JK Rowling has said she was “brought to tears” after hearing the Finsbury Park terror attack suspect was protected from angry bystanders by an imam.
The Harry Potter author described the reported act as “extraordinary”, adding she believed the imam should be recognised for his “decency” and courage”
She tweeted: “The extraordinary decency and courage of this act has brought me to tears this morning.
“I hope this imam gets the recognition he deserves.”
The imam, named as Mohammed Mahmoud, intervened after the attack suspect got out of a van he had used to plough into a group of Muslims.
The suspect was wrestled to the ground by bystanders, and some began beating him and launching kicks at his head.
As tempers flared, the 30-year-old imam from the Muslim Welfare House and a group of people formed a protective ring as police bundled him into the back of a van.
Eyewitness Hussain Ali, 28, said: "The leader of the mosque said 'You do not touch him'.
Finsbury Park attack June 19
“He was sitting and holding him like that, people kept holding him. All the police and helicopters came after about eight minutes."
Ms Rowling also called out “victim blaming” in the British press following the attack, and singled out right-wing figures like Katie Hopkins and Nigel Farage.
She criticised a tweet which Ms Hopkins posted last month, which said: “Western men. These are your wives. You daughters. Your sons. Stand up. Rise up. Demand action. Do not carry on as normal.”
One person has been killed and ten people injured - two seriously - after a van ploughed into worshippers in the early hours of Monday in north London, in what police are treating as a terrorist attack.
