A surgeon has been stabbed outside a mosque in an attack that Muslim community leaders condemned as a hate crime.
The victim, a man in his 60s named locally as surgeon Dr Nasser Kurdy, was taken to hospital with a stab wound to his neck following the assault outside the Altrincham Islamic Centre, in Grove Lane, in the Greater Manchester market town on Sunday evening.
His injuries are not thought to be critical.
Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), tweeted: "Thank you @gmpolice for your swift action (2 people in custody) following a Muslim being stabbed outside Altrincham Mosque in a hate crime.
"The victim is apparently in good spirits. It could have been a lot worse."
Harun Khan, secretary general of the MCB, said: "We are shocked to hear of the stabbing of a prominent Muslim surgeon outside Altrincham Mosque today in what the Greater Manchester Police have described as a hate crime.
"We are relieved to hear that the victim's injuries are not currently critical.
"Our prayers are with the victim, his family and the local community."
He added he hoped the Prime Minister and Home Secretary would implement the Government's Hate Crime Action Plan.
Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "I strongly condemn the stabbing of the Imam of the #Altrincham mosque earlier today. The Imam is recovering and an arrest has been made."
Andrew Western, the leader of the Labour group on Trafford Council, tweeted: "Shocked and saddened to hear of stabbing of Dr Nasser Kurdy outside Altrincham mosque. Thoughts with him and his family."
A video posted on Facebook following reports of the stabbing purportedly shows the victim immediately after the attack.
A man is filmed sitting on a bench clutching at his neck and appears to be in some pain as people attend to him. The footage shows them asking him about his attacker. At first he appears unable to answer and another person is overheard saying he was "hit" by something in a man's hand: "I don't think it was that sharp."
Manchester Central Mosque said in a statement on Facebook the victim is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Wythenshawe Hospital, and occasionally does the sermon at Friday prayers.
They said: "Extremely sad to hear about the dreadful news that has just come in from Altrincham where an Imam has been stabbed in the neck."
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