Two worshippers narrowly escaped death on Saturday night after arsonists set a mosque ablaze in Peacehaven, near Brighton, in the UK. Police are treating as a suspected hate crime.
Eyewitnesses said two masked men arrived at the building around 10 p.m., tried to force open the door, and then poured petrol at the entrance before setting it ablaze.
Inside the mosque, the chairman and another worshipper, both in their sixties, were having tea after evening prayers when they heard a loud explosion. They managed to flee through a back door as flames engulfed the front of the building.
“They could have easily died. These attackers came with full intent to cause maximum damage”, a mosque official told newsmen on Sunday.
Emergency services arrived within minutes and contained the fire, which damaged the main entrance and a car parked outside belonging to the mosque chairman, a local taxi driver. No casualties were reported.
Police have described the incident as a suspected arson motivated by religious hatred. Detective Superintendent Karrie Bohanna of Sussex Police said additional patrols have been deployed across the county to reassure communities and protect other places of worship.
“We understand the deep concern this has caused and are doing everything possible to identify those responsible”, she said.
Local Member of Parliament, James MacCleary, condemned the attack, calling it “appalling and deeply distressing.” He noted that the mosque plays “an important role in fostering community harmony” in the Lewes district.
The small Peacehaven mosque, built in 2021 serves about 10 to 15 regular worshippers. Members said the building had previously been targeted with minor vandalism and verbal abuse but never a violent attack.
The latest arson comes amid rising religious tensions in the UK, following a deadly assault outside a Manchester synagogue last week, which left two Jewish worshippers dead.
Reacting to the incident, Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that hatred “is rising once again” and urged citizens to stand united against all forms of bigotry
