The Central Islamic Centre in the UK agreed to pay £400,000 in compensation to Egyptian Sheikh Mohammad El-Salamouny, who lost his sight in an attack at the centre
An Islamic centre in the UK has agreed to pay compensation to an Egyptian sheikh who lost his sight in an attack on the premises.
The Central Islamic Centre in the UK has agreed to pay £400,000 (LE4 million) in compensation to Sheikh Mohammad El-Salamouny, an Egyptian imam, for the loss of his sight in 2007.
Sheikh El-Salamouny was subject to an attack inside the Centre’s mosque, which is one of the biggest in the UK.
El-Salamouny, 61, was injured when an intruder scaled the mosque’s wall and rammed his fingers into the imam's eyes.
He held the Saudi management of the CIC responsible for the attack, and after six years of negotiations, it admitted liability.
The incident provoked controversy within the Egyptian and Muslim community in the UK.
In 2008, a UK court found the attacker, Brian Donegan, not guilty by reason of insanity. He was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.
After the incident, the Saudi government invited El-Salamouny to make the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. He also was offered treatment at the expense of the Saudi government, but refused after interference from the Egyptian government.
“The settlement sum of £400,000 was a gross amount and any sum that Sheikh El- Salamouny received from the CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) would have to be repaid. We believe that Sheikh El- Salamouny has received £50,0000 from the CICA so he will received £350,000 in settlement from the defendant's insurers,” said RM Legal Solicitors, El-Salamouny's legal advisers.
“We advised that the settlement sum to the sheikh is in full and final settlement of the claim and he nor his family would have any further claims against the mosque or any third party,” they added.
The settlement agreement allows El-Salamouny to live in the CIC accommodation facility until May.
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