Knifeman assaults man ‘burning Koran’ on London road: ‘Protester’ rushed to hospital as police make arrest after violent confrontation outdoors Turkish Consulate
A knife-wielding thug attacked a man who was allegedly burning the Koran outside the Turkish Consulate in London.
In dramatic scenes on Thursday afternoon, the attacker could be seen brandishing a large knife while standing above the man on the road.
Footage posted on X showed a man with a rucksack and his hood up, holding a book up which was ablaze.
He was said to be waving it around outside the barrier to the Turkish Consulate in Rutland Gardens, Knightsbridge, London.
Terrifying footage cut to him lying on the road, where he was being kicked violently by another man.
The attacker could be seen spitting at him, having snatched the burning book off of him.
Shockingly, he then pulled out a knife and appeared to attempt to slash the man while he was on the floor.
Police said a man was taken to hospital with injuries to his finger, but he didn’t have any stab wounds.
Officers confirmed they arrested a man on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and grievous bodily harm.
The man held a burning book which was reportedly the Koran outside the Turkish Consulate
The footage then cuts to him lying on the road, being kicked violently by another man
Shockingly, he performed a slashing motion with a knife at the first man
File photo of the Turkish Consulate on Belgrave Square in London
An ambulance and police were said to be on the scene.
An X account has been posting a running commentary of the incident. There was an earlier post that forewarned the burning, with the account holder writing: ’45 minutes till the event’ with a book and a fire emoji.
One of the comments read ‘no need to do this’ while others posted flame emojis and told them to ‘stay safe guys’.
The Koran, also called the Qur’an or Quran, is the main religious text of Islam.
Someone on X claiming to be the Koran burner said he was protesting against the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
He claimed that Turkey is being turned into a ‘base for radical Islamists’.
The man later posted: ‘While I was burning the Quran, I was attacked with a knife. The ambulance and the police came.’
He earlier said he was going to London to burn the book ‘for Salwan Momika’ and posted videos of him burning it and stuffing pages down a loo.
Momika was killed in Södertälje, Stockholm, after burning the Koran outside Stockholm Central Mosque in 2023.
A police spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘A man has been arrested following an assault in Knightsbridge earlier today.
‘Police were called at 14:11hrs on Thursday, 13 February to Rutland Gardens following reports of a man being assaulted.
‘The victim was taken to hospital with injuries to his finger. He did not receive any stab wounds.
‘Officers attended within minutes and arrested a man on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and grievous bodily harm.
‘He remains in custody and enquiries remain ongoing.’
