As mobs roam Leicester, faith leaders call for peace Scan this QR code to view the clashes on The Mail+
Violent clashes blight city for weeks after cricket match
FAITH leaders in Leicester yesterday called for an immediate halt of the sectarian violence among Asian groups that has rocked the city.
Representatives from Muslim and Hindu communities issued an unprecedented joint statement following weeks of unrest.
In the latest clashes, a video posted online shows gangs of young men in masks and hoods marching through the streets chanting. One is armed with a piece of wood.
The violence between mobs of Hindu and Muslim men in Leicester was sparked by India’s T20 cricket win over arch-rivals Pakistan in Dubai in August, but tensions have apparently been ‘ simmering’ for months. Other videos show bottles raining down on police as they attempted to keep the two groups apart at the weekend, and a man pulling down a flag outside a Hindu temple.
There are further claims online that Muslim- owned shops and businesses have been targeted in violent tit-for-tat attacks.
Police have so far made 45 arrests since August 28 for offences including threats to kill, possession of a firearm and affray. The sectarian disorder is being blamed on ‘distorted social media’ and troublemakers from outside the city after it emerged that eight of those arrested so far were from Birmingham and London.
The High Commission of India and Pakistan High Commission have also both issued statements condemning the violence.
On Monday, the Muslim Council of Britain hit out at what it called ‘far-right Hindutva groups’ – a reference to a form of Hindu nationalism in India.
But the city’s Federation of Muslim Organisations cautioned against using such terms that were ‘strictly related to this fascist extreme minority’. In the statement the faith leaders pointed to the city’s long history of multiculturism and called for calm.
It said: ‘Our two faiths have lived harmoniously in this wonderful city for over half a century. We arrived in this city together. We faced the same challenges together; we fought off racist haters together and collectively made this city a beacon of diversity and community cohesion. That is why we are saddened and heartbroken to see the eruption of tension and violence.’ He said leaders were calling ‘upon the inciters of hatred to leave our city alone’.
‘Leicester has no place for any foreign extremist ideology that causes division,’ he added.
Police said they were ‘significantly outnumbered’ dealing with disorder over the weekend.
Sixteen officers and a police dog were injured on Saturday.
Dharmesh Lakhani, who works with local mosques, told BBC R4’s Today programme: ‘It’s been brewing slowly, slowly, slowly, and what happened at the 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.’
Dr Rakib Ehsan, an expert in social cohesion, said: ‘Much of that [the violence] is as a result of out- of-town troublemakers from major cities such as London and Birmingham. And I think there is also that problem of recently arrived sub-continental migrants with radical ideological beliefs entering the fray.’
Independent MP for Leicester East Claudia Webbe said violence was being stoked by social media which appeared to be ‘spreading misinformation’.
Sharmen Rahman, a Labour councillor, said she had a ‘genuine fear’ the issue could spread.
‘I feel like it could lead to a more nationwide issue, where other communities in other cities start reacting to this,’ she told The Guardian. ‘There is a sense of calm at the moment, but we had a sense of calm before things flared up again.’
‘Inciters of hatred must leave the city’