Home Affairs Correspondent
Edinburgh Central Mosque was vandalised with Islamophobic graffiti on January 16 prompting a police investigation into what is being treated as a potential hate crime.
The assailants were seen spray-painting racist messages in red paint on the exterior of the mosque, located in the Potterrow area of the city.
The graffiti, which read “leave Scotland” and “get out of Scotland”, was sprayed on the rear wall of the building near the car park. Members of the local Muslim community reported seeing two young men vandalising the mosque between 9:45pm and 10pm.
Students from the Islamic Society at the University of Edinburgh, whose campus is situated directly opposite the mosque, alerted mosque officials after witnessing the incident.
Police Scotland confirmed they received a report of vandalism on Saturday afternoon and have launched enquiries to establish the full circumstances.
A spokesperson for Police Scotland said, “Around 12:25pm on Saturday 17 January, 2026, we received a report of vandalism to a building in the Potterow area of Edinburgh, It’s believed the incident happened around 9:30pm on Friday. Officers are carrying out enquiries to establish the full circumstances.”
The mosque, which has a capacity of up to 1,250 worshippers, said it is cooperating fully with the investigation.
In a statement responding to the attack, Edinburgh Central Mosque said it was “deeply saddened and concerned by this act. Incidents of this nature cause distress not only to the Muslim community, but to all who value peace, dignity, and mutual respect.”
“We pray for the safety and wellbeing of our community, and for all those affected by acts of hatred and intimidation. This act does not reflect the Edinburgh we know and love,” the statement added.
“Our city is defined by diversity, compassion, and strong community bonds, and we remain confident that these shared values will prevail over division and hostility.”
The statement concluded, “We will continue to be a place of worship, welcome, and service to the wider community, grounded in dignity, compassion, and kindness.”
As of January 18, one of the racist messages had been covered with white paint, while the other, reading “leave Scotland”, remained visible.
The incident comes amid a wider rise in Islamophobic hate crimes across Scotland and the rest of the UK, with mosques increasingly being targeted.
In October 2025, Glasgow Central Mosque was defaced with far-right graffiti reading “Scots First”, an attack the mosque said left the community “deeply upset”.
More recently, two men were charged in connection with a series of alleged offences after worshippers at the Kirkcaldy Islamic Centre were threatened on Boxing Day 2025.
In September last year, an attacker hurled a metal pole through a window at Masjid Yusuf in East Renfrewshire while children were attending a class inside the building.
In August, a Scottish neo-Nazi teenager was jailed for ten years after being convicted over a terror plot to burn down the Inverclyde Muslim Centre while worshippers were inside praying.
Photo: Islamophobic graffiti sprayed on the exterior wall of Edinburgh Central Mosque in the Potterrow area of the city (Credit: MEND)
