Recently, attacks against mosques across the UK have escalated dramatically, often featuring British or English flags and Christian nationalist slogans alongside acts of violence, according to British Muslim Trust (BMT), the government’s Islamophobia monitoring partner.
Between July and October 2025, BMT data showed 25 mosques had been attacked in 27 separate incidents, of which over one quarter involved violence or destruction such as arson, air gun shootings, window smashing or repeated attacks at one site.
Strikingly, over 40% of incidents involved British or English flags being displayed along with slogans such as “Christ is King” or “Jesus Is Lord”, painted or attached to mosque buildings — an indicator that Christian nationalist ideology may be being used as tools of intimidation against Islamist Muslims.
The Guardian
Key patterns and incidents

The BMT reports that attacks against mosques increased dramatically beginning in August. One mosque was burned in East Sussex while in Merseyside its windows were punctured with an air gun while children were inside and in Glasgow a metal pole was used to smash windows – according to The Guardian’s accounts of these incidents.
On Saturday morning just prior to Friday prayers at South Essex Islamic Centre in Basildon, red crosses, “This is England” graffiti and “Christ is King” signs were vandalised at the center amidst rising flag campaign activity. Al Jazeera reports this incident.
These incidents have escalated recently: from vandalism and vandalising cars, to more coordinated symbolic intimidation such as targeting of mosques repeatedly with flags carrying ethnic-nationalist imagery as well as explicitly religious nationalist slogans, according to BMT’s A Summer of Division report and The Guardian reports. BMT warns that these patterns indicate organized escalation rather than isolated acts.
What’s Behind the Surge? The BMT warns that while correlation does not equate to causation, there appears to be a strong temporal link between increased nationalist public mobilizations such as “Raise the Colours” campaign and “Unite the Kingdom” rally and mosque-targeted incidents. Flags and nationalist imagery initially seen as patriotic have now become weapons used against minority communities and groups for group intimidation purposes. According to The Guardian newspaper.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric, far-right mobilisation, and online extremist encouragement has created an environment in which mosques have increasingly become targets of attacks – for example last year Islamophobic assaults rose 73% across the UK according to The Guardian.
Impacts and Responses
For Britain’s Muslim communities, attacks pose serious psychological and social burdens. Worshippers express fear, feeling vulnerable and experiencing their presence as acts of vandalism but acts that signal exclusion and intimidation – for instance the Basildon mosque noted how graffiti felt like “a kick in the teeth”. (muslimnews.co.uk).
The BMT is advocating for immediate action: enhanced security funding and rapid response protocols for mosques, enhanced community cohesion education programs, as well as better policing and platform (online) responses to hate incidents. Anti-Muslim hatred has become both more visible and violent over time.
Local authorities and faith organisations have spoken out. For example, Basildon council leader has denounced those responsible as “cowardly scumbags”, affirming that they stand together against hate. Its muslimnews.co.uk
Why it Matters Mosques serve more than one function; they serve as community gathering points and landmarks of civic life – they serve as symbols of belonging. When targeted with flags and nationalist/Christian slogans it sends the message that certain communities are perceived as different and unwanted – which erodes social cohesion while weakening trust in institutions intended to safeguard all citizens.

What Comes Next
Experts warn that without immediate and robust interventions, the trend could deepen further. Key steps include increasing mosque security funding and improving hate crime reporting mechanisms; expanding community resilience programs; and closely scrutinizing nationalist campaigns and use of flag symbolism in public discourse.