Parents in Stockport say they have been left too scared to take their children to their local mosque, after it subjected to six vile Islamophobic attacks in the past 18 months.

Windows have been smashed, pork products thrown onto its roof, and copies of the Holy Quran – Islam's central religious text – have been damaged at the Elaf Masjid in Edgeley.

And according to one community leader representing mosques across Stockport, the borough has experienced the highest number of attacks on Muslim places of worship in Greater Manchester in recent months.

Children as young as seven have been racially abused according to one local councillor. Earlier this year, a family in Cheadle also described how they were targeted out of the blue when a pig's head was left on their garden gate.

When asked about the string of incidents today (November 6), Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Sir Stephen Watson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We have seen the expression of hate crime on the streets of Greater Manchester in its most visceral form.

"We've seen the attacks on our Jewish communities, the Heaton Park synagogue, of course, being the principal example of that.

"In exactly the same way as anti-Semitism is wrong and is not to be tolerated, so too is Islamophobia, or any other form of hate crime. There is no place for hate crime anywhere in Greater Manchester."

Earlier this week, the borough's only Muslim councillor made an emotional appeal for help in the wake of anti-Muslim hostility targeting people's homes and places of worship. Huma Khan described how even her young nephews, including one aged just seven, had previously been racially abused and people in her community faced 'anti-Muslim rhetoric in their everyday lives'.

She said: "It shocks me and it hurts that here in Stockport we've had anti-Muslim hostility attacks."

In January 2026, Camran Butt's family discovered a pig's head on their Cheadle driveway while heading to school. Security camera footage showed two people approaching the property, one of whom appeared to unwrap the animal's head before placing it on a spike on the property's front gate.

The incident left his family shaken, and seemed to have come from nowhere. While Greater Manchester Police investigated the incident and have supported the family, they were unable to trace any suspects.

Ten months later, Mr Butt said his family feels unsafe despite overwhelming support from his neighbours, the local community, and the police. He said it was 'something I think about all the time'. His wife, he added, has faced abuse since.

He said: "I have lived in Cheadle since the 90s and there just seems to be a different feeling in the area at the moment. It's quite worrying. It wasn't always like that. People feel they can say these things online and in public."

He added: "Over the last few weeks with the clocks going back and the nights getting a bit darker, you are just a bit more vigilant coming out of the gates and walking around the park."

While he said things had been worse in the past, people at the moment 'feel they can get away with it', adding: "It makes you alert a little bit more.

"It's quite scary to be honest with you. You just do not know what will happen when you are leaving home.

"It's just not the same as it used to be. It's not on. It was never like this. It's just something that has happened in the last four or five years. I do not know what has happened."

People we spoke to believe news media reports as well as social media websites are helping drive anti-Muslim hostility both online and in public. The Elaf Masjid was ransacked in March just hours after the congregation celebrated the end of Ramadan.

With the support from the authorities and local MP Navendu Mishra, the mosque applied for Home Office funding set aside for protecting places of worship. There have been no incidents since March, with potential vandals thought to be deterred by beefed up 24-hour security measures, high quality CCTV, as well as reinforced doors and windows.

Despite the steps taken, Ahmed Helal, who is involved in running Elaf, said one dad stopped attending out of fear for his children's safety and had not returned since. He says the dad told him the 'mosque isn't safe for his kids'.

Mr Helal said people are now worried when another incident might occur. He told the LDRS: "The community still has fears and they are scared, especially the women. They are scared about these incidents. They aren't feeling safe inside the mosque."

He added: "If we are praying under security, this is not a normal life, it's not normal worship. You do not feel safe. You haven't done anything wrong or made any mistakes – why are you praying under security? It's very sad."

Dr Jawad Amin, from the Stockport Council of Mosques, said Stockport had seen the greatest number of mosque incidents out of any Greater Manchester borough in the last 18 months, the majority of which have been against the Elaf mosque.

He said: "These are all isolated incidents but it's a worrying trend that is happening", adding: "It's become more tolerated. That is what is most worrying. The police are doing what they can."

Dr Amin said: "Why would someone go to justify attacking a mosque? What is motivating it and why is there so much hatred towards the Muslim community. That is why we need to speak more about it and understand the root cause of where it comes from."

He added: "It does worry you that this could blow up at any stage. I think people are more on guard and more vigilant and wary. Some people are scared, especially the women who are potentially more visible targets."

While some feel like the situation is getting worse, there are plans to engage more with local communities and build relationships with neighbours while the Elaf mosque is in the process of setting up a foodbank. By pushing a more positive narrative, Muslims hope this will change attitudes.

Asked what he would say to the people who targeted his place of worship, Mr Helal said: "I would like to talk to them. Just come and hear from us, not hear about us.

"If you have any questions, just come to the mosque and ask me or anybody. We will be welcoming with you. The door is open for anyone wanting to ask a question. Not hear about me, just hear from me."

Mr Butt is also urging people to report incidents as he said the issue may be more widespread than he initially thought. He said he had been contacted by Jewish neighbours after his family was targeted who had also been targeted in similar grim pork-related incidents.

Stockport MP Navendu Mishra has repeatedly condemned the targeting of the Elaf mosque as 'truly terrible' and 'completely unacceptable'. Sir Keir Starmer also offered his support while Prime Minister.

In May, Sir Starmer said: "The ransacking of a place of worship is completely despicable and for this to occur the morning after Eid is especially shocking. I was appalled to hear of the disrespect, damage, and theft that faced you the following morning.

"As well as being deeply distressing for those first on the scene after the incident, I realise this atrocious act will have had a profound impact on those who attend the mosque and the wider Muslim community of Cheadle Heath.

"A mosque is much more than a place of worship. It is where the community finds a sense of peace."

Speaking to the LDRS, Mr Mishra said: "Sadly across the UK in many parts, hatred and division has been on the increase. I genuinely believe Stockport is an absolutely brilliant place to live.

"People here are decent, welcoming people. They have a history of welcoming refugees. The people who do these despicable things do not represent Stockport."

He said all places of worship should be respected, adding: "People from all over the world are coming to Stockport because it's a great place to live and grow old but there are a very small minority of people who use bigotry and division to other other communities and it's not acceptable.

"I will work with anyone to stand up against this sort of behaviour."

In Greater Manchester between October 2025 and September 2026, there were 343 recorded anti-Muslim hate crimes, the highest for any religion. In the same period, there were 9,438 crimes recorded as racially motivated.

At a borough level, figures overall show reports of anti-Muslim hate crime incidents for Stockport are the second lowest while Manchester is significantly higher. For racially motivated offences, there were 626 crimes recorded in Stockport, lower than Rochdale, Oldham, Bolton, Salford, and Manchester.

However hate crimes are considered to be widely unreported due to a number of factors including perceptions police will not take incidents seriously. Across the UK, religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims increased by 15% in the year ending March 2026.

Speaking at a policing conference on November 6, Sir Watson said: "We are very much alive to those who would seek to do harm to any community based upon their ethnicity or on their religion, or anything of the sort.

"We pride ourselves in Greater Manchester on the fact that we play the ball that's bowled. If we have an increase in Islamophobia, and we are seeing an increase as has been reported, we are responding to that with all vigour.

"We will not put up with it and people should not put up with being frightened. I have been very vocal about this locally: the idea that parents are frightened of sending their children to a place of worship or a place of education is intolerable, and we need to combat it very, very fiercely, and we'll continue to do so."

At the council meeting earlier this week, Coun Khan said: "This is on our doorstep and these are deliberate attacks. These attacks are designed to increase fear and make people feel unwelcome and unsafe.

"My personal response to hatred is not to hate back. I'm an educator and I believe that I need to create change through hearts and through minds and education is truly power."

The councillor said she had been well-supported by the council's leadership but called for more work to be done to improve hate crime reporting across the borough and amplify work tackling anti-Muslim hatred.

In response to the concerns raised, Stockport council leader Coun Mark Roberts thanked the councillor for raising the issue as she has 'a lived experience that nobody else in this Cabinet has' and the council would look to build on work it is already doing in the area.

He added: "From my perspective as leader of the council, I stand firmly against hate of all types and all forms and let's be honest, life is too short. Life is too short for us to hold on to hate when there is so much more that unites us.

"As a community working together, there is lots of opportunity, I think, for us to make Stockport really, really great."

Coun Dan Oliver, who oversees the council's community services as cabinet member, said they would be looking to implement council anti-racism policy already in place over the next year and encourage hate crime reporting.

He said: "We regularly meet local Muslim leaders at Cheadle Masjid along with police colleagues and address some of those key challenges we've seen around kind of where hate crimes haven't been reported as such.

"We bring that challenge to the police in those spaces and make sure that our key message throughout is if a victim of a crime thinks it is a hate crime, for me that means it is a hate crime."

He added: "We are absolutely working with Cheadle Masjid and others on that process of establishing more hate crime reporting centres and a network of ambassadors across the borough because it is absolutely crucial.

"We hear so many times that people who are victims of hate crime won't go to the police or won't come to the council or others because of that lack of trust sometimes in "will something happen and come of it" whereas those local trusted community leaders, including faith leaders but there can be others as well, are the places where people will go."

This week, Coun Khan joined Coun Roberts at the 'first of its kind' round table with Muslim communities across Greater Manchester. The event hosted by Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig talked about what is needed to tackle the rise in Islamophobia in the region.

Mayor Craig said: "We've committed to challenging the Home Office to make sure that we can get two mosques that are feeling under attack at the moment the funding they need to feel secure, and we've also committed to work in schools because this is where it starts.

"There is no place in Greater Manchester for hatred and hostility. We've seen time and time again how our Muslim community is demonized in our city region. There's absolutely no place for it.

"I will pick up with individual mosques that raise their concerns with me, and with individual schools, and make sure that they feel safe and supported."