By KATIE FEEHAN and ROSS SLATER FOR MAILONLINE
The riot by 200 young Muslim men outside a Hindu temple in Birmingham last night was sparked by the religious building’s plan to host a controversial speaker linked to Hindu extremism.
Hardline Hindu nationalist Sadhvi Ritambhara was due to speak at the Durga Bhawan Mandir at the start of a five-venue tour of the UK.
But her trip, which was scheduled to involve further speeches in Nottingham, Coventry and London, was cancelled at the weekend with supporters claiming it was due to ‘ill health’ and her opponents claiming that her British Hindu hosts had withdrawn their invitations.
Nevertheless, up to 200 protesters descended on the temple on Spon Lane, Smethwick, to warn of trouble should other extremist Hindu speakers be invited to speak in the UK.
One masked protester said: ‘This is a message from Birmingham to the BJP and the RSS Hindutva supporters, you’re not welcome in Birmingham, you’re not welcome in Leicester, you’re not welcome in Nottingham, you are not welcome anywhere in the UK.’
Police were seen with riot helmets and shields confronting the crowd, believed to be predominantly Muslim men, and attempting to move them away from the temple while protesters climbed the surrounding boundary fence.
Bottles and firecrackers were thrown at police who were later forced to close the surrounding road so they could usher the protesters across the street.
It follows days of unrest between Hindus and Muslims in Leicester where 47 people were arrested during violent clashes this weekend, which community leaders say were fuelled by misinformation online and outsiders travelling to the city from areas including Birmingham to fan the flames of sectarian tensions.
Ahead of last night’s protest, temple leaders claimed ‘false allegations’ had been spread in a ‘plot to create some situation’, according to Birmingham World.
A member of the committee told the outlet: ‘We have informed the police. We were told about the protest by the Chair of the Imam group in Sandwell.
‘People are trying to create a situation like Leicester here. There have never been any issues here between communities so far and we are not a BJP/RSS centre.’
This story was originally published in dailymail.co.uk. Read the full story here