Eggs thrown and abuse at Islamic prophet march

October 08, 2024
The march is an annual event (Image: Kamran Mahmood)
  • Mr Mahmood said: “It was very disheartening to see someone throw eggs at us from a nearby flat.

After eggs were hurled at him and other Muslims during a march, an Accrington man has spoken out about the harassment he and other Muslims have experienced.

On September 29, Kamran Ali Mahmood participated in the yearly Islamic prophet march celebration across the town with the goal of "spreading love."

However, one guy reportedly tossed eggs at the worshippers, leaving them "disheartened," while some individuals ridiculed the religious protest on Facebook.

Mr Mahmood said: “It was very disheartening to see someone throw eggs at us from a nearby flat.

“It’s a peaceful demonstration, it’s not a protest march or anything, it was to spread love. We were giving out chocolates to people and handing out leaflets to explain to people what we were doing.”

Even with the eggs, Mr. Mahmood thinks the event went well overall, and proposals for other events have already been made.

This year's march needed the presence of some police community support officers in the wake of the countrywide disturbances throughout the summer.

"Since the summer, we have been receiving a lot of abuse on social media. I saw some information about the recent march and decided to ignore it," Mr. Mahmood continued.

“But there was a lot of people posting on Facebook who didn’t know about what they were saying, so I posted on the Hyndburn Chat and thankfully got a good response on there from people, just clarifying what the march was about.”

The Accrington resident went on to explain how organisers have taken measures to make the reason for the marches clearer.

Banners and quotes about the prophet Muhammad were added to the procession along with someone explaining the march in English over a megaphone.

Mr Mahmood added: “We have started to change the marches up a bit so that people understand it a bit better.

In his Facebook post, he said: "I've seen quite a few posts on here about the march today!

"Firstly there was no 'angry Muslim mob'.

"We were out celebrating the birth of our prophet a procession that happens annually and happens with the prior permission of the council and the police.

"The March is about celebrating the birth of the prophet Muhammed Peace be upon him.

"We have had banners and posters made in English explaining what we are doing and we have talks in English along the way. We also have had people giving leaflets out explaining what we're doing.

“We’re not here to take over or to convert you, we are here to live in peace and spread love.”