A mosque in the United Kingdom was set on fire while two people were still inside, in what police believe to be a suspected hate crime.
The terrifying attack occurred late Saturday night in Peacehaven, near Brighton, on England’s south coast.
According to eyewitnesses, two masked individuals arrived at the mosque around 10 p.m. local time, attempting to force open the door before pouring gasoline on the steps and setting it ablaze.
The mosque’s chairman and another worshipper, both in their 60s, were inside having tea when they heard a loud explosion and narrowly escaped the flames.
The mosque manager, who spoke anonymously, told CNN that the men came “with full intent to cause maximum damage.”
He added that both men inside “could have easily died” if they had not run out in time.
The fire damaged the building’s entrance and a car parked outside, which belonged to the chairman, a taxi driver who depended on it for his livelihood.
“Unfortunately, just a shell of his vehicle is left,” the manager said.
Emergency crews responded quickly, putting out the fire before it spread further.
No injuries were reported, but the incident has deeply shaken the small Muslim community in the area.
“This has left everyone scared,” the manager said. “If someone was willing to do this, we don’t know what’s next.”
The mosque, opened four years ago, serves around 10 to 15 regular worshippers.
It had previously been targeted last August, when vandals threw eggs at the building and hurled racial slurs at worshippers.
Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary, representing the Lewes district, condemned the attack in a post on X, calling it “appalling” and stressing that police are treating it as a hate crime.
Detective Superintendent Karrie Bohanna of Sussex Police confirmed that increased patrols have been deployed to reassure residents and protect other places of worship.
The attack comes just days after two Jewish worshippers were killed in a car ramming and stabbing attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, raising fears of rising religiously motivated violence across Britain.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently warned that hatred and intolerance are “rising once again” in the UK and urged citizens to “defeat it once again.”
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