Attacks on mosques and Islamic institutions in the UK have become common occurrences, particularly in the last three years.
In a released report, at least 41 percent of the 113 mosques and Islamic institutions in the UK who participated in the survey have experienced various religiously motivated attacks. At least 15 percent of these noticed a rise in the attacks during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The attacks are usually accompanied by vandalism and burglary or theft. Aside from that, there were also instances wherein some religious staff were subject to hate crimes.
Christchurch, New Zealand, was made infamous in the twin terror attacks that happened on March 15, 2019, which left 51 casualties and wounded 40 others. The attack occurred on two mosques, Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre.
The youngest victim was three-year-old Mucad, who visited the mosque with his brother and father, who survived the attack. Mucad was described by his brother as “energetic, playful, and liked to smile and laugh a lot.”
One casualty in her 20s, Ansi Alibava, who was with her husband, Ponnath Abdul Nazer, went to the UK from India so that she could proceed with her master’s degree in agricultural engineering. She was supposedly living her dream in the UK.
In 2021, the worshippers of Ilford Islamic Center in Albert Road were pelted with eggs just outside their mosque. The attack happened while worshipers marked Ramadan. Ahmad Nawaz, the director and secretary of the Ilford Islamic Center stated that no one was injured in this “unnerving” attack.
On September 10 of the same year, a mosque was targeted in an arson attack in what was identified as a hate crime. It took responders about two-and-a-half hours to put out the blaze at Didsbury Mosque. Fortunately, no one was injured in the attack.
Mosque officials said that repeated vandalism and social media threats had taken a toll on their well-being. “We have witnessed individuals breaking windows, vandalizing worshippers’ vehicles, and spraying racist graffiti on the mosque building.”
