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£10 million boost to protect Muslim communities amid rising hate crime
On 23 October 2025, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a significant new security funding package aimed at protecting Muslim communities and places of worship across the country.
The announcement
During a visit to Peacehaven Mosque in East Sussex—recently subject to a suspected arson attack—Starmer revealed an additional £10 million will be made available for the protection of mosques, Muslim faith centres and Muslim-faith schools.
The funding comes on top of ~£29.4 million already allocated this year for a similar scheme.
The scheme aims to fund CCTV systems, alarm systems, secure fencing, security personnel and other protective security measures.
Why now
The government cited a marked rise in anti-Muslim hate crimes: in the year ending March 2025, anti-Muslim incidents rose by 19 %, and Muslims were the target in 44 % of all religious hate crimes.
The Peacehaven Mosque attack appears to have been the trigger for the timing of the announcement, with three arrests made in the wake of that incident.
What’s being said
Starmer said:
“Britain is a proud and tolerant country. Attacks on any community are attacks on our entire nation and our values. This funding will provide Muslim communities with the protection they need and deserve, allowing them to live in peace and safety.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood described the attack on Peacehaven Mosque as “an appalling crime, that could easily have led to an even more devastating outcome.” She emphasised the right “to follow the faith of our choosing, and to live free from hatred and fear.”
Community reaction has been broadly positive: for example, the chief executive of the British Muslim Trust, Akeela Ahmed, welcomed the announcement, stating that many in the Muslim community “have become fearful and apprehensive” and that the funding will “play a key role in helping members of Britain’s Muslim communities feel the safety and reassurance they need and deserve.”
Implications & analysis
This move signals a few important things:
• It recognises that places of worship—and in particular mosques and Muslim faith centres—are experiencing heightened risk and require targeted protection. The statistics support such recognition.
• Politically, it underscores the government’s commitment (at least in rhetoric) to protecting minority faith communities and tackling hate crime.
• Strategically, the funding addresses security infrastructure (CCTV, alarms, fencing) rather than broader structural issues (such as social cohesion, community-police trust, or root causes of hate crime). That has both advantages (quickly implementable) and limits (does not on its own build community resilience).
• From a fiscal viewpoint, this is an incremental funding boost—but it builds on existing schemes, meaning the total available for these protections this year will now exceed £39 million.
• Some critics argue that focusing funding in this way may prompt questions about fairness (i.e., why this community rather than others), or about whether security spending is sufficient without accompanying preventative work. For example, opposition voices have asked: “what about churches?” when religious hate-crime protection is discussed.
Key challenges ahead
• Implementation: Ensuring that the funds reach the mosques/faith centres most at risk, and that security upgrades are effectively carried out.
• Prevention: Security measures are reactive rather than proactive. The causes of hate crime—prejudice, social alienation, radicalisation—still require long-term work.
• Equity and perception: While the funding is targeted, the government may face questions from other religious communities or civil society groups about why similar amounts are not earmarked for them, or how to ensure fairness.
• Monitoring and accountability: Tracking the impact of the funding—does it reduce attacks, does it increase community confidence, is the money well spent? These will be crucial.
• Broader social cohesion: Ensuring that Muslim communities feel safe is vital, but so is reinforcing cross-community solidarity so that security measures don’t inadvertently send a message that certain communities are inherently under siege or separate.
Conclusion
The £10 million boost announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer is a significant and visible step in the UK government’s response to rising anti-Muslim hate crime. It demonstrates a recognition of a real and growing threat faced by mosques and Muslim faith centres across Britain. Yet while the security funding is welcome and necessary, it also represents only one part of what will need to be a comprehensive strategy—one that combines protection, prevention, community building, and accountability.
In his own words, Starmer emphasised a vision of “a Britain built for all” and the government’s commitment to “delivering safer streets for everyone – and that means protecting places of worship from those who seek to divide us through hate and violence.” Whether this investment will help move the country closer to that vision will depend on how it is implemented, integrated with broader efforts, and perceived on the ground.
Attached is a news article regarding kier starmer giving 10 million to protect Muslim communities in the uk
Article written and configured by Christopher Stanley
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