A British Muslim who had stabbed another Muslim in the neck at a London Mosque early this year has now begged the judge to jail him so that he can gets time to memorize the Quran.
According to the reports, the 30-year-old Daniel Horton pleaded guilty to stabbing 70-year-old Raafat Maglad, who was offering prayers at the London Central Mosque on February 20. The London police had arrested Horton after the attacks, who was supposed to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday.
During the hearing, the Muslim youth asked the court to send him to a prison cell rather than a psychiatric hospital, so that he gets time to deepen his ‘religious studies’.
“Mr Horton has been clear in the limited interactions I have had with him that he wants to be sentenced, that he wants to be punished for the harm that he has done,” his lawyer, Sam Blom-Cooper said to the court adding, “He wants to learn the Quran off by heart. He wants to learn the Quran from start to finish”.
Following the incident, there was an attempt by the media to paint the attack as a manifestation of Islamophobia. However, with facts emerging in the case, the intentions of the attacker are extremely clear now.
HuffingtonPost had published an article after the mosque attack that claimed that the Muslims had believed that an attack, such as this one, was ‘brewing’ for a long time.
The article quoted Shaukat Warraich, director of public affairs at Muslim welfare charity the Al-Khoei Foundation, who made it sound like they were expecting retaliatory attacks against Muslims after the Christchurch attack, however, the ‘Islamophobia’ angle fell flat after it was revealed that Daniel Horton was a convert to Islam.
During the hearing, the attorney said that it was not clear yet what was the motive behind the attack against the mosque elder, who was stabbed close to an artery in the neck by Horton. As most Islamic terrorism attacks are painted, the attorney has claimed that Horton has a history of mental illness, including paranoid schizophrenia, as well as a string of previous convictions, including firearm possession and assaulting a police officer.
The assault had left Maglad traumatized about a repeat of the unprovoked attack during worship, said prosecutor Benn Maguire. The prosecutor added that “Maglad is less confident about standing in front of the prayer hall while the congregation is standing behind him as he is scared about being attacked”.
Benn Maguire said that the attack has shattered the sanctity of the mosque which should have been a safe haven for worshippers. This should have been a spiritual haven of worship, he added.
The court hearing has now been adjourned until December 10 for Judge Deborah Taylor to consider his request for prison as well as his mental health history.
