What's happened
Violent clashes between Hindu and Muslim communities in Leicester have spread to Birmingham, with masked men protesting outside a Hindu temple.
Why it matters
The clashes highlight growing tensions between the two communities in the UK and the potential for sectarian trouble in diverse neighbourhoods. The unrest was sparked by a country-based dispute after Pakistan beat India in a cricket match in Dubai on August 28th.
What the papers say
The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Mirror
How we got here
False claims of an attempted kidnap of a teenage girl, unfounded reports of mosque attacks and inaccurate accounts of violence are among the online disinformation that contributed to disorder in Leicester. Local community groups have said that false posts on social media were in part responsible for a series of skirmishes between Hindus and Muslims which resulted in serious disorder on Saturday night. Police confirmed that Saturday's sectarian violence was also bolstered in part by youths who came from cities including Birmingham and Luton, some prompted by an online campaign titled: “We’re going to land in Lesta [sic]”.
More on these topics
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Hinduism is an Indian religion and dharma, or way of life. It is the world's third-largest religion with over 1.25 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global population, known as Hindus.
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the second-most populous country, the seventh-largest country by land area, and the most populous democracy in the world.
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Hindus are persons who regard themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for people living in the Indian subco
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Sir Peter Alfred Soulsby is a British Labour Party politician serving as Mayor of Leicester since 2011. He was the Member of Parliament for Leicester South from 2005 until he resigned his seat in April 2011, in order to contest the new post of mayor.
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion that teaches that Muhammad is a messenger of God. It is the world's second-largest religion with over 1.8 billion followers or 24.1% of the world's population, known as Muslims.
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Leicestershire Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Leicestershire and Rutland in England. Its headquarters are at Enderby, Leicestershire.
The current chief constable is Simon Cole.