Muslims around the UK have reported feeling concerned as several mosques were defaced in recent weeks amid a campaign titled ‘Operation Raise the Colours’.
The campaign, which has seen the English flag plastered across the country, comes after growing protests against asylum seekers.
The campaign has been championed by a former member of the English Defence League, which is known for its Islamophobic sentiments and anti-immigrant beliefs.
Since the start of the campaign, streets have been awash with the England flag, while racist graffiti has also been plastered on buildings, and mosques vandalised.
This week, a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and possession of a knife after allegedly racially abusing families praying at a mosque in Portsmouth, as well as punching a man in the chest before pulling out a knife.
According to reports, the incident occurred on 31 August at the Jami Mosque and Islamic Centre in Portsmouth, and took place where children were also on the site.
Portsmouth police have launched an investigation into the incident and confirmed that a video exists of the incident on social media.
"As part of our enquiries, a 29-year-old man from Southsea has been arrested on suspicion of assault and possessing a knife blade/sharp pointed article in a public place. He remains in police custody at this time," the police said in a statement.
However, the incident is just one of many that have come following racist protests, including some which involved groups of people demonstrating outside hotels which house asylum seekers in London, Essex and Norfolk.
Last week, the South Essex Islamic Central building was vandalised with red crosses and the words "Christ is King" and "This is England".
This was followed by, a day later, the St George’s Cross painted on the Dragon House Chinese takeaway in York.
The protests, which have been called racist and creating a hostile atmosphere of fear among Muslims and immigrants, have also spread online, with many sharing images of the England flag on roundabouts and lampposts.
In Reading, images on social media platforms show road signs covered with the cross, as well as at the Al Majid Centre mosque.
While some Muslims have raised the alarm, others have embraced their British citizenship.
In one case, a Muslim centre, which found a Union Jack flag tied to its railings, went ahead and placed it in their window instead of removing it.
One of the mosque leaders at the Wirral Deen Centre on Borough Road in Birkenhead said other leaders at the place of worship thought it would be the right opportunity to show their allegiance to the country in which they live.
He said while the flag was initially placed there and was "intended to cause offence", they thought that "a strong and powerful response would be to show that this is our flag, and we are proud British Muslims".
"I think it’s a common misconception that Muslims aren’t regarded as British; we needed to address that," he told reporters.
Another leader at the mosque told reporters that they chose not to see the act as an insult, adding, "We think he thought with the recent trend it would have been offensive to people who are Muslim, but that’s not how we see it all".
"We decided we needed to claim our narrative of being British and being Muslim and our claim as much as anybody’s to the Union Jack," he continued.
However, debate over the flag has continued online, particularly after Keir Starmer said he was "very encouraging" of people putting up national flags.
The Prime Minister said his family also have "got St George’s flag in our flat" in Downing Street, calling it "a great symbol of our nation".
However, the posts of Starmer standing in front of the flags in his home have triggered backlash.
"A UK Version of the KKK is Marching through Towns, Spraying Red Crosses on the Walls, Doors & Windows of Mosques, Hotels, Homes, Restaurants & Shops to Drive fear into vulnerable Minorities, & this is his Response. A F****** Disgusting, Shameless Pig, who's out of Rope," one person commented on X.
"In the past few days: a man with a knife outside a mosque, racist graffiti on takeaways and mosques, a nurse racially abused in a park, masked men trying to enter a hotel housing refugees. And not a word of condemnation from Keir Starmer. A serious failure of leadership," another wrote.