Leicester City in England’s East Midlands region has witnessed a sharp increase in targeted attacks against the Hindu community. The orgy of violence by Islamists began soon after India clinched victory against Pakistan in the group stage match of the Asia Cup on August 28. After that, there were spates of violence against Hindus where Hindu houses were burnt, mobs beat up Hindu men, cars were destroyed and temples were vandalised.
The violence was made far worse by Islamists spreading misinformation on social media, targeting Hindus specifically. One of the Islamists, Majid Freeman, had spread dangerous lies like a mosque being vandalised and a Hindu man attempting to kidnap a Muslim girl, both of which were proven false by the Leicester police.
Another claim that was spread by Islamists during the spate of violence against Hindus in Leicester, was that a Muslim traffic warden was beaten up by Hindus. Hinduphobic South Asian Journal posted a video on the 12th of September where an Imam was seen talking to his nephew, who was allegedly a traffic warden. In the video, the nephew then claims that he was assaulted by Hindus.
In the video, one Imam Khalid Hussain from Leicester points to another Muslim man, Mohammed Shakeel Abdullah, claiming that he was his nephew and was assaulted by Hindus.
On the 13th of September, the Leicester police took note of the video and said that Mohammed Shakeel Abdullah was safe and well. They also said that the incident was under investigation.
By this time, the claim had travelled far and wide. Several Muslims had started circulating this news where the alleged traffic warden says that a group of Hindus travelling in a car attacked him after he told them to get in their car and leave. He claims that one Hindu reached into the car and pulled out a knife and questioned him if he was a Muslim. When he answered in the affirmative, the Hindus attacked him. This was narrated with a sheepish smile on Mohammad’s face and was shared by several Muslim individuals across social media platforms.
On the 30th of September 2022, the Leicester police issued an update on the arrests and action taken regarding the Leicester violence.
The Leicester police in its update said, “A 28-year-old man, from Leicester, was voluntarily interviewed about a report he made to police on 10 September. It was claimed he was assaulted while working as a traffic warden. It was ascertained that this report was false. The investigation continues”.
With this, another lie used to instigate violence against Hindus proved to be false.
The anti-Hindu attacks in the United Kingdom – Leicester and Birmingham
In the past couple of months, the anti-Hindu attacks in the United Kingdom, especially in Leicester and Birmingham, increased by several folds. What appeared to be a reaction to the defeat Pakistan faced in the T20 Asia Cup match against India, it was later found that Islamists were just using the match as an excuse to attack the Hindus as they did not stop even after Pakistan defeated India in the same series a week later.
The attacks intensified to the extent that Hindu families left Leicester, and some of them reportedly have not returned so far. The houses, businesses and properties of Hindus were vandalised. Contrary to what was happening, mainstream media and Islamists tried to cover up the anti-Hindu attacks and blamed Hindus for the clashes.
In Birmingham, they used an event where Sadhvi Ritambhara was scheduled to appear as an excuse to attack a Hindu temple. The event was postponed owing to Sadhvi’s health. However, the Islamists did not back off and attacked the temple. It was evident that they were well aware of the fact that not only that particular event but the whole tour was postponed, but they moved ahead and called to circle the temple to intimidate Hindus. More such so-called “peaceful protests” at Hindu temples and establishments in the UK have been planned by the Islamists in the coming days.