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The Lozells area of Birmingham city, in England, was the scene of race riots between the British Black and British Asian communities during two consecutive nights on Saturday October 22 and Sunday October 23 2005. There had been a history of tension between the different ethnic groups; the spark for the riot was the alleged gang rape of a teenage black girl by a group of Asian men. The rape allegation has, to-date, never been substantiated. No evidence has been found to support the rumour nor has any victim come forward. The riots witnessed groups of black and Asian men committing serious acts of violence against various targets from both communities. The riots were directly connected to the death of one 23 year old individual, Isiah Young-Sam.

The majority of the Asian population in the area is comprised from Muslims of Pakistani origin. The black population is predominantly Christian. The respective religious ideologies should not be taken as an indicator of great significance when trying to understand the cause of the riots; although they obviously aid in the distinction between the two communities, the animosity that preceded the rioting appears to have been largely based on local economic rivalry combined with possible agitation from opposing criminal gangs [1] [2].

During a 2004 documentary titled Who You Callin' a Nigger? writer and broadcaster Darcus Howe picked up and commented upon a backdrop of mutual ethnic minority racism both in the West Midlands and the rest of Britain. It should be noted that his documentary did not focus solely on the differences between the Black British and British Asian community but also included inter-black and inter-Asian racism. The problems specific to the Lozells area appear to be centered on the prevalence of Asian owned businesses, the 'unfair treatment' and 'derogatory attitudes' of each community to the other in addition to Asian and black drug gangs fighting for territory.

There has never been agreement on the date the alleged rape occurred and the exact circumstances remain unclear, descriptions of the event change dependant on source. The earliest news items concerning the issue seem to begin with the BBC reporting a 'Stop traffic' protest on October 18 2005 [3].

The rumours involve a 14 year old girl of Jamaican or Somali origin attempting to shoplift from a branch of 'Beauty Queen Cosmetics'. When caught by the Asian owner, she either offers herself sexually or he proposes to her that in exchange for sex she would be free to go. The girl is further raped by a group of eight to nineteen men. Afraid of being deported due to her illegal immigrant status the girl refuses to provide a statement to the police. The police appealed for any evidence of the event occurring and stated at the very least her immigrant status would not be an issue until after the allegations had been dealt with. Despite the appeal, forensic searches and questioning of several individuals, the allegations have never been substantiated and no witnesses have come forward.

Local pirate radio stations, most notably Hot FM and one of its DJs 'Warren G' discussed the details of the alleged rape and a picket was set up outside the premises of the shop in question, there were also calls for boycotts of other Asian businesses. Ajaib Hussein, 33, the shop owner denied the event ever occurred and blamed business rivals for starting the rumour. A public meeting was held on Saturday October 22 at the New Testament Church of God. At around 17:45 the meeting ended and violence erupted outside. Gangs of men fought running battles and at 19:15 two individuals were stabbed, one of whom, Isiah Young-Sam, would later die. As the night progressed the police recorded 80 offences occurring. Rioting also occurred to a lesser extent during the night of October 23. Between 30 and 50 individuals were thought to be involved in the most serious incidents[4]. Three men Azhil Rashid Khan, 22, Waqar Ahmed, 25, and Afzal Asraf Khan, 22 were charged and remanded in custody for the murder of Isiah Young-Sam.[5]

In the aftermath of the riots a solidarity march for unity was conducted by black, white and Asian women and children.[6]. On November 5 2005 graves in the Muslim part of a local cemetery were desecrated. Vandals who pushed over and destroyed several grave stones left behind leaflets insulting Muslims. The leaflets were signed by a group calling itself 'Black Nation'. There is no previous history of any such organisation and it is not known whether it does in fact exist [7]. Dr John Sentamu, the first black archbishop in the Church of England strongly condemned the desecrations [8].

External Links

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	The [[Lozells]] area of [[Birmingham]] city, in [[England]], was the scene of [[race riots]] between the [[British Black]] and [[British Asian]] communities during two consecutive nights on Saturday [[October 22]] and Sunday [[October 23]] [[2005]]. There had been a history of tension between the different ethnic groups; the spark for the riot was the alleged gang rape of a teenage black girl by a group of Asian men. The rape allegation has, to-date, never been substantiated. No evidence has been found to support the rumour nor has any victim come forward. The riots witnessed groups of black and Asian men committing serious acts of violence against various targets from both communities. The riots were directly connected to the death of one 23 year old ~~black man~~, Isiah Young-Sam.		The [[Lozells]] area of [[Birmingham]] city, in [[England]], was the scene of [[race riots]] between the [[British Black]] and [[British Asian]] communities during two consecutive nights on Saturday [[October 22]] and Sunday [[October 23]] [[2005]]. There had been a history of tension between the different ethnic groups; the spark for the riot was the alleged gang rape of a teenage black girl by a group of Asian men. The rape allegation has, to-date, never been substantiated. No evidence has been found to support the rumour nor has any victim come forward. The riots witnessed groups of black and Asian men committing serious acts of violence against various targets from both communities. The riots were directly connected to the death of one 23 year old individual, Isiah Young-Sam.

	The majority of the Asian population in the area is comprised from [[Muslims]] of [[Pakistani]] origin. The black population is predominantly [[Christian]]. The respective religious ideologies should not be taken as an indicator of great significance when trying to understand the cause of the riots; although they obviously aid in the distinction between the two communities, the animosity that preceded the rioting appears to have been largely based on local economic rivalry combined with possible agitation from opposing criminal gangs [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4373040.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4368994.stm].		The majority of the Asian population in the area is comprised from [[Muslims]] of [[Pakistani]] origin. The black population is predominantly [[Christian]]. The respective religious ideologies should not be taken as an indicator of great significance when trying to understand the cause of the riots; although they obviously aid in the distinction between the two communities, the animosity that preceded the rioting appears to have been largely based on local economic rivalry combined with possible agitation from opposing criminal gangs [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4373040.stm] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/4368994.stm].