UK police have arrested 15 people so far in Leicester following the series of sectarian religious and cultural clashes between certain groups of Hindus and Muslims.
Following a cricket match between India and Pakistan, the English city’s streets has seen violence between gangs of masked Muslim and Hindu men, with at least one Hindu religious temple being vandalised in the process.
Local police said they arrested 15 men following the “disorder.”
“Dispersal and stop and search powers were used to restore calm,” the police said in a press release.
“The impact this disorder is having on our local communities is not acceptable. We will not tolerate violence, disorder or intimidation in Leicester and we continue to call for calm and dialogue.”
The High Commission of India in London issued a statement of its own, in which it condemned “the violence perpetrated against the Indian Community, in Leicester” and the “vandalisation of premisses and symbols of Hindu religion.”
Videos circulated online claim to show scenes of the violence in the area, such as one posted by the Hindustan Times, showing a prominent Muslim influencer, Muhammad Hijab, riling up a crowd of Muslims, some of whom are masked and wearing balaclavas.
https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/1571936594440986629
“All due respect – actually, no due respect. Hijab says in the clip.
“If they (Hindus) believe in reincarnation, what a humiliation of them to be reincarnated into some pathetic, weak, cowardly people like that. I’d rather be an animal. I’d rather be reincarnated as a grasshopper.”
He also talks about challenging “fascist Hindutva thugs” on the street if they ever “act like gangsters” and “come out like that again.” The group later breaks into cries of “Allahuakbar.”
Notably, Hijab has over 600,000 followers on YouTube alone.
A separate video shows a Muslim Guardian journalist in a Hijab being berated by two men apparently of Indian descent. They men complain about “jihadist Muslims” and appear to take issue with the demographics of Muslims in India.
Here are the bare bones of some of my reporting today. Hopefully much more in-depth reporting to follow, later this week. https://t.co/ENfwtiMESu
— Aina J. Khan (@ainajkhan) September 18, 2022
According to the journalist, the men also pointed to the Rotherham grooming and child rape gangs as a reason why Muslims were “a problem in the UK.”
Videos claim to show groups of Muslims “attacking Hindus” and shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
https://twitter.com/IAbhay_Pratap/status/1571779278580387845
Others claim to show groups masked Hindus chanting “Jai Shree Ram” – or “praise Lord Ram” – while carrying weapons on the streets.
https://twitter.com/sunny_hundal/status/1571933255842021376
While clashes between Muslims and Hindus are common in and around the Indian subcontinent, clashes in the west have historically been less common, with this incident seeming to escalate tensions in one of the UK’s most multicultural cities.