Vigils in Glasgow for slain Muslim shopkeeper
March 26, 2016
Several hundred people, including Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, joined a vigil on Friday night for Asad Shah, a 40-year-old Muslim shopkeeper who was killed on Thursday evening outside his convenience store in Glasgow's Shawlands area.
Scottish police said the murder was being investigated as "religiously prejudiced" and that a 32-year-old suspect, also a Muslim, had been arrested on Friday.
Media have reported that Shah posted messages on the social media site Facebook shortly before he was killed, wishing a "very happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation."
Condemnation from Muslim group
The Muslim Council of Britain issued a statement on Saturday condemning the murder.
"There is no place for hatred of this kind and I condemn it utterly," Shuja Shafi, the head of the Council, said in the statement.
The organizers of Friday night's vigil, Nisreen Sharif and Eildon Dyer, also called for religious harmony.
"Glasgow is and should continue to be a place where people of different faiths, cultures, et cetera, can live together as friends," they said.
tj/rc (dpa, AP)