Mosque In England Set On Fire In Suspected Hate Crime

A mosque in England's Peacehaven was set on fire Saturday night in a suspected hate crime. Two people were inside at the time, CNN reported.

Surveillance footage shows two masked individuals attempting to force entry before pouring gasoline on the mosque's front door and lighting it up. The blaze also destroyed a vehicle parked in the vicinity. 

#BREAKING: British youths, angry from forcefully & planned Islamic conversion and Islamic radicali ation set the fire in a newly constructed mosque in Peacehaven, near Brighton, England. Mosque was built by a Pakistani radical Islamists who is pro Hamas and Pro Islamic State (IS) pic.twitter.com/8Ss0d7wXJJ

— Global__Perspective (@Global__persp1) October 5, 2025

The mosque's chairman and a fellow worshipper, both in their 60s, were inside having tea when the incident took place. 

"It could have been murder," a mosque volunteer, speaking anonymously, told the BBC. The two people inside the mosque managed to escape unharmed.

A mosque manager told CNN, "They could have easily died. These people came with full intent to cause maximum damage." He added, "The chairman was shaking the whole time, and a neighbour came out onto the street crying. Everyone is scared. If someone was willing to do this, we don't know what's next."

Emergency services arrived shortly before 10 pm local time to douse the fire. It remains unclear whether the suspected arsonists were aware that people were inside the mosque when they set it ablaze.

Sussex Police confirmed the incident was being treated as a hate crime. "This was an appalling and reckless attack," said Assistant Chief Constable Paul Court, as per The NY Post.

"Let me be clear: There is no place for hate and division in our communities. Those who are responsible for causing these offences will be dealt with robustly by the police and put before the courts."

Police Commissioner Katy Bourne described the attack as "the height of hateful criminality."

On Monday, a 46-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life, The Guardian reported. Authorities continue to appeal for witnesses and information about the perpetrators.

UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood denounced the incident as a hate crime, according to Associated Press.

A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the leader was "appalled by the arson attack in Peacehaven." "As the home secretary said, attacks against Britain's Muslims are attacks against all Britons and this country itself. Anti-Muslim hatred has no place in Britain," the spokesperson added.

The mosque has faced previous incidents of harassment. Last August, it was targeted twice overnight with eggs thrown at the building, and passersby shouted curses and racial slurs, the mosque manager said.

"But we never expected an attack on this level," he added, as per CNN. "The community right now is on their toes. They feel unsafe, they are paranoid. There is a lot going on right now."