The Muslim prayer leader who was stabbed during an attack at a London mosque has returned for Friday prayers.
Raafat Maglad, a muezzin who leads the call to prayer, was stabbed in the neck on Thursday afternoon inside London Central Mosque in Regent's Park.
Mr Maglad, a father-of-three from Queen’s Park who leads the call to prayer five times a day, was rushed to hospital and was discharged this morning.
With his arm in a sling, the leader, who is in his 70s, returned to the mosque where he was escorted inside by security.
He had earlier told the Standard: "This attack won’t change my behaviour. Nothing will stop me praying, and I will be back calling prayers as soon as I can."
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan also arrived at the mosque to join worshippers for Friday prayers.
He was greeted with a hug by director general Dr Ahmad Al Dubayan.
During the incident on Thursday, around 20 members of the congregation rushed to tackle the knifeman, pinning him down until police and emergency services arrived.
Dramatic video footage of the aftermath of the attack shows the suspect being led out of the mosque in handcuffs. One video showed a knife on the floor under a plastic chair.
Mr Maglad said it felt like he had been "hit with a brick".
He told the Standard: “I was closing my eyes to pray and put down my head. It felt like someone hit me with a brick. It was terrible, there was so much blood.
"I put my hand up and tried to close the cut. Everyone stopped him and called the ambulance. I feel lucky. It could have cut my jugular and I would have had no chance.”
Pointing to his shoulder dressing, Mr Maglad added: “It affected my nerve. Doctors have told me I need an MRI to see how much damage, but I can’t move my right arm. It’s a dead weight, it’s heavy and numb. I have six stitches in my neck. I told the doctors I didn’t want to stay in hospital with all wires going in me so I asked them to discharge me early. I wanted to be at home.
“I would like to thank everyone who helped. Last night the emergency room was full of so many people supporting me. It was nice. This attack won’t change my behaviour. Nothing will stop me praying, and I will be back calling prayers as soon as I can. I have to find out if I need surgery first.”
Ayaz Ahmad, an adviser to the mosque, said of the attack: “Everybody’s reaction was shock and horror, the men were screaming. It was a vicious attack. We live in a society where we hear a lot about knife crime and it’s very shocking.”
A suspect, 29, was today being quizzed on suspicion of attempted murder.
