Mosque defaced with racist graffiti

The mosque, in Craighalbert Way, was vandalised with large slogans in black paint some time between late Friday and early Saturday morning.

Mosque officials have said that for the time being they are treating the crime as an isolated incident, andthat the local community has been generally supportive in recent years.

It’s understood there have been sporadic cases of vandalism in the past, and in one bizarre incident a group of people in paramilitary uniforms tried to hand Christian bibles to worshippers.

But until now the Cumbernauld facility, run by the Islamic Education Trust, has largely escaped the sort of racist hate suffered in the past by some other mosques, notably in Edinburgh.

The daubs on the Cumbernauld Mosque walls include the slogans “Deus Vult” and “Saracens go home”.

“Deus Vult” (God wills) was the Christian battle-cry of the 11th century First Crusade, and “Saracens” was a generic medieval term, and insult, used in the west for virtually anyone of the Muslim faith.

Police say an investigation is under way, the incident is being treated as a hate crime, and inquiries are continuing.

A spokesperson said: “Hate crime remains a priority for Police Scotland and we work closely with our criminal justice partners to do everything in our power to protect all communities and eradicate all forms of hatred.”