbury Park, north London, where Darren Osborne launched his terror attack by driving a van through a group of Muslims last June.
'Islamophobia is a real problem in our society, as is other forms of racism like antisemitism and racism against people of Afro-Caribbean heritage,' he said according to the Guardian.
'I've held meetings with Muslim women who have told me horrific stories of routine racist abuse on our streets. If women are abused because they are wearing a headscarf, then it is a wrong against them and it is a wrong against all of us.'
Finsbury Park was one of more than 200 mosques across the UK to open their doors on Sunday for #VisitMyMosque day run by the Muslim Council of Britain. For the north London place of worship it was the first time they had held an open day since the terror attack last June that killed one person and injured 12 others.
The prime minister visited her local mosque in Maidenhead and the mosque at the centre of the Grenfell Tower response, Al-Manaar, welcomed London mayor Sadiq Khan.
'Today is a day to increase understanding, celebrate the important role mosques play in bringing the local community together, and in particular, to highlight the major part everybody at this mosque has played in responding to last summer's devastating Grenfell Tower fire,' he said.
A YouGov poll before the day revealed most Brits know very little about their local Islamic community. Almost 90 per cent had never been inside a mosque and nearly 70 per cent had never been to the place of worship of another faith generally, according to an online poll of 1,629 adults.
It came after the Bishop of Bradford, Toby Howarth, urged Christians to visit their local mosque saying it was an 'important step' in getting to know their neighbours.
'Crossing the threshold of a different place of worship can be an important step in learning about and getting to know our neighbours,' he said. 'I plan to visit mosques in Bradford on 18th February with local clergy and congregation members, and I warmly encourage others to do the same where they are.'
