Five thousand Muslims gathered at Morden mosque this afternoon to condemn the Woolwich terror attack.
Worshippers from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community congregated at the Baitul Futuh Mosque, in London Road, to offer prayers to Drummer Lee Rigby who was murdered on the streets of south London in broad daylight on Wednesday.
Merton’s borough commander Darren Williams and Mitcham and Morden MP Siobhain McDonagh were present at the mosque - the largest in western Europe - in a show of solidarity against extremism.
Fears of a backlash from far-right activists meant there was a heavy police presence, but the event went peacefully.
National president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK Rafiq Hayat said: "We stand united with the rest of the country in sharing the deep sorrow and pain following the horrific senseless attack on Wednesday.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Drummer Lee Rigby.
"We hope that the perpetrators of this crime, that is based on a twisted and warped ideology, are brought to justice."
He added: "Islam is a religion of compassion and peace; a religion which considers the killing of an individual akin to killing the whole of humankind. Such acts of violence, therefore, have absolutely no place in Islam and can never be justified."
Vice President AMA Naseer Khan, Borough Commander Darren Williams, National President AMA Rafiq Hayat, Siobhain McDonagh MP and Inspector Stuart Buchan.
Farooq Aftab, from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, added: "We assured the community that we are standing together, not just the Muslim community, but the whole community - represented here today by the borough commander and the local MP.
"We completely condemn an act of violence. I think Merton has shown that we will stand as one as a community.
He added: "There is no room for extremism."
Police deployed officers to guard Morden mosque yesterday after extreme racist threats appeared on social media sites - the mosque was named as a target on a Facebook page named True British Patriots.
Users called for mosques across the country to be "burned to the ground".
An extra 1,200 police officers were deployed across London yesterday to prevent revenge attacks.
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