Muslim leader warns of 'backlash'

A Muslim leader spoke today of his fears of a “rising hostility” towards the Asian community in Scotland after the car bomb attack on Glasgow Airport.

Osama Saeed, the Muslim Association of Britain’s Scottish spokesman, made the warning as police launched an investigation into an attack on an Asian newsagent’s in Glasgow.

A car was rammed into the shop which was then set alight in the early hours of this morning.

It follows an incident in West Lothian yesterday where an estate agency next door to a mosque in Bathgate was set on fire.

Police have yet to establish if either attack was racially motivated.

However, Mr Saeed said today: “In some ways it was expected as there was a backlash after September 11 and 7/7.

“I think we did have a sense of foreboding about it.

“But we have got to stress to people we are in this together and we are all in the same boat. We have all been victims.”

He went on: “It hurts when these things happen. You are Scottish born and bred, yet people look at you when you walk down the street as if you don’t belong, as if you are persona non grata.

“At the same time I know that the people of Scotland as a whole will react to this as they should.

“But what you get are a small group of individuals who are out of control and want to take out a misplaced sense of revenge.”

This morning the Smithycroft newsagent’s shop in the Riddrie area of Glasgow was left a burned-out shell after it was rammed by a car and then torched.

Neighbours said the driver sped up to the shop at around 2.20am and reversed repeatedly to smash through the metal shutters.

Eyewitnesses said the driver then threw a canister into the car, causing an explosion which sparked a huge blaze.

Police are investigating the incident but said it was not directly linked to Saturday’s airport attack.

Mr Saeed said: “This incident sounds very much like it is some sort of copycat crime, which is extraordinary because someone would have gone to the trouble of premeditating that attack. It is not an emotional reaction. They’ve waited, they’ve got the car and the materials.

“One of the other markers of incidents over the past few years has been that, while some crimes will be just committed by one person themselves, quite often there are groups of people.

“It suggests there is a rising feeling of hostility where people feel comfortable in the company of others acting in a grotesque fashion.”

Police today sealed off the charred building in Riddrie and were investigating the attack on the Asian-owned business.

Neighbours became aware of the drama when they heard bangs in the middle of the night. Margaret Watson, 66, was at home with her grandson, daughter and husband.

She said: “I heard bang, bang, bang; it was like a gun or shooting.

“When I went to look out of the living room window, flames lit up the room, you could feel the heat through the window.

“The car was still there, the driver had reversed in and how they got through the metal shutters I will never know. It’s quite scary to have something like this happening and if there had been a wind the flames could have spread.

“People have been saying it may be a retaliation attack.”