Darnall mosque attacked in suspected hate crime
Jamia Abdullah Bin Masood mosque in Darnall – a community hub, food bank and safe place – has been attacked by vandals.
The Jamia Abdullah Bin Masood mosque in Darnall, Sheffield, has been attacked in an apparent hate crime. On January 2, local community members found the mosque damaged with Qurans thrown on the floor, the kitchen and toilets had units ripped out, and various technological devices had been stolen.
Co-founder of the mosque Mohammed Shafiq said:
The mosque also functions as a food bank and community hub, with Shafiq adding:
Media platform the Islam Channel expressed their shock:
BBC Radio Sheffield spoke of the community rallying around the mosque:
Baillor Jalloh, a VJ at Sheffield Live pointed out that the attack starkly contrasted with Sheffield’s history as a city of sanctuary:
Sheffield Green Party also condemned the vandalism:
Rising hate crime
A study from the Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) group in 2022 found that around half of mosques in the UK had been attacked in the last three years. The regional manager of MEND, Nayeen Haque, said:
Data aggregator Statista have found that the number of recorded hate crimes against Muslims in England and Wales have risen in recent years:
That said, it’s important to understand that statistics are only one part of the picture here. It’s reasonable to assume that many Islamophobic hate crimes will never be reported to the police. The reality of Muslims in Britain is that this is a racist and Islamophobic country. Statistics also don’t include how violent and terrifying these attacks are.
The mosque in Darnall evidently functions as a community resource that brings people together in a place of safety. Throwing holy books onto the floor and trampling over them is heinous. Targeting a mosque and ripping out facilities that serve the community is sickening behaviour. Statistics simply do not reflect the emotions that such attacks bring forward for Muslims.