Attacks on mosques in the UK have increased in recent months, the Government Monitor said, with more than 40% of incidents involving national symbols.
In the last three months, a mosque has been set up in east Sussex; In Merseyside the windows of a mosque were shot out with an air rifle while children were inside; In Greater Manchester, a wiping slab was thrown through a window; And in Gassgaw, a window was broken by a metal pole.
The data compiled by Muslim Trust in Britain (BMT) showed that between July and October, 25 mosques across Britain were targeted in 27 attacks – more than a quarter violent or damaging. Other incidents include graffiti and the fixing of crosses and flags. The three mosques were targeted repeatedly.
The BMT said 40% of incidents included the use of British and English flags or symbols and slogans including “Christ is king” and “Jesus is king” in a Christian nationalist context, reflecting how the hard right had attempted to weaponize Christian symbolism and idioms.
In January, before the period analyzed in the data, there were seven attacks in London followed by a period of relative calm. Incidents across the country increased during the summer – from one in July to eight in August, rising to nine in September and a further nine in October, the BMT said.
The BMT was appointed by the government in July to track and respond to anti-Muslim hate in the UK. Its report, a summer of divisiveness, was seen by the Guardian.
August marked a clear shift, with incidents evolving from “single acts of vandalism to coordinated symbolic intimidation and violent attacks – and repeat targeting, signaling a sustained increase in both scale and intent”, the report says.
“While some frame the summer of the summer in the colors of the campaign and the unity of the Kingdom Rally, this warning itself has become an instrument of ethnonationalist interference to drive division.”
The BMT said while the data is not able to teach direct corination, “the temporal correlation between the incidents that are aimed at the public national campaigns or embedding behavior in local contexts in local contexts”.
The BMT called for UK statutory authorities to develop a “rapid response” and Security Protocols for mosquesand streamlining the application process for security funding, as well as Community Education to promote the roles of mosques as “civic anchors”.
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The report says that victims of anti-Muslim crimes often report limited follow-up from police and online platforms that allow or minimize anti-Muslims.
The chief executive of BMT, Akela Atoela Ahmed, said: “The evidence from this summer is incontrovertible: hatred of Britain is being directed at a sad scale.
“This report should be a wake-up call – something has changed for the worse and, as a country, we need to put it right.”
The department for communities and the home office have been approached for comment.