On Friday 20th November, three young men were violently attacked with one 18-year-old Muslim man being fatally stabbed. The attack happened outside a mosque on Oldbury Road in Smethwick. The police were called to the deeply distressing attack just prior to 9pm on Friday night.
The other young men, aged 19 and 22 years-old, were taken to hospital for treatment. Their injuries are reported to be non-life threatening according to West Midlands police.
Young man fatally stabbed outside mosque in central England during Muslim holy month of Ramadanhttps://t.co/p9d7vP2A1f
— Middle East Monitor (@MiddleEastMnt) February 21, 2026
Attack outside of a Mosque
The man murdered, named on Saturday afternoon by West Midland’s police is Zeshan Afzal, a Smethwick resident. Since the incident, the police force has confirmed that a murder investigation is currently underway.
However, according to the police incident is not yet being considered racially or religiously aggravated – a presumptive conclusion at this early stage.
The facts have not been established, nor made public. That said, there are murmurs that Zeeshan was leaving the mosque when a group of men attacked Muslim worshippers, and that he may have been trying to protect his Muslim brothers.
The police have said their inquiries are ongoing to determine what actually happened – including a timeline of events and the identity of the perpetrators who attacked three Muslim men, during the holy month of Ramadan.
To put that into perspective, imagine a knife stabbing against Christian worshipers leaving a Christmas mass service.
The West Midlands police have attempted to reassure the local community, advising that there will be a visible police presence in the area.
LONDON
UK police have launched a murder investigation after a young man was stabbed to death outside a mosque in England’s West Midlands during celebrations of the Muslim holy month of RamadanOfficers were called over reports of disorder outside a place of worship on Oldbury… pic.twitter.com/YDDrikZRFt
— RapidAlert (@DisasterAlert2) February 21, 2026
‘Deeply distressing and concerning’
The spokesperson for West Midlands police force stated:
At this stage the incident is not being treated as religiously or racially aggravated but we’re working to establish the full circumstances and who was involved.
We’re reviewing CCTV and carrying out other enquiries in the area.
We would urge witnesses or people with information, including mobile phone or dashcam footage, to please contact us.
We understand how deeply distressing and concerning this incident is and we will have extra officers in the area over the coming days to offer reassurance to the community.”
If you have any information, please contact West Midlands Police on 101, quoting log number 4896 of February 20th. Alternatively, call CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
Featured image via the Canary
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