Mosques across the UK are facing significant delays in receiving promised government security funding, with some waiting "for months" despite a surge in anti-Muslim hatred incidents, a leading organisation has warned.
The British Muslim Trust (BMT) documented 70 attacks at Muslim places of worship nationwide in the 12 months leading up to July.
These incidents ranged from vandalism to intimidation.
Among the reported cases were an arson attack at Peacehaven Mosque in East Sussex last October and an incident in February where bacon was left at a Bristol mosque during Friday prayers in the first week of Ramadan.
The trust also highlighted instances of "online abuse," explaining that communities sharing details of attacks on social media were sometimes met with death threats and encouragement for further trouble.
Akeela Ahmed, chief executive of BMT, stated that "some mosques were waiting months for funding after attacks because of a backlog." She suggested that the £40 million security pot could be devolved from the Home Office to local areas, potentially through mayoral authorities, to address these delays.
The Government has said it is “working to process all applications as quickly as possible”.
Other incidents outside of the BMT statistics include a replica of a mosque being placed on top of a bonfire in Northern Ireland, prompting widespread condemnation, and a 14 year-old boy appearing in court earlier this month charged with an offence linked to “extreme right-wing terrorism” after police discovered an alleged plan to target two mosques in Sutton, south London.
Last July, a man received a suspended prison sentence after releasing rats outside a mosque in Sheffield.
Ms Ahmed said: “We are seeing a steady rise in the number of attacks against mosques, and we believe the Government should be doing everything it can to help mosques protect themselves.
“Asking for evidence that you’re being targeted is the equivalent of shutting the stable door when the horse has bolted. A mosque is vulnerable purely because it’s a mosque.
“Currently, they’re waiting for months, while living in fear of another attack, because of the backlog. In many cases, police aren’t even responding to low-level incidents, leaving people frightened and vulnerable.
“It is great that this funding and initiative exists, but we need to recognise that the momentum on attacks is building, and we need to react and prepare for this. Community members have described, in their own words, feeling ‘scared for their life’ and feeling the need to ‘protect themselves’ by staying at home in fear.
“We recommend exploring better ways to get the funding to mosques as smoothly as possible including that the fund is devolved in order to speed up its delivery, especially given recent events.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Muslims in the UK face appalling levels of religious hate crime. It’s crucial that they not only are safe but feel safe.
“This Government has increased funding for protective security at mosques, Muslim faith schools and community centres to record levels – up to £40 million in 2026/27.
“We are working to process all applications as quickly as possible.”
The latest annual Government data on police-recorded religious hate crime in England and Wales, published by the Home Office in October, showed that anti-Muslim hate crime rose by almost a fifth from 2,690 offences recorded in the 12 months to March 2024 to 3,199 offences in the year ending March 2025.
This week marks a year since the BMT was appointed to receive investment from a Combatting Hate Against Muslims Fund.
The trust brought together the Aziz Foundation and Randeree Charitable Trust and analyses data to help identify the drivers behind a rise in anti-Muslim hatred.
What is the government’s non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility
The government unveiled a new non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hate in March as part of a wider strategy on social cohesion.
Communities Secretary Steve Reed said the government has a duty to act against record levels of hate crime against Muslims, but that “you can’t tackle a problem if you can’t describe it”.
The definition aims to both protect people from “unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred” and uphold the right to freedom of speech.
The UK government’s non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility is laid out over three paragraphs, and reads:
“Anti-Muslim hostility is intentionally engaging in, assisting or encouraging criminal acts – including acts of violence, vandalism, harassment, or intimidation, whether physical, verbal, written or electronically communicated – that are directed at Muslims because of their religion or at those who are perceived to be Muslim, including where that perception is based on assumptions about ethnicity, race or appearance.
“It is also the prejudicial stereotyping of Muslims, or people perceived to be Muslim including because of their ethnic or racial backgrounds or their appearance, and treating them as a collective group defined by fixed and negative characteristics, with the intention of encouraging hatred against them, irrespective of their actual opinions, beliefs or actions as individuals.
“It is engaging in unlawful discrimination where the relevant conduct – including the creation or use of practices and biases within institutions – is intended to disadvantage Muslims in public and economic life.”
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