Anti-Islamists target Palestinian rally in central London
Fury as Muslim meeting is switched to Pall Mall while right-wingers protest in Trafalgar Square
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
pa
Police outside the Harrow Central Mosque during Friday's clashes between pro- and anti-Islamic groups
enlarge
The right-wing group behind a series of anti-Islamist protests which have ended in running street battles is planning to demonstrate today in London's Trafalgar Square.
A pro-Palestinian rally scheduled several months ago has been switched to neighbouring Pall Mall, much to the anger of the organisers. They blamed the decision on the English Defence League (EDL) and other right-wing groups.
Raza Kazim, spokesman for the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said: "At the last minute after months of negotiation, the Greater London Authority told us we are not allowed to go ahead with the rally in Trafalgar Square. Instead of standing up to threats they have capitulated. A place that was to be used to raise voices against fascism is now being given over to the very bigots we are supposed to be standing against."
Scotland Yard said it was powerless to prevent the protest provided it remained a "static demonstration".
The details emerged as Communities Secretary John Denham warned of a surge in fascist extremism designed to provoke violence on Britain's streets. He said the tactics employed were the same as those used by Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists blackshirt campaigns in the 1930s.
"I think that the EDL and other organisations are not large numbers of people. They clearly, though, have among them people who know what they're doing," he said. "The tactic of trying to provoke a response in the hope of causing wider violence and mayhem is long established on the far-right and among extremist groups.
"You could go back to the 1930s if you wanted to – Cable Street and all of those types of things," he said, referring to the day in 1936 when violence broke out as Mosley tried to lead a column into the heavily Jewish district of Whitechapel in London's East End. Mr Denham later insisted the situation was not as bad as the 1930s but warned the threat be taken seriously before it escalated.
The central London demonstration follows clashes between protesters, anti-fascist groups and police in Luton, Birmingham and north London.
The EDL, originally formed by football supporters in Luton, claims to be a non-violent group campaigning against Muslim fundamentalism but is alleged to have links to former hooligan networks and known British National Party agitators. It was formed in March in reaction to barracking by Muslim protesters at soldiers from the Royal Anglian Regiment parading through Luton on their return from Iraq. On Friday, 500 riot officers broke up a crowd of 2,000 Muslim youths who gathered to defend Harrow central mosque from a planned protest by the EDL-affiliated group Stop the Islamisation of Europe. Police made 10 arrests as the two groups attempted to confront each other.
Birmingham city centre has twice seen running battles between the EDL and the campaign group Unite Against Fascism, and unofficial marches have been temporarily banned from Luton town centre following violence.
The EDL's spokesman, a 28-year-old carpenter from Luton who uses the name Tommy Robinson, said the group was quickly gathering nationwide support through social networking sites. He stressed they are a non-violent organisation aiming to protest against Islamic fundamentalism in the UK. BNP leader Nick Griffin has distanced his party from the group. Despite this, anti-fascist campaigners say some of EDL's key organisers have been BNP members.
Gerry Gable of the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight said: "We're faced with an upsurge in fascist groups, and it's a real problem. This could do more damage to community relations than anything since the Oldham and Bradford riots of 2001 and 2002."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
Leaders in the Islamic community must exercise authority and prevent a repeat of such a protest and direct the anger felt against the politicians responsible, not the troops who have no control over their situation. Failure to roundly condemn, in public, those who protest against British troops will play directly into the hands of the EDL and be the best publicity they could wish for!
And of course troops have control. They chose to be murderers, why don't they leave?
I remember the Palestinians dancing and handing out sweets in celebration of the 9/11 attacks. Seems that they want human rights for themselves but not for UK and US victims of Jihadist mass terrorism.
I was surprised to see Muslim youth confident enough to be running around harrow with shirts saying 'soldier of Islam' and yelling 'allah achbar'. The Muslim youths did not turn the other cheek to the protests against them (as the grieving families did a few months ago in Luton when Muslims insulted returning troops): Instead the Muslims then attacked the Police!!
At some point the Muslims in Britain are going to realise that they have been temporary guests whilst they remain advocates of an anti-British culture, politics, ethic and religious belief system.
The British will simply vote in a government who will do something effective about it.
I have left the UK until this all plays out, as it will be carnage.
Everyone knows those images of that unsuspecting woman were a fabrication beamed around the world for propaganda purposes. Mind you, given the terror rained down on them by US-funded bombs over the years, I would forgive any Palestinian a wry smile on that fateful day.
the EDL dont need to have this as an excuse to try and vent their disgusting views! They just want to see a WHITE ONLY UK and guess what? They dont have much love for Jews either so I would say watch out, these morons are bigots with whom there will be no reasoning.
To be honest the protests in Harrow were deliberately provocative, it was on a friday (when the mosque would be most busy), during ramadan, on the anniversary of 9/11. The organisers certainly wanted to provoke a defensive response from the UAF and local youths. By the way these protestors are referred to as far-right because of the affiliations they have with far-right goups like the BNP.
Everyone please think deeply about this....................................
British white working folks against all that they detest about mass immigration and the dislocation now of the historic fabric and character of the British People. The present growing protests are just the beginning of a more pronounced and confrontational political blacklash against all things New Labour. In the footsteps of the anti-Islamist fractions, we will also see the clout of anti-immigration protests that could spread far and wide at urban centres in the UK. Many such centres have now become almost ghettoized and foreignized beyond recognition because of British Labour's insatiable appetite to make Britain a aghastly and dreadful multicultural and multiracial society at almost any cost before New Labour's Last Harrah!! Truly, Uncle Monty. Blog - http://thebiggerissue.org/
___________________________
And i mean what is "British" anyway? There is no such race, we're just a mix of Danes, Celts, French and Germans. Is that what your defending?
The sooner people realize this the better.
No one falls for your 'Israel is the victim' lie. The Israeli's should be summoned before international war crimes court for the slaughter of tens of thousands of men, women and children
"IT WILL BE A HISTORIC COMPROMISE TO GRANT TWO STATES IN PALESTINE - ONE FOR THE JEWS AND ONE FOR THE ARABS" - Churchill.
Jordan is a Saudi ficticious country. The dwarf should be sent back to the deserts he came from. India must be returned the lands stolen from her, and mosques forbidden there untill Islamic states allow Hindu temples. Stop parading in London and demand a Fatwah for your neo-prophet Osama instead. Do it now - not tomorrow!
"The UK is at war and British troops are being killed and wounded. Booing them upon their return to the UK rather than blaming the politicians who sent them there is bound to create antagonism and friction".
Quite right, to put the blame where it truly belongs--with the Government, but I am British (English) and would not have waved a flag, or paraded to watch these misused soldiers return from an illegal war. How much more would a group of Muslims felt at having their "brothers" invaded and killed?
Nor have I any religion, but can respect the disciplines of those who hold beliefs for millenia and have created great civilisations.
Now contrast Britain, which has plummeted morally, politically and socially in my lifetime and you may find, like myself, the common denominator are unscrupulous and Machiavellian governments of two similar agendas--the sum of which is the atomisation and confusion of the British people.
Again:
"I am not disputing the right of peaceful demonstrations, just stating that it would be better directed towards the politicians who sent the troops there, rather than at the troops themselves".
The real enemy is the US and our own British puppet government, who lately are invading and trying to destroy Islamic countries, in order to control valuable world resources and remove all opposition to their viscious capitalistic "democratisation". They will not be sated, until the western world and middle east (where all the riches are) reflect the same confusion and atomisation as Britain--and where the people are free to fight amongst themselves, in order to bring in more repressive laws of public control.
The British people must realise that, capitalism is run by very rich internationally elitist families and has a voracious appetite--it has created an oligarch class of no accountability and has incorporated the services of politicians of all parties. It is no mere joke that, Britain is called "Britain PLC", and all politicians are now corporate players in this end game of people domination.
Unity against such formidable forces, is all but impossible with a multi-racial, multi-cultural mix--and this is not by chance--history is loaded with its consequences, and rulers use its diversity, as a means to disseminate and frustrate their populations.
Good points rhino but don't forget that the U.S. Capitol is referred to as "Israeli Occupied Territory".
Bush and Blair should have considered the side effects of their invasions...
Obviously, the problem started way before Bush and Blair, with the CIA well know for its manipulation of dictatorships in many of the Muslim countries with Oil and their clandestine support for Israels worries and ambitions in the Middle East.
Interference has side effects.
Why is this not being applied together with the accompanying facility for the death penalty? All these terrorists being sent to prison will still be terrorists when they are released
Extremism: Western countries invading another's country with military force.
Mischievous: British Governments allowing tens of thousands of unvetted and often unskilled migrants into Britain.
Cowardliness: The British people, scapegoating weaker elements of society, rather than fighting reckless governments.
Result: A Country, whose society is in conflict with itself.
People need to wake up and realize it is the bankers that have ruined this country with their poisonous usurious system they have all indebted us to. Only the Muslims, with their strict rules on usury, can save this countryand make it great again. Without them this country is collapsing rapidly.
This is not looking good.
Well what about bombing the London underground the day after we won the bid for the Olympic games. These protests are a natural reaction for any sane being. I don't see the EDL plotting to murder innocent people. It seems you can only be a fascist if you're white British these days.
2 - 'Islamophobia' is a nonsensical term. Calling someone an 'Islamophobe' is no different from calling someone a 'Naziophobe'.
How are they different from members of the British National Party? Honestly, if someone asked me, 'Would you rather live in a country where supports of the BNP are in the majority or in a country where Muslims are in a majority?', I would not be able to provide an answer: I would rather leave the country.
Both are hateful, authoritarian and ignorant!
(By the way, those who criticise Islam are not racists. Islam is not a race, it is an ideology. Similarly, the term 'Islamophobia' is nonsense. Calling someone an 'Islamophobe' is no different from calling another person a 'Naziophobe'.)
Prejudice is prejudice, whether it is against, Black, Woman, Fat, Disabled, Jew or Muslim.
Or you could just throw this lot in the same pot:
Amir Khan, the boxer is a Muslim
Hamid Kharzi, President of Afghanistan is a Muslim
Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist, Is a Muslim
Major James Michael Ahearn, US army officer killed in Iraq, was a Muslim
Sarah Maple, Young British Artists is, yes, you guessed it? a Muslim
Yes, they share the same faith in Islam, and I can image them to be in many ways extremely similar, then again aren?t all human beings, but I can assure you that their interpretation of Islam, viewpoints and actions are strikingly different.
Racism is a tool used to divide and rule for economic purposes. Please examine the history of slavery and its usage. In order to subjugate, control, work the s**t out of and treat Black people appallingly, good family folk, had to have a good family reason. Enter racism and its extremely handy views; Black people did not have souls so they were sub human....
Fast Forward a few hundred years...
The pursuit of oil control and supply is at the root of all foreign intervention in the middle East, majority population Muslim, (a quick scan of the last hundred years should confirm this.) has inflamed and encouraged the systematic prejudice against all people of Islamic faith, collectively dumping them in the same pigeon s**t hole.
In order for good family folk to accept and defend such barbaric violence, whether in Iraq, Palestine or Afghanistan they need a good family reason. Enter prejudice and it?s extremely handy views; Muslims are all terrorist?s that hate woman, gays, our freedoms, blah blah blah.
I do except that there is a problem with a militant and extreme interpretation of Islam. This strand of influence is growing by the day and has done for many years now. If we are to counter its nihilistic vision we need only examine it?s origins, development and growth.
The western powers as the dominant political force over the last hundred years, have constantly without fail undermined the very freedom it purports. That entailed breed a very angry people increasingly hostile in reaction. This mutation is not irreversible but will need radical change in policy to prevent further inflammation.
One last thing; not so long ago Nick griffin was praising the likes of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, at the same time as spreading racial hatred towards Jews, Now he has a Jewish BNP counciler and Muslims are the bogey men.
Fascism is fickle...
Fill in the Blanks:
first they came for .....
But I did not speak out because I was not a .....
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Wake up
For Love
What is disturbing no less than the provocations of the far right is that many Muslim youths fall into this trap and allow far rightists to provoke them.
All I read in the media is that all these confrontations follow the same pattern: the far rightists come to demonstrate in the places where many Muslims congregate, they demonstrate peacefully, the Muslim youths start throwing stones and things at them, the police comes to protect the far rightists, the incited crowd of Muslim youths attacks the police.
This is exactly what the far rightists want. By such behaviour, the Muslims live up the prejudices of the part of the general public in the UK, that Muslims are violent, unruly and against freedom of speech.
I am not a British, I am from Israel. There is a far right fringe in my country, too, and also, about 20% of Israelis are Muslims.
Not long ago the far right, after the police ban, petitioned the court to allow them to conduct march in predominantly Arab Muslim town Umm el-Fahm. The Arab leaders threatened that there would be serious disorder and violence if these people are allowed to march in Umm el-Fahm, that's why the police banned the march, but the court ruled that the ban violated the basic laws of Israel, contravenes the freedom of speech and of congregation and allowed the far rightists to march in Umm el-Fahm.
I then wrote an e-mail to one of the most prominent Israeli Arab parliamentarian, where I proposed him, instead of threatening the violence, to simply call for people, Arab and Jews, to come to Umm el-Fahm with Israeli and Palestinian flags and to demonstrate against racism, against discrimination, against war.
I received no answer. In the end, the far right marched peacefully on the outskirts of Umm el-Fahm, they were met by the incited crowd, throwing stones at the police, trying to break through the police cordons, police arrested several people.
I don't think such violence and such methods can help struggling racism and religious intolerance or improve the rights of minorities. I don't know why so many Muslims don't understand this.
The subsequent demos have all had a counter demo organized by anti-fascist organizations in tandem with the local community to stop such racial violence and thuggery.
The EDL is made up predominantly by far right activists and known football hooligans, these are not your average peaceful demonstrates, the only reason they act peaceful is because they are seriously out numbered and kettled in by police.
There were around 1-2 thousand people there, MAJORITY peaceful. There was a rowdy group mentality with the youngsters that lead to skirmishes, but this is not because there Muslim, this is because there young and alienated.
Reactionary violence is not specific to Islam, Please refer to battle of Cable Street for an apt example, the British Union of Fascists marched through the predominantly Jewish area of East London. Young jews and anti fascists battled both the the British Union of Fascists and the police that were protecting them.
We are all human, we share more than we differ.
Fascism is fickle.
Fill in the Blanks
First the came for the .....
But I did not speak out because i was not a .....
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.
For Love