MOYGASHEL, Northern Ireland — Police in Northern Ireland arrested a 56-year-old man Thursday after a replica of a mosque was placed atop a large bonfire in a pro-British community, drawing sharp condemnation from the British government and politicians on all sides.
Every year, bonfires are set alight throughout the region in predominantly Protestant “loyalist” neighborhoods on the night before July 12 — a date that marks the anniversary of William of Orange’s defeat of Roman Catholic King James at the Battle of the Boyne back in 1690.
The mosque replica was built atop a towering stack of wooden pallets, with banners hanging below it reading “secure our borders” and “end the threat of radical Islam.” A figure could be seen in one of the windows appearing to hold a knife-like object. The structure went up just one month after a wave of anti-migrant violence hit Belfast, the Northern Irish capital.
Britain’s minister for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, took to social media platform X to denounce the display, calling it a “sickening and cowardly act of intimidation.” He wrote: “This is not about tradition and in no way does it represent the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland. We must stand united and completely reject such hatred.”
Colm Gildernew, a representative of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, called on police to remove what he characterized as an obvious hate crime. The leading pro-British political parties also spoke out against the action.
Authorities said the arrested man faces suspicion of displaying threatening, abusive, or insulting material intended to incite hatred.
In recent years, anti-migrant imagery has begun appearing on some bonfires, in some cases replacing the anti-Catholic slogans, images, and effigies of Catholic Irish politicians that had historically been displayed. Last year, at the same location in Moygashel — roughly 40 miles west of Belfast — a model of refugees aboard a boat was burned, also following a period of violence targeting migrants.
Last month, rioters attacked the homes and businesses of ethnic minorities after a video went viral showing a stabbing in which one man lost an eye. A man who police say is from Sudan or Chad has since been charged with attempted murder in connection with that attack.
