A 21-year-old man has been charged with five counts of racially and religiously aggravated criminal damage after mosques, a Muslim school and Islamic organisations were targeted with offensive graffiti in east London.
Illia Bilyk, of Field Road, Forest Gate, is accused of carrying out a series of attacks in Leyton and Stratford over two days in January 2025.
Three Muslim venues were targeted on January 23, 2025: Stratford Islamic Association on Brydges Road, Al-Birr Mosque on Church Road and Leyton Jamia Masjid on High Road.
Two days later, Noor Ul Islam Primary School on Dawlish Road and the Islamic Shariah Council on Francis Road were also targeted.
Bilyk is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court today.
Chief Superintendent Rhona Hunt, who leads policing in the area, said the incidents had caused “significant distress” among Muslims in east London.
She said: “Anti-Muslim hate crime and Islamophobia have absolutely no place in London. We are committed to tackling hate crime while supporting and reassuring our communities.”
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Wider wave of Islamophobic graffiti
The alleged offences took place during a wider wave of anti-Muslim vandalism targeting mosques, Islamic centres and a Muslim school across London in January 2025.
At the time, police said at least seven Muslim premises had been targeted, including West Norwood Mosque, South Norwood Islamic Community Centre and Thornton Heath Islamic Centre, as well as the sites in Stratford and Leyton.
The graffiti included explicitly anti-Muslim messages, and police treated the incidents as hate crimes while investigating whether they were connected.
Following the attacks, the Met increased reassurance patrols and contacted Muslim community and faith leaders.
Stratford Islamic Association said at the time that it had been heartened by the support it received from the local community.
A mosque spokesperson said: “Those responsible for this act of hate have shamed only themselves. This is not an act of faith – it’s an act of cowardice. But they will not intimidate us. We will not live in fear. Together, as a united community, we will stand strong.”
Newham Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz also described the attack on the Stratford mosque as “deeply troubling and concerning”, adding that Islamophobia would not be tolerated in the borough.
Leyton and Wanstead MP Calvin Bailey said he was “very disturbed by the appalling racist vandalism” directed at mosques and religious centres in Leyton.
