A Muslim man says he is fearful to go out of the house after being the victim of a hate crime on his way to the mosque.
Maudud Ahmed, 34, was punched in the face and kicked by a group of seven youths as he defended his son, 10, from being pushed over in Jutland Road, Plaistow.
The father-of-four was visiting Darul Arqam mosque on September 12 at 4.50pm with several children wearing traditional prayer dress and believes they were targeted because of their faith.
He said: “The youths were waiting to harass anyone like me going there. There were other people passing by at Jutland Road before me but they were not harassed or attacked the way my son and I was.”
Maudud was able to scare his attackers off after threatening to call the police but had to attend hospital with a sprained wrist.
“My right hand was seriously inflamed,” he said. “The ambulance people thought it had been broken.”
He added: “I am now afraid of going out in my local area alone or with my children.
“It is a necessity of doing my daily chores in my residential area and now because of the recent incident I am feeling more fearful and frustrated that I need to look over my shoulder every time I go out.”
Maudud suffered a similar attack at the same spot in March 2016.
His recent ordeal started after he bypassed another group of teenagers outside the Stubbs Point tower block at the end of Jutland Road. His twin son and daughter, plus his neighbours’ children, were walking ahead of him.
The youngsters had passed a group of teenage boys aged 15 to 18 - three white, four black - outside Ravenscroft Primary School.
Maudud said he walked past and the teenagers started to shout names but he ignored them until one tried to push his son on his shoulder.
“I did not want to do anything,” he said. “I wanted to avoid them but they start hitting me.”
He is speaking out to warn others and to find those responsible.
A police spokesman said: “This crime is being investigated as a hate crime.”
No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.
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