Anti-Muslim Hate Rises in UK as Mosque Vandal Pleads Guilty
Two separate incidents targeting mosques within days of each other have again put anti-Muslim hate at the centre of national attention, as fresh data confirms the trend is accelerating rather than easing. On 17 September, a Ukrainian national pleaded guilty to a graffiti campaign against five Muslim institutions in east London that investigators say was orchestrated by a Russian-linked network. That same week, Cornwall’s only mosque was rammed by a car and doused in oil in an attack now being investigated as racially aggravated criminal damage. Together, the two cases illustrate how anti-Muslim hate in the UK is being fuelled by both organised, externally-directed extremism and opportunistic local hostility.
Guilty Plea Reveals Russian-Linked Campaign of Anti-Muslim Hate
At Thames Magistrates’ Court, Illia Bilyk, 21, admitted five counts of racially and religiously aggravated criminal damage after spraying abusive graffiti across the Stratford Islamic Association, Al-Birr Mosque, Leyton Jamia Masjid, Noor Ul Islam Primary School and the Islamic Shariah Council over two nights in January 2025. According to BBC reporting, Bilyk was recruited and paid by a Russian-speaking handler on Telegram, and investigators have linked the case to the same network behind arson plots against properties connected to former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, for which two other Ukrainian nationals were previously jailed. British police have said they have no evidence the wider campaign was directly state-sponsored, and the Russian Embassy has denied involvement, but the case underlines how anti-Muslim hate can be deliberately manufactured and amplified by hostile actors seeking to sow division. Bilyk is due to be sentenced on 19 October. Met Police Chief Superintendent Rhona Hunt said the attacks “caused significant distress within Muslim communities” and stressed that “anti-Muslim hate crime and Islamophobia have absolutely no place in London.”
Cornwall Mosque Targeted in Racially Aggravated Attack
In an unrelated incident, the Islamic Community Centre in Carnon Downs, near Truro — Cornwall’s only mosque — was attacked late on 17 September when a vehicle repeatedly rammed its entrance gates before two people poured what is believed to be diesel across the grounds and exterior walls. Devon and Cornwall Police are investigating the incident as racially aggravated criminal damage and have appealed for witnesses, CCTV and dashcam footage; no arrests have yet been made. Volunteer imam Hasan Kilic said the community was “shocked and in horror” and urged vigilance, while stressing the attack would not divide the community. It was the centre’s first such incident in nearly two decades, and a local fundraiser for repairs and security improvements has already drawn strong public support.
Data Points to a Sustained Rise in Anti-Muslim Hate
Both incidents land against a backdrop of worsening figures. Tell MAMA data shows that reports of anti-Muslim hate in London during the first six months of 2026 (1,031) have already exceeded the entire 2023 total (1,028), while Metropolitan Police figures point to a 25% rise in faith hate crime and a 31% increase in recorded Islamophobic offences over the past year. Tell MAMA director Iman Atta OBE said the figures reflect “a sustained escalation of anti-Muslim hate” rather than a temporary spike, calling for “a sustained and uncompromising no-nonsense response from our public institutions.”
Anti-Muslim Hate Also Rising in NHS Settings
Tell MAMA’s own monitoring shows anti-Muslim hate extending well beyond the streets and places of worship. Verified incidents recorded within NHS settings — including GP surgeries, hospital wards and emergency departments — nearly doubled from 37 in 2024 to 71 in 2025, with a further 29 logged in the first half of 2026 alone. One NHS doctor described being called a “terrorist” while wearing a hijab on duty, adding that years of training and exhausting shifts “meant nothing” in that moment. Tell MAMA is calling on NHS trusts to take the data seriously, strengthen reporting pathways and improve staff training to protect both patients and healthcare workers from anti-Muslim hate.
Report Anti-Muslim Hate
If you have experienced or witnessed anti-Muslim hate — whether online, on the street, at a place of worship, in a school, or within a public institution such as the NHS — you can report it confidentially at tellmamauk.org. Accurate reporting helps Tell MAMA build a clear national picture of anti-Muslim hate, support victims, and press public bodies and police forces to respond effectively.
Read More: Police investigating anti-Muslim graffiti on Birmingham Mosque.