‘WE MUST REMAIN A BEACON OF UNITY’
As Hindus and Muslims clash in Leicester, Asian leaders plead…
PEERS, MPs, religious and civic leaders have urged Hindus and Muslims to stand together after disturbances and protests in Leicester spread to the West Midlands, too.
They also called on the police to communicate and better engage with south Asian communities to stop religious tensions from rising.
Last Tuesday (20), a group comprising hundreds of what appeared to be Muslim men protested outside a Hindu temple in Smethwick near Birmingham.
They had allegedly heard rumours the place of worship had invited a right-wing Hindu activist to speak to worshippers.
“I was really very concerned, because we haven’t seen these kinds of communal tensions here on the streets of the United Kingdom,” Preet Kaur Gill, the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, told Eastern Eye.
“The Smethwick protest could have been handled a little bit differently – in the sense that when people were already raising this issue about the visitor due to come (to the UK), if the police had spoken to the mandir, and they had confirmed they had cancelled the event, then the police should have shared that information beforehand.
“That way none of those crowds would have turned up protesting in the way that we saw they did.”
“I feel just getting a grip in terms of bringing the community together, making sure we have the correct information, and it’s being dispersed, means we’re not leaving communities to rely on social media,” Gill added.
Parliamentarians are concerned that fake news on social media, including Twitter and WhatsApp, is inciting religious and racial hatred to spill into potential violence elsewhere in the UK.
They pointed to rumours which spread about Muslims “targeting” Hindu temples in London for protest demonstrations last Sunday (25).
It followed speculation that members of extremists groups, which have their bases in India, were “behind attacks on Muslims” in Britain.
Taking to Twitter, Barry Gardiner, the
Labour MP for Brent North in London, wrote, “I’ve contacted the police about the incitement to demonstrate at a Hindu temple in my constituency tomorrow.
“Anyone thinking of demonstrating should stay away and recognise that hate crimes carry jail sentences.
“Hindus should not go to ‘defend’ the mandir. That is the police job.”
Over the past three weeks, Leicester has witnessed episodes of communal violence rarely seen outside the south Asian subcontinent. Hindus were pitted against Muslims and vice versa, and it remains unclear why the clashes happened.
The disturbances have fuelled claims on social media that right-wing Hindu extremists and Islamist groups were responsible for inciting violence by spreading fake news.
But local councillor and community activist, Ruma Ali, told Eastern Eye she had witnessed first-hand what she described as extremist groups in Leicester since April.
“I don’t know where they came from, maybe they came from Birmingham, places like that,” said Ali.
“They have come outside the mosque, and they’ve blasted music during prayer time, which is disrespectful.
“So, when they were told to go away by the Muslim community, they came back the next day, drinking alcohol outside the mosque, throwing the cans in front of the mosque – that provoked the community.
“What they did during the evening, again, people were praying in the mosque, they were urinating outside the mosque. It was the same people, and it was deliberate.”
Ali said this has been happening for several months.
“We’ve tried to ask these people not to come near the mosque and not to do this.
“We’ve tried to do it without being violent and without being aggressive.
“We’ve tried to get the police involved. We’ve got video footage, we’ve got witnesses, we’ve got CCTV, and it’s [incidents] never happened before.”
Leicestershire Police have, so far, arrested almost 50 people. They charged eight men, all from Leicester, with a variety of offences including on suspicion of making threats to kill and on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon.
Parliamentarians and civic leaders have condemned the violence and spreading of false information.
“There is absolutely zero evidence of any right-wing Hindu groups being here, and I haven’t even seen any evidence of extreme Muslims here either,” said Baroness Sandy Verma from Leicester.
“But what I have seen are people who don’t belong to the city, using social media to ignite tensions, and that’s wrong.
“I totally condemn any form of extremism, and we don’t want any extremists in this country.
“We’re living in a country that’s tolerant of everyone – why should we support any form of extremism?”
Monday (26) saw the first day of Navratri and Durga Puja, among the most important religious festivals in the Hindu calendar. Sources told Eastern Eye about fears that events would be targeted by Muslim groups.
Jaffer Kapasi, the former president of the Leicestershire Asian Business Association, and a Muslim, said bigotry had no place in his city.
“Citizens of Leicester live in continuous harmony, and we maintain this multicultural, multifaith city,” he said.
“This is for the benefit of our children, grandchildren who are going to live and they are going to progress here.
“My appeal again is to make sure there’s peace and harmony as there has always been in Leicester.”
In London, civic leaders are concerned about the growth of communal tensions and subsequent violence.
“Any attempts to drive a wedge between our communities by a small minority should be called out and resisted by all,” tweeted London mayor, Sadiq Khan.
“Now is the time for us to rekindle and strengthen our bonds of solidarity.
“My grandparents were from India. My parents from Pakistan. I was born and raised in London and am proud to call Britain my home.
“But like many Londoners who can trace their family history to different parts of the world, I feel a strong connection with my heritage.”
Navin Shah, the former chair of the London Assembly, has written to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, urging her “to do everything in her power to immediately restore order and peace in the areas affected”.
He also asked her to “provide adequate resources to stop such communal clashes and bring about community cohesion”.
Shah told Eastern Eye, “Individuals and organisations I know are talking about the troubles spreading.
“Feelings are raw, and with social media, it heightens the symptoms and produces insecurity.
“You get conflicting reports that on the one hand there were external forces coming up from Birmingham and Smethwick or wherever. Then you’re told that these things have been brewing long before the India-Pakistan cricket match.
“So you worry about these things spilling over in other areas, and that is dangerous. We do not want that in this country. I’m very proud of the UK being a beacon of unity.”
West Midlands Police said last Friday (23) that they had arrested a 37-year-old man from Birmingham on suspicion of publishing material with intent to incite religious hatred.
“We had been searching for him following the publication of a social media video earlier this week where threats were made and derogatory language used,” they wrote on their website.
“The man handed himself in to officers this morning and will be questioned in due course.”
There was an increased police presence in temples in Coventry following protests outside a mandir in Smethwick last Tuesday (20).
“We always seek to facilitate peaceful protest, upholding the right to protest, while balancing it with the rights of others to keep the public safe, prevent crime and disorder,” the police said.
“However, we won’t accept disorder and will seek to act against anyone who attends with the intention to cause trouble and put the safety of others at risk.
“We would also ask people to be mindful of misinformation and rumours on social media. This can have a serious impact on communities.”
In 2019, the then prime minister, Boris Johnson, authorised the recruitment of 20,000 new police officers.
But, according to the Home Office figures, the service lost more than 21,700 staff during 2010 and 2018.
“We’ve seen neighbourhood policing decimated by this government,” said Gill. “The fact is that we have lost 2,200 officers in the West Midlands. We have only managed to recruit about 1,000, so we are still 1,200 short.
“Another point is, we’ve seen hate crime based on a person’s religion increase.
“The government just has not done enough and the police just don’t have the resources to monitor and do much more.”
The MP said one solution would be to engage with local religious and community groups.
“I want to see every place of worship become a third-party reporting centre.
“Communities are much more likely to report incidents of hate crime, in their
language and to the places that they consider safe spaces for them and where they have trust.
“That just hasn’t happened, and it is also important we engage with the right people who really do have a say in the community, who are connected with the communities.
“So, who are those representatives? If we had neighbourhood policing functioning in the way we did once upon a time, then you would already have those relationships. The police would know who to contact.”
In a statement to Eastern Eye, a spokesperson for West Midlands Police said, “We’re proud to have such positive and productive relationships with all faith groups across our diverse communities.
“We have regular meetings with religious leaders and attend temples, mosques, churches and other religious establishments to discuss issues and look at partnership working to address these [issues].
“We’ve built up strong relationships which means we can quickly engage with all faith groups and the real benefits of this could be seen last week.
“We were able to promptly share information and help ensure there was no serious disorder, while also dispelling false information appearing on social media.”
However, the Leicester mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, told Eastern Eye outsiders were fuelling the disturbances.
“My message is to focus on the incredibly good relations we have in the city and not allow people to bring in issues from elsewhere, particularly from the Indian subcontinent, in ways that seek to divide us,” he said.
“It’s clear people from a wide range of places were being organised to use Leicester as an opportunity to raise conflicts that belong elsewhere and don’t belong in our city.”
Last week, home secretary Suella Braverman visited Leicester to meet civic leaders and Leicestershire police chiefs, and they agreed to hold a review into what caused the tensions and subsequent disorder.
“The response to this disorder is a multi-agency one,” said temporary chief constable, Rob Nixon.
“While it’s my officers on the front line dealing with the violence first hand, the wider response, with the community leaders, faith leaders, local authority and the force [is] to work together to address what is at the root of this unrest.
“We want to make sure this doesn’t happen again, and addressing the root cause of these issues within our community will be key to this.”
That will mean looking at the evidence his officers have collected.
The police said a team of 50 was “working round the clock” collecting and investigating the information.
Nixon said, “This will take some time. At this point we have 158 crimes and over 6,000 hours of bodyworn video, CCTV and social media videos to review.
“This will all take time as it’s imperative it is done thoroughly to ensure those responsible are brought to justice for their crimes.”