Barbados Today

The local Muslim community is being called upon to increase its vigilance after three of its members were reportedly attacked in two separate incidents last night.
Secretary of the Barbados Muslim Association Sulieman Bulbulia told Barbados TODAY that around 7 p.m. one man in Barbarees Gardens was dragged from the driveway of his home and beaten by two men, who demanded money.

Five hours later, the Imam [leader] of the mosque and his wife were attacked in Welches, St Michael by two men who were armed with cutlasses.
The victims in both incidents were treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and released.
While stating that he did not believe the community was under attack, Bulbulia is however advising his members to pay closer attention to their security.
“Both incidents happened in a matter of hours and we are obviously concerned about it but we don’t think that it is necessarily targeted at our community. We are obviously advising our community to make more effort at personal security and be on the look out at the surroundings around them.”
The secretary described the timing of the incidents as “unfortunate”, noting that the community was currently observing Ramadan.
“This time is our month of fasting so we fast during the day and in the evenings there are a lot more prayers in the mosque so the mosques are generally fuller than usual and you would find more people going in the day as well. So right now is a time of a lot of activity in terms of prayers and fasting,” Bulbulia explained.
Police are investigating the reported attacks for which there is no known motive at this stage.