Elgin mosque hit by vandalism attack as community support praised

The Muslim community at a mosque have praised the support from their area following a vandalism attack.

Elgin mosque, which is situated at 1 Gordon Street in the town, is believed to have suffered damaged windows as a result of the incident.

Buckie businessman Zafar Ali, who runs Buckie Furniture, Flooring and Mobility was initially contacted by the police on discovery of the vandalism.

He said: “The police phoned me this morning [Tuesday, April 15] to say that there were a couple of windows at the mosque needing repairs after the incident and asked to see our CCTV footage.

“This is about the second or third time that the mosque has been attacked and it’s getting a bit ridiculous - folk are a wee bit annoyed.

“What some people seem to forget that the people who use the mosque and others like it are part of their community. They’re your friends, your neighbours, your colleagues, the people who work hard to help provide the services and businesses vital to our community.

“All they want to do is go to prayers, they’re peaceful people.

“All sorts of people use the mosque; for example, we’ve doctors coming in from as far as Aberdeen, Syrian refugees, converts to Islam, all kinds of diverse people. Our numbers have been going up at the mosque.”

He went on to say that despite the shock at the attack there was a determination to “look at the positive side”.

He continued: “It’s only a small, senseless minority that do things like this.

“The real story is the fact that the community of Moray is and has been very welcoming, supportive and accommodating and for that we are truly grateful.

“Personally I don’t think we were targeted as such, it was just a senseless act that you see directed against places of worship of all kinds.

“The wider community are rallying round to support us.

“We always like to look at the positive side of things and that’s what we’re going to do with this.”

Mr Ali added that if any neighbours believe they have captured something relevant on their CCTV to share it with the police.

Police Scotland were approached for comment but were unable to add anything further.

As stated by Mr Ali, it is not the first time the Islamic centre, which serves the whole of Moray, has been attacked.

On May 20, 2019, swastikas and obscene graffiti was sprayed on the building. In 2021 Mark Macpherson was jailed for 14 months after admitting the attack.