Agitators target a mosque and assault Muslims as the St George flag is flown widely following protests against asylum seekers.
By Taj Ali
Names marked with an asterisk have been changed to protect identities.
When Akmal’s* mosque was vandalised last week in Basildon, a town in the English county of Essex, he felt shaken.
“I was so hurt,” said the 33-year-old electrical engineer, who requested Al Jazeera use a pseudonym. “It was so close to home. My local masjid [mosque]. It felt like a real kick in the teeth.”
