'We don't want to turn our place of worship into a fortress'

"We don't want to turn our places of worship into a fortress, and we don't want airport-style security, but we have to deal with things we didn't before," says Qari Asim, Imam at Makkah Masjid mosque in Leeds.

Following an incident at Manchester Central Mosque in Rusholme on 24 February, in which a man allegedly walked in carrying a weapon, imams across West Yorkshire say they are taking more precautions to protect worshippers.

Asim says extra security measures had been introduced following the incident.

"We've started locking the doors, and we have volunteers patrolling outside, but it's proving challenging because it's Ramadan and so many people are coming to the mosque," he says.

The mosque, which usually has an open-door policy, had to "think hard" about whether Wednesday's multi-faith Iftar could go ahead, he adds.

The event did go ahead, but increased security was in place.

Qari Asim

The mosque has enlisted the help of volunteers, led by senior members of the community who have a background in security, to patrol.