ALBAWABA- A mosque in Peacehaven, near Brighton, was set ablaze in a suspected arson attack Saturday night while two people were still inside, in what police are treating as a hate crime.
According to CNN, based on mosque officials, two masked individuals in balaclavas attempted to force open the entrance before dousing it with gasoline and setting it alight.
The mosque’s chairman and another worshipper, both in their 60s, managed to escape unharmed after hearing a loud bang as flames engulfed the doorway. A car parked outside, belonging to the chairman, was also destroyed.
“They could have easily died,” the mosque’s voluntary manager told CNN, calling the attackers’ actions an attempt “to cause maximum damage.”
Emergency crews responded shortly before 10 p.m., extinguishing the blaze. Police confirmed the mosque’s front entrance and the vehicle were badly damaged.
The Peacehaven mosque, which serves a small congregation of 10–15 worshippers, had previously been targeted with eggs and verbal abuse.
Saturday’s attack comes amid heightened tensions in Britain, marked by a surge in Islamophobic and antisemitic incidents. Just days earlier, a deadly assault occurred outside a synagogue in Manchester.
Liberal Democrat MP James MacCleary condemned the incident on X, describing the mosque as “an important part of the local community” and stressing that police are investigating the fire as a hate crime.
