London fire: Muslims awake for sahur meal save lives

Muslims who were awake for their Ramadan sahur (pre-dawn) meal ended up saving lives during the tragic blaze at the Grenfell Tower in London in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. British media outlets reported that Muslim residents at the 24-storey apartment were among the first to notice the fire and "ran around knocking on […]

Muslims who were awake for their Ramadan sahur (pre-dawn) meal ended up saving lives during the tragic blaze at the Grenfell Tower in London in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

British media outlets reported that Muslim residents at the 24-storey apartment were among the first to notice the fire and "ran around knocking on people’s doors".

The fire, which has so far claimed 12 lives, had broken out unexpectedly after midnight when many of the residents were asleep.

However, the tower is home to a sizable number of Muslims, who had been awake to start their daily Ramadan fast and sprang to action when they smelt smoke.

Reports also quoted eyewitnesses describing the Muslims on scene as "heroes" and "lifelines" as fire-fighters scrambled to put out the blaze and residents were evacuated.

Andre Barroso, 33, told The Independent that Muslims "played a big part in getting a lot of people out".

"Most of the people I could see were Muslim. They have also been providing food and clothes," he said.

A number of mosques and Islamic cultural centres also opened their doors to help those affected, while other faith groups also got involved to assist evacuees with their basic needs. (The Star Online)