Muslim leaders in Greater Manchester are demanding urgent government action to protect mosques after a Jewish man was jailed for threatening to kill Muslims at two Manchester mosques.
The Forum of Muslim Organisations (FMO) in Greater Manchester has called on the government to allocate dedicated security funding for mosques following the conviction of British Jew, Gabriel Levy, who threatened to attack two mosques in the city following an attack on a synagogue in 2025.
On October 4, 2025, Levy called the Al-Sunnah Mosque using a withheld number and told the person who answered: “I’m going to come to your mosque and kill you.” He also called Iqra Mosque on the same day and told a staff member: “I am going to kill you Muslim.”
Levy, 21, from Wakefield was sentenced to 28 months in prison at Leeds Crown Court after pleading guilty to making threats to kill in two anonymous phone calls.
Police arrested Levy within hours of the first call and searches of his phone later uncovered Islamophobic and racist language and hate speech. The CPS said the threats followed the attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation synagogue in Manchester two days earlier, although the Muslim communities targeted by Levy had no connection to the attack.
Following Levy’s conviction, the FMO said that threats against a mosque affect far more than the individual who receives them.
“The Forum of Muslim Organisations; Greater Manchester welcomes the prosecution of Gabriel Levy following Islamophobic death threats that he made involving two mosques in Greater Manchester; Al-Sunnah Mosque and Iqra Mosque in 2025. Data from the British Muslim Trust shows anti-Muslim hatred is at an all-time high with an average of one mosque in the UK being attacked every five days.
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“The FMO believe no person should ever be targeted, threatened or attacked because of their faith or identity; whether Muslim, Jewish or indeed of any other faith and none. A threat made against a mosque affects hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of people who simply wish to pray in safety. In recent years, Manchester Central, Elaf and Nasfat mosques have been targeted as well as the firebombing of the family home of a Bolton imam. FMO calls for the scourge of Islamophobic attacks to be treated with due seriousness and for mosques to be granted Government allocated funding for security with urgency.
“The FMO also ask whether media coverage of threats against Muslims receive the same prominence and seriousness as coverage of threats against other faith communities. Greater Manchester has a proud history of diverse communities standing together. FMO will continue to advocate for the safety and dignity of all in Greater Manchester and welcomes opportunities to meet with relevant authorities to discuss issues of safety and security.”
Mosque under attack
The demand comes amid growing concern about attacks on Muslim places of worship across Britain.
According to figures cited by ITV from the British Muslim Trust, anti-Muslim hatred has reached an all-time high, with an average of one mosque in the UK being attacked every five days. The Trust previously recorded 70 attacks on Muslim places of worship in the 12 months to July, including vandalism, intimidation and arson.
In June, a suspicious fire damaged a mosque in Blackburn, while in July the Nasfat Islamic Centre in Manchester was hit by what was reported as its third arson attack in three years, with police investigating the fire as a hate crime. A suspected arson attack was also reported at the home of an imam in Bolton in June, while last year masked men used an accelerant to set fire to the entrance of Peacehaven Mosque in East Sussex.
While the Home Office says that up to £40 million is available through its Protective Security for Mosques Scheme for measures including CCTV, alarms and security staff, concerns have been raised over delays in processing applications.
Last month, the British Muslim Trust said some mosques had been waiting for months for security funding after attacks, leaving communities fearful of further incidents. The organisation said a backlog in applications had created a situation in which some places of worship remained vulnerable while waiting for support.
The FMO said Greater Manchester had a proud history of diverse communities standing together and said it would continue to engage with the authorities over the safety and security of Muslim communities.
But the latest call underlines growing frustration among Muslim organisations that, despite repeated attacks on mosques and a substantial government funding pot supposedly being available, communities can still face lengthy waits before security measures are put in place.
Double-standards on hate prevention
While the British Muslim community remains convinced that the government is falling well short of what is expected to defend their community from rising racist hate, in comparison, British Jews appear to be treated with considerably more care.
The government’s response to the arson attack on four Jewish Hatzola ambulances in Golders Green in March 2026 was immediate. Security Minister Dan Jarvis made an oral statement to Parliament on the day of the attack, describing it as an “abhorrent arson attack” and confirming that police protection for the Jewish community in London was being stepped up. The government said the perpetrators would be pursued and brought to justice.
The following day, Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced that the government had arranged for four replacement ambulances to be loaned from the London Ambulance Service and would cover the cost of permanently replacing the vehicles destroyed. Streeting said the Jewish community “should not bear the cost of this hatred” and declared that “the government and this entire country stand with them.”
In April, the government confirmed it would provide a direct cash grant covering the full cost of four new ambulances for Hatzola. It also announced that a further £25 million was being invested in increased police patrols and protective security for Jewish communities, bringing the government’s total investment in protecting Jewish communities that year to £59 million, according to the Department of Health and Social Care.
Some have even highlighted an apparent double standard in the way the media has handled the story of Levy’s threats to attack and kill Muslims in Britain.
Roshan Salih, the editor of 5Pillars, summarised the point on X: “Remarkably little information has emerged about this Jewish guy who made death threats against two Manchester mosques. No comment from Greater Manchester Police or from West Yorkshire Police (the area where he lived). No media seems to have attended his trial. The few who have reported on it seem to be regurgitating a brief press release from the Crown Prosecution Service. We all know if this was a Muslim making death threats against synagogues there would be top politicians making statements, it would lead news bulletins, and the media would be pouring over his background, motivations and doorstepping his mosque.”
