London police on Saturday charged a 29-year-old homeless man with causing grievous bodily harm and possessing an illegal knife he used to stab a mosque muazzin.
Suspect Daniel Horton stabbed London Central Mosque's muazzin Raafat Maglad around the top of his shoulder during daily prayers on Thursday.
Maglad was treated at a London hospital and returned to the mosque for Friday's evening service with his arm wrapped in a sling.
"I forgive him. I feel very sorry for him," Maglad told reporters on Friday.
"To me, as a Muslim, I don't need to put any hatred in my heart."
Several regulars at the Regent's Park area mosque in northwest London said they had seen Horton attend a few services in the past year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the incident and said he was deeply saddened to hear of the attack.
"It's so awful that this should happen, especially in a place of worship. My thoughts are with the victim and all those affected," Johnson said on Twitter Thursday.
