After the attack on Hindus in Leicester, Islamists have been calling for a mass mobilisation outside the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir in London from 12 pm onwards on Sunday (September 25). The said Hindu temple is located off Ealing Road in Wembley in northwest London.
The development comes days after Islamists spread the rumour that the Hindu temple has been harbouring and ferrying Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) workers, via a travel agency, to Leicester to supposedly foment communal tensions.
In a tweet, Australian research scholar Sarah L Gates pointed out how an Instagram account had been instigating violence against the Hindu community. “So what are you going to do? Dress up like ISIS then scream at the Hindus to denounce RSS – a non-terror entity?” she asked.
So what are you going to do? Dress up like ISIS then scream at the Hindus to denounce RSS – a non terror entity?
— 𑆩𑆳𑆬𑆴𑆤𑆵 Sarah L Gates (@SarahLGates1) September 24, 2022
Is it time to scrap all taxpayer funding to any Islamic orgs who are feeding this.#HinduHateUK pic.twitter.com/BM5f91kaTZ
“Is it time to scrap all taxpayer funding to any Islamic orgs who are feeding this?” she further pointed out. The Instagram story, shared by Sarah L Gates, belonged to an account named ‘Apna Muslims.’
In a story, the handle demonised the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir as the ‘hornet’s nest of Nazi Hindutva’ and called for gathering outside its premises. In this way, ‘Apna Muslims’ laid a perfect ground for Islamists to justify any attacks on the temple.
The Instagram account boasts of 1240+ followers and is dedicated to promoting Islamist causes in the United Kingdom.
The origins of the conspiracy theory
On September 18, a Twitter user named aart123 posted a 1-minute long video, alleging that a bus belonging to Angel Tours has been ferrying ‘masked Hindutva thugs’ to Leicester. It also claimed that the supposed mobilisation of Hindus was being done at the behest of the Hindu temple. The video showed a coach belonging to Angel Tours parked near the temple.
A Hindu Temple in Ealing implicated in sending mobs of masked hindutva thugs to Leicester using Angel Tours. What action will police take against these terrorists? #leicester #metpolice #Mi5 #hindutva #Prevent pic.twitter.com/71WU3TctLo
— aart123 (@aart1231) September 18, 2022
Soon after, Islamists dug out a year-old picture which showed a group of people holding a BJP flag, standing in front of an Angel Tours bus. “This is the coach in Leicester Angel Tours belonging to Ealing Temple London and the group openly supports BJP,” wrote one Ash.
This is the coach in Leicester Angel Tours belonging to Ealing Temple London and the group openly support BJP. pic.twitter.com/NZfl7a8NeQ
— Ash (@ashg_74) September 18, 2022
The left-wing propaganda news outlet, The Wire, further amplified the disinformation with the aid of a Uk-based author named Amrit Wilson.
#Leicester “Coach Loads of RSS supporters went to Leicester to provoke conflict which can then be used in India to further Islamophobia & strengthening the narrative of Hindu victimisation.”UK based author & journo @AmritWilson speaks to @thewire_in
— Sumedhapal (@Sumedhapal4) September 21, 2022
Vid-https://t.co/BiZMNxf03j pic.twitter.com/D0F3S3MmxU
Quoting Wilson, The Wire journalist Sumedha Pal tweeted, “Coach Loads of RSS supporters went to Leicester to provoke conflict which can then be used in India to further Islamophobia & strengthening the narrative of Hindu victimisation.”
However, the owner of the tour company, Angel Tours, denied all the allegations, and said that his buses has not gone to Leicester in the last two months. He clarified that the buses of his company always stop in front of the temple as it is a major landmark and people know the place, therefore the passengers of his coaches can easily locate the bus. The owner Yatin Bhimani said that his buss are parked there only for convenience as there is ample space, and his coach company has no link with the temple.
In an interview with Ali Dawah, the owner of ‘Angel Tours’, Yatin Bhimani, clarified that the Ealing Road temple, where his bus was stationed, is being used as a pickup point by his travel agency since 2009. He also pointed out that he is not affiliated with the temple.
This was also confirmed by the Guardian journalist Aina Khan, who posted GPS log of the bus showing that it didn’t go to Leicester on that day.
Regarding the people with the BJP flag seen in front of his bus, Yatin Bhimani said that last year a group of people had hired the bus and the photo was clicked at that time, and it does not mean that he is associated with BJP. He informed that the group had hired the bus to see PM Narendra Modi addressing the UN Climate Change Conference in November 2021. The travel agency owner also informed that people got hold of the picture from his Facebook profile, where he had written how his ‘Angel Tours’ facilitated the journey of Indians for an event attended by PM Modi. As the photo was taken from his Facebook account, the Islamists knew that the photo is old, but still used it to peddle propaganda against Hindus.
Therefore, the claim that a Hindu temple in London was sending ‘RSS supporters’ to Leicester has been proven wrong already. The bus has no link with the temple, and it was not ferrying RSS supporters or anyone else to Leicester during the violence.
But the Islamists, who are always on the hunt for excuses to justify their crimes, are now harping on the fake information to create chaos at the Shree Sanatan Hindu Mandir in London. As the propaganda against the temple which has nothing to do with the Leicester violence grows on social media, it is possible that the temple may come under the attack of Islamists in the UK.
Built at the cost of £16 million (around ₹109 crore, the Shee Sanatan Hindu Mandir in Wembly in London was opened in June 2010. The temple has been built using the ancient temple architecture methods associated with Hinduism, without the use of metal. The limestone for the temple was hand-carved in Sola town in Gujarat. The temple houses 41 marble deities, also made in India.
