Police dived into an east London canal to retrieve over 180 Islamic texts which had been dumped there—only to discover that the accident was probably not the result of a hate-crime. The books are instead thought to have been submerged in the murky canal water by a well-meaning believer, trying to comply with proper rules of disposal.
There are specific rules surrounding the manner in which holy texts should be disposed of in Islam. While burning or burying the books is a common practice, one can also put them in water so that the writing fades away.
Limehouse Cut just now recovering around 200 dumped text books. Any info please to @MPSTowerHam police via 101 pic.twitter.com/wHSbBrebtk
— MPSonthewater (@MPSonthewater) November 19, 2015
Salman Farsi, a spokesman for the nearby East London Mosque, told the Standard that he believed someone from the local Muslim community had taken the wrong guidance on the disposal of holy texts.
“I would just say it’s a harmless misunderstanding," he said. “Although there is an explanation as to why you would put 150 textbooks into a canal, there’s obviously environmental concerns – so we’re very grateful to the police for fishing them out and making contact with us.”
A spokesperson for Scotland Yard has said that there is no evidence of any hate-crime, to which Farsi agrees.
