- Police arrived at a mosque in High Wycombe to deal with an incident outside
- They went inside the mosque still wearing their shoes which sparked outrage
- Footage shows worshippers confronting officers and shouting ‘get them out’
This is the moment furious Muslim worshippers confronted police after a tense argument erupted when officers entered their mosque wearing shoes.
Police arrived at the Townfield Mosque in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, to deal with a disagreement outside the building.
But they walked in without removing their shoes which goes against Islamic practice in a holy building and people inside shouted ‘get them out’.
Police officers entered the mosque but were confronted by angry worshippers because they failed to remove their shoes (right)
Footage shows the officers being confronted by worshippers who were heard screaming at them.
People could be heard asking the officers ‘what they are going to be arrested for’ as a man was speaking over the tannoy asking them to leave the building.
One of the uniform officers was heard asking one of the men to ‘chill’ when the conservation became heated.
Another male officer was speaking on his police radio and informed a colleague that people inside the building were being ‘aggressive’.
The video was posted online and it has since been viewed more than 134,000 times.
Zafar Iqbal, former chairman of the Wycombe Islamic Mission, told the Bucks Free Press: ‘There was a lot of shouting but there was no need to call the police.
Footage shows angry worshippers shouting at the officers after they walked into the building wearing their shoes
‘When they arrived there were around 400 to 500 people here for prayers so the whole road had to be closed.’
A Thames Valley spokesman said: ‘Officers were called on Friday at about 1.40pm following reports of an altercation at a mosque in Totteridge Road, High Wycombe.
‘Officers were responding to an immediate call for assistance and as a result, and to prevent any serious harm to individuals or any further outbreak of violence, officers entered the Mosque, and spoke to people who were present.
‘An allegation of assault was recorded and officers are carrying out an investigation into the incident. No arrests have been made at this time.’