Replica mosque on Moygashel loyalist bonfire condemned as incitement to hatred
A loyalist bonfire in Moygashel, County Tyrone, has been topped with a replica mosque and anti-Islam banners, drawing condemnation from Amnesty International as incitement to hatred and a call for police intervention.
The display
A bonfire constructed in Moygashel, County Tyrone, ahead of the Eleventh Night celebrations features a replica mosque on top. Banners attached to the wooden pallets read "Secure our borders" and "End the threat of radical Islam". The bonfire is due to be set alight on Friday night, 10 July, one of around 300 such fires lit across Northern Ireland on 10 and 11 July.
Amnesty International response
Patrick Corrigan, Director of Amnesty International in Northern Ireland, described the display as "a blatant attempt to stir up anti-Muslim hatred and intimidate local families". He said the placing of an effigy of a mosque on a bonfire "amounts to incitement to hatred directed at real people who live, work and raise families in Northern Ireland". Corrigan called for a "decisive response" by the police, adding that distributing material intended to stir up hatred based on race or religion is a crime under Northern Ireland law.
The placing of an effigy of a mosque on top of a bonfire amounts to incitement to hatred directed at real people who live, work and raise families in Northern Ireland.
Police and legal context
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said it is aware of the replica. A spokesperson confirmed that a 56-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the bonfire. Amnesty International urged the police to investigate, enforce the law, and remove the material before it fuels further hatred and violence.
History of controversy
The Moygashel bonfire has drawn criticism in previous years for contentious displays. In 2025, an effigy of refugees in a boat was set alight, with placards reading "stop the boats" and "veterans before refugees". A mock PSNI vehicle was burned in 2024, and in 2023 a boat symbolising the post-Brexit Irish Sea border was torched.
- Boat symbolising the post-Brexit Irish Sea border torched.
- Mock PSNI vehicle burned on the bonfire.
- Effigy of refugees in a boat set alight with anti-immigration placards.
- Replica mosque placed on bonfire, condemned as incitement to hatred.
The Twelfth
Bonfires are lit annually in some unionist areas to usher in the Twelfth of July, the main date in the parading season. The Twelfth commemorates the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, when Protestant King William III defeated Catholic King James II. The Orange Order's annual parades take place on 12 July.
