A second British mosque has been damaged in a suspected arson attack in the wake of the terrorist strikes on the United States, police said Sunday.
Officers appealed for calm among Muslim communities after the incident at Al Hazar mosque in South Shields, northeast England.
Although no-one was injured and only minor damage caused in the incident late Saturday, police were treating it as "serious" in the light of increased tensions among Britain's two million-strong Muslim community.
Inspector Simon Charlton of South Tyneside police warned that "revenge attacks" in the wake of the September 11 atrocities in the US "would not be tolerated".
Police said they believed one man was responsible for the latest attack.
The incident follows several brutal assaults on Muslims across the country and an arson attack on a mosque in Bolton, northwest England.
Several mosques have been daubed with graffiti and one Afghan taxi driver was left paralyzed from the neck down after he was beaten up in London -- LONDON (AFP)
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