English Defence League march in support of Geert Wilders, March, 2010. Photo credit: Belkus
has asked
“I am glad the police have decided to ban the EDL marching on the 3rd September. It is the right decision to protect and preserve our multicultural and peaceful community in Tower Hamlets,” Lutfur Rahman, Tower Hamlets mayor, said. “Together, we will continue to reject any attempts to divide our community and will celebrate the diversity that makes our borough great.”
- Provocative hooligans. Writing at Politics.co.uk, Ian Dunt said the EDL are a “group of far-right campaigners, mostly from a football supporter background, with a particular focus on Islam.” “With tensions high in the wake of the riots, the march was considered a provocative attempt by the far-right to create division in London’s multi-cultural communities,” said Dunt.
- EDL: State is ‘inadvertently aiding radical Muslims.’ The EDL hit out at the police’s move to ban their march. In a statement posted at EnglishDefenceLeague.org, the group blamed their opponents for trouble at previous marches: “It is true to say that, although most EDL marches have been entirely peaceful, there have been problems in the past. But that was before we recruited a dedicated stewarding team, and before the police began to realize that the majority of trouble at demonstrations originates with the UAF. This is an organisation that follows us up and down the country inciting loosely organised Muslim gangs, such as the so-called Muslim Defence League, to violence. We’ve grown used to there being a very clear pattern: no UAF, no trouble.” The EDL insisted that, by banning their march, “the Home Secretary is inadvertently aiding radical Muslims, the far Left, and any other groups who wish for our criticism of radical Islam to be delegitimised. She is inadvertently telling the people of Britain that their concerns about the spread of radical Islam do not need to be treated with the respect they deserve, and that criticism of radical Islam can and should be censored … Banning the EDL march will only serve to enhance radical Islam’s propaganda. If the government demonises and persecutes critics of radical Islam, then the radicals will be encouraged. They will see this as a strong sign that Britain is a country where their hateful ideology can grow, whilst at the same time actually being protected by the state.”
- Let the ‘racists’ march. Writing at the Liberal Conspiracy blog, Sunny Hundal, said “I realize how nasty the English Defence League are; I also accept that violence breaks out at most EDL rallies” but insisted that their marches should be allowed to go ahead for three reasons. Firstly, every time an EDL rally descends into them fighting against the police, they lose supporters and get incredibly bad press. Secondly, “far-right racism“ and violence should not be swept under the carpet. Thirdly, civil liberties aren’t important just as a matter of principle – they ethnic impact minorities a lot. Remember how people “forgot about them post 9/11’” “ reminded Hundal, who concluded “these calls for a ban will come back and bite us, without a shadow of doubt.”
