It's a sign of respect to a mosque when a person takes their shoes off before entering. Because it's the regarded as a house of God, the act is viewed as essential to keep the place of worship as clean as possible. However, police in Buckinghamshire sparked an outcry from the Islamic community when they walked in with their shoes on.
Officers were responding to a disturbance outside the mosque in High Wycombe, but decided to walk inside to continue their investigation. But they were soon confronted by angry worshippers, who shouted at them to get out.
Credit: Facebook/Spotted Bradford 1
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The footage has been uploaded to the Facebook page Spotted Bradford 1, alongside a post which reads: "Police in Mosque in High Wycombe with their shoes on. The guys in the Mosque are also being disrespectful by shouting and screaming. The speaker is heard in the background asking everyone to go outside and show respect to the Mosque.
"Messed up behaviour on both sides - no respect for [a] place of worship."
The person behind the camera can be heard saying: "Why are you giving them the time of day, who is she? Don't talk to her, who is she? They're nobody, get them out of here."
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The video has been viewed more than 143,000 times, but opinion appears divided on the situation, with some people saying the officers need to respect religious protocol, while others claim police health and safety rules should take precedent.
Zafar Iqbal, former chairman of the Wycombe Islamic Mission, told Bucks Free Press: "There was a lot of shouting but there was no need to call the police. When they arrived, there were around 400 to 500 people here for prayers so the whole road had to be closed."
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Police have told the Daily Mail they responded to the incident quickly to stop the reported altercation from growing. No arrests have been made, but officers are continuing to investigate the incident.
Sources: Daily Mail
Topics: Police, religion, Shoes