Violence between Muslims and Hindus spread from Leicester to Birmingham last night after 200 masked men gathered outside a Hindu temple to protest against a planned event.
Footage from Smethwick shows police on the scene as a large group of masked and hooded young men gathered at the Durga Bhawan Hindu temple, with witnesses claiming bottles and firecrackers were thrown.
Police were seen with riot helmets and shields confronting the crowd, believed to be predominantly Muslim men, and attempting to move them away from the temple while protesters climbed the surrounding boundary fence.
The scenes echoed those seen in Leicester just days earlier where sectarian clashes took place over Saturday and Sunday, with Leicestershire Police arresting 47 people in connection with the unrest.
Community leaders in Leicester have appealed for calm after claiming outsiders were coming to the city to sow disorder by spreading false information to stir up religious tension.
Leicestershire Police said they are investigating attacks on both communities, including assaults on Muslim men and the egging of a Hindu family’s home.
But not all incidents reported or shared online have been found to be truthful. Claims a Muslim girl had been kidnapped by Hindu men in Leicester were disproved by police, while mosque leaders disputed claims that Hindus had stormed the building and shouted at people who were praying, according to the Times.
After being informed of the planned protest last night, it is understood the temple in Smethwick cancelled the event where a controversial speaker had been due to address members.
Violence between Muslims and Hindus spread from Leicester to Birmingham last night after 200 masked men gathered outside a Hindu temple to protest against a planned event
But the protest still went ahead with West Midlands Police tweeting they were aware of the event and were working with faith leaders and others to monitor the situation.
A spokesman added: ‘We always seek to find the right balance between the rights of protesters and those of local residents and businesses, while working to minimise serious disruption to communities.
‘We have a long history of facilitating peaceful protest, and upholding the right to protest, while balancing it with the rights of others to keep the public safe, prevent crime and disorder.’
Local councillor Ahmad Bostan condemned the scenes, writing: ‘The despicable scenes witnessed in Smethwick tonight do not represent the harmonious rich diversity of our town and those who came with ill intentions will be dealt with by the law.
‘Our communities stand together against such bigotry and the peddlers of hate are not welcome here.’
Ahead of the protest, temple leaders claimed ‘false allegations’ had been spread in a ‘plot to create some situation’, according to Birmingham World.
A member of the committee told the outlet: ‘We have informed the police. We were told about the protest by the Chair of the Imam group in Sandwell.
‘People are trying to create a situation like Leicester here. There have never been any issues here between communities so far and we are not a BJP/RSS centre.’
Police closed the road and moved protesters across to the other side away from the temple
Pictured: Police on scene at a protest outside a Hindu temple in Smethwick on Tuesday
RSS refers to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an all-male Hindu nationalist volunteer group, often described as a paramilitary organisation while BJP refers to the Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling political party in India which has been accused of passing policies and pursuing a religiously divisive agenda.
Other video filmed in Smethwick last night showed a masked man telling the camera that any Hindus who supported the RSS or BJP were ‘not welcome in Birmingham or Leicester’, adding: ‘You’re not welcome anywhere in the UK.’
There have been claims that recent Hindu migrants to the city of Leicester hold Indian nationalist views.
Ahead of the protest, Muslim religious leader Muhammad Uddin called for peace and urged people to stay home and not attend the protest after discussions between religious leaders meant the event was cancelled.
He urged people to verify and check information they received and said as soon as the temple became aware of the speaker’s controversial background, the event was cancelled.
It comes as the second man sentenced in connection to violence in Leicester said he was ‘influenced by social media’, a court heard.
Adam Yusuf, 21, of Leicester, received a suspended sentence after admitting possessing a knife at a march on Sunday.
Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard Yusuf, who is from the city, had told the probation service he had been ‘influenced by social media’ in relation to events taking place near where he lived and was ‘upset’.
He was sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for 18 months with magistrates informing him his behaviour ‘brings shame’ on the city and would ‘not be tolerated’.
This weekend, police officers were diverted from the Queen’s funeral preparations in London to deal with the unrest which erupted in Leicester on Saturday night and continued into Sunday.
So far, one man from Leicester has been jailed for his role in the incident but police have confirmed that a number of those arrested were from outside the city.
Amos Noronha, 20, was sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to possession of an offensive weapon in connection with the violence but no further details of his crime were released.
Noronha was one of 47 people arrested across the weekend after the clashes which resulted in 16 officers being injured.
Those arrested stand accused of an array of offences including affray, assault, possession of weapons and violent disorder.
Some in the area had linked the violence to a cricket match between India and Pakistan but community leaders have been adamant that tensions predated that weekend.
Footage of violence breaking out after the cricket match on August 28 was shared widely on social media and police have since asserted the incident was not initially along religious lines.
Pictured: This clip showed masked men walking into east Leicester after tensions spilled over
Temporary Chief Constable Rob Nixon for Leicestershire Police said that police officers who had been deployed to the capital have been sent back to the east Midlands city to help
But the people of Leicester say the relationship between the two communities has been strained for months, instead labelling the cricket match as a ‘trigger’ for the latest bout of disorder.
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 programme yesterday: ‘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’s outside influences here and they’re not welcome. We really need just the people of Leicester, the Hindu organisations, the Muslim organisations, our authorities, the police and our local council and we could sort this out straight away.’
Yesterday, leaders of Leicester’s Hindu and Muslim communities made an impassioned plea for calm.
In a joint statement, leaders from the Jame Mosque and Iskcon Hindu temple stressed the close bonds of friendship between the two faiths and called for an immediate end to the ‘provocation and violence’.
The statement read: ‘We, the family of Leicester, stand in front of you not only as Hindus and Muslims but as brothers and sisters.
‘Our two faiths have lived harmoniously in the wonderful city for over half a century.’
Delivered on the steps of the Mosque by the Hindu leader Pradyumna Pradipgajjar, the statement emphasised the struggles both communities had battled to make the East Midland’s city their home.
It read: ‘We arrived in this city together. We face the same challenges together; we fought off racist haters together and collectively made this city a beacon of diversity and community cohesion.’
The leaders said they were ‘saddened and heartbroken’ to see the eruption of violence and tension between the two communities.
They added: ‘We are a strong family, we will work together to resolve whatever concern may arise – we do not need to call up any assistance from outside our city. 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’.
‘We ask all to respect the sanctity of religious places, both mosques and mandirs [Hindu temple] alike – whether provocation with loud music, flag bearing, derogatory chants or physical attacks against the fabric of worship. This is not acceptable nor upheld by our faiths.
‘As with all families, we will be having honest and uncomfortable conversations in addressing the issues, but we are confident that with our faith in God and, indeed, faith in each other, we will come out of this even stronger.
‘We’re One Family.’
Videos from the scene at the weekend showed a group of masked men march through Leicester with one seen armed with a 2×4 foot piece of wood.
On Sunday, there were ugly scenes across the east of the city, which began after police received reports of an unauthorised protest involving up to 200 people marching towards Highfields.
Leicestershire Police said a number of resources were provided to them, with extra officers deployed from the West Midlands, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Horses from Thames Valley Police were also deployed in the city, the force added.
Police said the extra assistance was provided through the normal mutual aid process and some officers were diverted from going to London to help.
All available local officers were sent to the scene immediately in an attempt to engage with the crowd, while extra officers were called in. But the protesters continued their march before the extra officers arrived.
A clip shared online showed a similar police division, reportedly between Hindus and Muslims
An opposing group then gathered. Police issued a dispersal order, but several other incidents of violence and disorder then broke out across the east of the city.
Footage has since emerged of police wielding batons shouting at people to get back as bottles were thrown, narrowly missing officers.
Video of fights breaking out on the streets surfaced Sunday with police breaking up the two groups – just hours after two arrests were made when disturbances broke out at an unplanned protest on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning.
Fights and scuffles broke out, cars were damaged and one man was filmed reportedly tearing down a flag outside a Hindu temple in Belgrave Road.
Independent MP for Leicester East Claudia Webbe previously said some social media accounts appeared to be ‘preying on this unease’ by ‘spreading misinformation’.
She wrote to Leicestershire Police’s temporary chief constable at the start of the month, and then again, before the weekend’s recent trouble, urging vigilance, and passing on reports ‘of incitement to hate targeted at those of Muslim of Hindu faith’.
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