Religious violence has erupted in the British Midlands, and appears to be spreading. Communalist violence first erupted in the city of Leicester – about 100 miles north of London – between British Asian youths of Indian-Hindu and Pakistani-Muslim descent. For weeks, hundreds – if not thousands - of young men in masks and balaclavas have been taking to the streets, after trouble flared in August following Pakistan’s defeat to India in a cricket match.
Now the violence appears to be spreading to the nearby industrial town of Smethwick, with one man arrested following a protest at the gates of a Hindu temple, following a gathering of around 100 people. Fireworks were also thrown at police. There are claims and counter-claims. The Muslim community blame Hindu nationalism imported from India, and the Hindu community blame Islamism imported from Pakistan.
