UK mosque with people inside set ablaze in a suspected hate crime
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "UK mosque with people inside set ablaze in a suspected hate crime")
Representative image Photograph: (Unsplash)
The incident took place in Peacehaven, near Brighton, shortly before 10 pm local time. This comes days after a deadly attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.
A mosque in the UK was set ablaze on Saturday (Oct 4) in a suspected arson attack. Reportedly, two people were inside when the fire occurred, and the police are investigating it as a hate crime. The incident took place near Brighton, shortly before 10 pm local time. This comes days after a deadly attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.
CNN reported that two people in balaclavas tried to open the mosque’s door by force before pouring gasoline onto the steps and setting it on fire. Emergency crews responded to the latest violent incident in the south coast town of Peacehaven.
No one was injured in the fire, but the mosque’s front entrance and vehicles parked outside were damaged.
The mosque’s chairman and a fellow worshipper were having tea inside when they heard a loud bang outside and fled the building.
“They could have easily died,” the mosque’s manager told CNN, adding, “these people came with full intent to cause maximum damage.”
“The chairman was shaking the whole time, and a neighbour came out onto the street crying,” he said. “Everyone is scared. If someone was willing to do this, we don’t know what’s next.”
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The small mosque serves about 10 to 15 worshippers who gather for evening prayers at 8:15 pm. After it closed, the chairman stayed in the building with another volunteer.
“They are old chaps in their 60s and usually do that. The mosque is usually a very friendly and relaxed environment,” the manager said.
On Thursday (Oct 2), two people were killed and three others were seriously injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in northern Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. The attacks come amid a string of incidents of Islamophobic and antisemitic hate in the UK.
