UK police arrest man over violent death of imam

Police in northern England have arrested a man on suspicion of murder following the death of an imam.

Greater Manchester Police said Jalal Uddin was found in a children's playground in Rochdale with serious head injuries on Thursday evening.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder on Friday.

It is believed Uddin was on his way home from a friend's house, after earlier visiting a mosque, when he was attacked.

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe of Greater Manchester Police said on Friday that detectives would look at whether the attack was racially motivated but stressed that the investigation was at a very early stage.

"A man is in custody and has been arrested, but at the moment we are keeping a completely open mind as to what the motive for this attack is," she said.

"I think it would be unhelpful at this stage really to speculate as to what has happened."

Sutcliffe said detectives are looking at the possibility that the incident was racially motivated but added: "At the moment we just cannot say one way or the other.

"We want to reassure the community that we are doing everything to identify who was responsible for this attack and understand what has happened."

The Rochdale Council of Mosques released a brief "community announcement" on its Twitter feed which said: "Pls remain calm, let GMP complete their investigations."

In a statement on Facebook, the Jalalia Jaame Masjid mosque in Rochdale said it would "wait for the facts to be established by the police".

"There is not a day that would go by without seeing Qari Jalal Uddin at the masjid Subhan'Allah.

"May Allah forgive him and enter him into Jannat Al-Firdous, and May Allah give his family patience and strength to bear this great loss, Ameen."

Mohammed Shafiq, the chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation based in Greater Manchester, urged the community of Rochdale to stay united and calm.

However, he said: "We would urge all local mosques in Rochdale to consider emergency security precautions and facilities to help local people return home safely from the mosque.

"Furthermore, mosques should also consider buddying various people together to ensure vulnerable people are supported."