It is the latest violent incident to be reported in a politically charged British summer, during which incidents of Islamophobic and antisemitic hate have remained high, and comes just days after a deadly attack outside a synagogue in Manchester.
Two people in balaclavas tried to force the mosque’s door open on Saturday night before pouring gasoline onto the steps and setting it alight, a voluntary mosque manager who asked not to be named told CNN.
Emergency crews rushed to the mosque in Peacehaven, near Brighton on the country’s south coast, shortly before 10pm local time (8am Sunday AEDT).
The mosque’s chairman and a fellow worshipper, both in their 60s, were having tea inside when they heard a loud bang outside and fled the building as flames curled across the main entrance, according to the mosque manager.
It is not known if the suspected arsonists knew people were inside at the time.
“They could have easily died,” the manager told CNN, saying “these people came with full intent to cause maximum damage”.
“The chairman was shaking the whole time, and a neighbour came out onto the street crying,” he said.
“Everyone is scared. If someone was willing to do this, we don’t know what’s next.”
The small mosque, opened four years ago, serves 10 to 15 worshippers who had gathered for evening prayers at 8.15pm local time (6.15am Sunday AEDT).
After the mosque closed, the chairman stayed behind with another volunteer for a cup of tea.
“They are old chaps in their 60s and usually do that. The mosque is usually a very friendly and relaxed environment,” the manager said.
Footage from the mosque’s door camera shows two people in balaclavas arriving at the entrance a short time later, pulling the door handle and pushing the door several times, the manager said.
“Then we saw them pouring gasoline all over the floor and the door of the mosque and the chairman’s car outside.”
Police said the fire damaged the front of the mosque and a vehicle parked outside.
The mosque’s chairman works as a taxi driver and relied on the car as his livelihood, according to the manager.
“Unfortunately, just a shell of his vehicle is left,” he added.
Nobody was physically harmed during the fire, but police said its impact will “be felt by the Muslim community” of the small coastal town.
Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes district, James MacCleary, condemned the incident on X.
“Appalling to hear about this fire at the mosque in Peacehaven. It is used by my constituents and is an important part of the local community. Police are treating it as a hate crime,” he wrote.
Last August, the mosque was targeted twice overnight with eggs thrown at the building and people have shouted curse words and racial slurs when passing by, the manager said.
“But we never expected an attack on this level,” he said.
“The community right now is on their toes. They feel unsafe, they are paranoid. There is a lot going on right now.”
An increased police presence is in place at the scene with additional patrols “to provide reassurance at other places of worship across the county,” Detective Superintendent Karrie Bohanna, from Sussex Police, said.
On Thursday, two Jewish worshippers were killed in a car ramming and stabbing attack outside a synagogue in the English city of Manchester on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned that attack, and warned that hatred “is rising once again, and Britain must defeat it once again.”
