“When did the future switch from being a promise to being a threat?”: Mob of 200 Muslims with chants of ‘Allahu Akbar…Takbir’ attacks Durga temple in Smethwick as cops look on after vandalizing a Hindu temple and desecrating a saffron flag in Leicester

The tensions between Hindus and Muslims that broke out after the August 28 hi-octane Pakistan vs India match in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2022 have spread to Birmingham, England after weeks of unrest in the multicultural city of Leicester.

The violence has made headlines in India and Pakistan as well as the UK, and dozens have been arrested so far for involvement in the street clashes between members of the Hindu and Muslim communities.

Videos posted on local media showed large groups of youth wearing masks and balaclavas fighting on the streets and chanting slogans.

Community leaders and local politicians appealed for calm on Tuesday after a group of youngsters staged a protest in Birmingham. The police have advised youngsters to stay cautious and avoid any row over social media as well. 

On September 20 (local time), a 200-strong mob of masked Islamists circled Durga Bhawan Hindu Centre located on Spon Lane in Smethwick town in West Midlands, England, after a call for “peaceful protests” was made on social media. The so-called protest, which was more of an intimidating tactic of the Islamists, was organized against the already-postponed event of Sadhvi Ritambhara.

Her team had announced that the UK trip stood postponed owing to her poor health on September 16 itself. However, the Islamists decided to go ahead with the “protest” outside the Hindu temple. Several videos surfaced on social media platforms where the mob was heard chanting Allah-Hu-Akbar.

In a video shared by ISKCON’s Radharamn Das, Islamists were seen hurling abuses toward the Hindus inside the Hindu temple premises. They were chanting Allah-Hu-Akbar, and some of them climbed the fence wall as well. There were Police present at the scene, but in the video, it was evident that the number of Police Personnel was far less and not adequately equipped to handle a 200-strong mob of Islamists. The majority of the Islamists were masked in the video. Towards the end of the video, Police were seen making announcements asking the mob to move back. Some Police officials equipped with batons were seen approaching the temple to control the mob.

Writer and commentator Wasiq of Henry Jackson Society shared a threatening video of one of the Islamists. In the video, the Islamist warned Hindu supporters of BJP and RSS that they were not welcomed in the UK. He said, “This is a message from Birmingham to the BJP and RSS Hindutva supporters. You are not welcome in Birmingham. You are not welcome in Leicester. You are not welcomed anywhere in the UK. None of your speakers, none of your hate speakers, are allowed to organize this b**lsh*t. We are now here outside the Mandir. It is a peaceful protest of more than 200 people. We just want to let you know if you come down, we are all gonna be here for you. Even the speaker canceled look how many turned up.”

He further indicated that they did not have any issue with the Hindus of the UK as they grew up with them, but they would not allow the “supporters of RSS and BJP” to come to the UK.

In one of the videos shared on Twitter, Police were seen forming a chain in front of the temple wall and using batons to push the mob away. A few Hindus were inside the premises recording the whole incident. The mob continued to chant Allah-Hu-Akbar and hurled abuses toward Hindus.

In a video shared it can be seen how Police approached the mob that was at the wall and pushed them away while they kept raising slogans.

They said that there seems to be no planning behind the unrest, but legal action will be taken against elements involved in the matter.

Meanwhile, leaders of Hindu and Muslim communities gathered Tuesday morning at the steps of a mosque.

Pradip Gajjar, the president of the city's Iskcon Leicester Hindu temple, read out a joint statement saying they were "saddened and heartbroken to see the eruption of tension and violence".

"Physical attacks on innocent individuals and unwarranted damage to property are not part of a decent society and indeed not part of our faiths," he added, according to a video posted by the local Leicester Mercury newspaper.

The Leicester Mercury stressed that "the issues behind the unrest... are far more complex than just a cricket match".

Police said on Monday that 47 people had been arrested in relation to the unrest, which began the night of August 28 and continued this month.

"The impact this disorder is having on our local communities is not acceptable," Leicestershire Police said on Monday.

"We will not tolerate violence, disorder, or intimidation in Leicester and we continue to call for calm and dialogue.

"Our police operations and investigations continue with rigor and at scale."

Police said those arrested were men, mostly in their teens and 20s, and faced charges such as possession of offensive weapons or firearms, violent disorder, and making threats to kill.

Police have obtained extra powers to stop and search anyone in certain areas and take minors back to their homes. They have urged against "circulating speculation on social media".

A 20-year-old local man has been jailed for 10 months for possession of an offensive weapon.

Birmingham gangs behind Hindu, Muslim riots in Leicester: Report

Leicester (UK): Violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester were the result of outsiders coming to the city and inflaming existing tensions, community leaders have said, Daily Mail reported.

Over the weekend, police made 47 arrests after clashes between large groups of mostly young men in the east part of the city, as tensions boiled over following a recent cricket match between India and Pakistan.

But the people of Leicester say the relationship between the two communities has been strained for months and has been inflamed by the misinformation being spread online and outsiders who have traveled to the city from nearby areas such as Birmingham, Daily Mail reported.

Police officers were diverted from the Queen's funeral preparations in London to deal with the most recent unrest which erupted on Saturday night and continued into Sunday.

Dharmesh Lakhani, who has lived in the city for more than 50 years and works with local mosques, says he feels it was outside influences that inflamed the situation.

He told BBC R4's Today program: "It's been brewing slowly, slowly, slowly, and what happened at cricket acted as a trigger.

"Now my personal feeling is that if it was just people from Leicester, things would have calmed down."

"I feel there are outside influences here and they're not welcome. We really need just the people of Leicester, the Hindu organizations, the Muslim organizations, our authorities, the police, and our local council and we could sort this out straight away", he said.

opindia.com