LONDON, July 11, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The spiritual leader of the Church of England, Rowan Williams, warned on Monday, July 11, against making Muslims "scapegoats" for the London bombings after a number of attacks on mosques.

Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told the General Synod in the northern English city of York that he visited Islamic institutions Monday to reaffirm friendly relations between Muslims and Christians across Britain, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"Routine friendship and co-operation remains the best hope we have in any conflict of finding ways forward," he stressed.

Williams added that these were sentiments "we shall all need to be heard saying quite a lot in days ahead, when the temptation to scapegoat our Muslim neighbors may be strong for some in our communities."

On Sunday, July 10, the Archbishop of Canterbury joined other Christian leaders, Muslim scholars and Jewish clerics in a show of unity.

Sheikh Zaki Badawi, chairman of the Council of Mosques/Imams, said the aim of the gathering was to "express our shared commitment to resisting and overcoming the evil of terrorism."

"It is an evil that cannot be justified and that we utterly condemn and reject," said a joint statement, part of which was read out by Badawi.

"Anyone claiming to commit a crime in the name of religion does not necessarily justify his position in the name of that religion. People do things in the name of Islam which are totally contrary to Islam," he asserted.

Joining Badawi and Williams were Roman Catholic leader and Archbishop of Westminster Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Free Churches Moderator David Coffey, and Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

The Muslim minority in Britain has vehemently condemned the terrorist attacks that killed at least 52 people and left some 700 injured on Thursday, July 7.

British Muslim scholars are drafting a fatwa that will strip the bombers, if proved Muslims, of the right to call themselves so.

The five faith leaders in the UK condemned the London blasts in unison.

Police said Monday four mosques in Leeds, Belvedere, Telford and Birkenhead had been damaged by fires lit deliberately since London was hit.

Police also said there was evidence of verbal abuse against Muslims in the street and criminal damage to homes, businesses and cars.

The Muslim News monthly said three other mosques had been attacked in recent days, two in Bristol, southwest England, and one in east London, where the Mazhirul Uloom mosque saw 19 windows broken Saturday.

The two Bristol mosques were hit with stones with one having several windows smashed, it added.

The Bristol Muslim Culture Society's community development officer Farooq Siddique urged the city's Muslims to stay calm and hoped no further attacks would occur.

"We are concerned for the community and we are working closely with the police," he told The Muslim News.

Chris Fox, president of the Association of Police Chief Officers, vowed police would undertake a "very robust enforcement response" to any attacks on minority groups.

"There is no doubt that there will have been other low-level incidents that have not yet been reported to police. We encourage everyone to report this type of obnoxious and dangerous behavior, from whatever quarter.

"We are encouraged by the overall calm community response to these terrible events. I am cautiously optimistic that common sense and the best instincts of everyone are prevailing."

Anas Al-Tikriti, the spokesman for the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), told IslamOnline.net Sunday that they set up a hotline to receive complaints from British Muslims about racist attacks.