Tensions between Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester remain high as violence spreads to other parts of the United Kingdom (UK), including Smethwick and Birmingham.
In Smethwick, a mob of at least 100 Muslim residents circled the Durga Bhawan Temple on Tuesday morning, with at least one person arrested. Protestors also fired fireworks against the police. No one was injured during the incident.
The West Midlands Police said it is aware of the demonstration, which was held to protest an event at the Hindu Cultural Resource Centre that was later cancelled. Protestors argued that the lead speaker of the event, Sadhvi Ritambhara, is anti-Muslim and had contributed to the destruction of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992.
BREAK: Around 200 people, mainly Muslims, have arrived outside the Durga Bhawan Hindu Centre in Smethwick, West Mids - one bottle has been thrown although the situation has calmed slightly for now. There is a growing police presence @SkyNews pic.twitter.com/uLzKrsiqVi
— Dan Whitehead (@danwnews) September 20, 2022
Police are maintaining a “visible police presence” and engaging with community leaders to avoid violent brawls between the two communities.
The violence first started in Leicester after India’s victory against Pakistan in their first encounter of the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates on 28 August. The brawls soon morphed from an India-Pakistan disagreement into religion-based violence as videos and images showed Pakistani gangs attacking Hindus and vandalising Hindu places of worship.
Residents of Leicester said they were “petrified” and unwilling to leave their homes as the clashes worsened on Saturday and Sunday. Leicestershire Police arrested 47 people over the weekend but said that there have not been any “reports of disorder” or violence since the weekend. On Wednesday, police officials confirmed that most of those arrested had come from outside Leicester from cities such as Birmingham, Luton, and Bradford.
Muslim-Hindu Unity Statement by Temple President, Pradyumna Das, outside Asfordby St Mosque.
— ISKCON Leicester (@IskconLeicester) September 20, 2022
“#Leicester has no place for any foreign extremist ideology that causes division. Our message to anyone that sows disharmony between us is clear 'we will not let you succeed.'” pic.twitter.com/qhYY7bqzff
Leicester Mayor Peter Soulsby said the violence had gotten out of hand because of social media disinformation in an “otherwise very peaceful city.” For instance, the police have disproved allegations that a group of Hindu men kidnapped a Muslim girl. Furthermore, religious leaders dismissed reports of Hindus storming mosques during prayers.
Similarly, Mazhar Mohammed, the chair of the Jamia Masjid, the largest mosque in Smethwick, alleged that the tensions were fuelled by foreign “right wing extremists,” noting that Hindus and Muslims have peacefully coexisted there for years now.
Against this backdrop, leaders of both religious communities delivered a joint statement reminding residents of the harmony between the two faiths for over half a century, which has galvanised their joint fight against common challenges such as racism.
The release said that the two communities’ leaders were “saddened and heartbroken to see the eruption of tension and violence.” They condemned the “physical attacks” and “unwarranted damage to property,” saying it is “not part of [their] faiths.”
The Muslim Council of Britain, too, reiterated that “hatred of any kind has no place in our society.”
Likewise, a group of leaders from the Hindu and Jain communities in Leicester called for “calm in the city.”
The Hindu Council UK raised concern that the violence could spread to other parts of the country. Speaking to The Telegraph, a representative said: “Religious leaders have continued to call for calm but the youths… It’s very difficult. You can’t control them. It’s crazy. It’s going everywhere. I can’t bring myself to say that it will come to London because we want to stop it somehow.”