Unidentified individuals vandalised Edinburgh Central Mosque at 9pm on Friday 16th January 2026.
The graffiti consisted of hostile statements that were spray painted in red on the walls of the mosque, including: “Get out of Scotland” and “Leave Scotland.”
Students from the Islamic Society at the University of Edinburgh witnessed two men vandalising the mosque and then notified mosque officials.
This incident has occurred in the wake of an increase in Islamophobia across Scotland and the UK.
In August 2025, a 16-year-old was jailed for attempting to carry out a mass murder in the Inverclyde Islamic Centre.
He had plotted to set fire to the centre, and was found carrying an airgun and aerosol cans. He was sentenced to 10 years, after pleading guilty under the Terrorism Act.
A young Muslim girl was assaulted in Newton Mearns on her walk home from school in September 2025. The perpetrator had made several threatening comments about Muslim people.
In April 2025, a mosque in Elgin was vandalised, with several windows smashed. This was the third attack on the mosque, one of which occurred in 2019, when the mosque was defaced with a swastika and misspelt, abusive graffiti.
Following Friday’s vandalism, the University of Edinburgh Islamic Society commented: “The Edinburgh mosque has been deeply affected by an Islamophobic attack, reflecting a rise of far-right and Islamophobic beliefs held by politicians and seen in the media.
“It is sad to see the real-life effects and consequences of this on innocent members of society simply trying to practice their religion, a fundamental right of people in a free society.
“Yet these actions do not reflect the diversity of Edinburgh and the welcome community that has allowed Islam to be part of Scottish life.”
“Edinburgh Mosque” by marsupium photography is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.