Fact
- Islam is the second religion in the UK with about 2.5 million Muslims
- The Muslim population of the UK has grown 30-fold since the beginning of the 1980s
- The name Mohammed is the second most common name in England and Wales and by far the most popular in both London and the West Midlands
UK’s laws on incitement to religious hatred are currently far weaker than the corresponding ones on inciting racial hatred and it is precisely this loophole that the far right have been exploiting to foment hatred of Muslims.
The Communities Secretary in the UK government, John Denham MP, has forcefully spoken out against and condemned right-wing groups for deliberately trying to provoke violence on the streets by inciting hatred against British Muslims.
Denham was speaking after events this Friday – the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks– outside Harrow Mosque in North West London where the English Defense League (EDL) and the Stop Islamization of Europe (SIOE) group had tried to organize a planned demonstration.
The EDL deny that they are anti-Muslim and say that they are merely protesting against what they describe as ‘militant Islam’. However, their supporters at previously organized demonstrations in Luton and Birmingham have been photographed openly holding up provocative banners saying 'No More Mosques' and chanting racist slogans such as "I hate Pakis more than you" – protests which had then quickly descended into violence.
The Anti-Fascist Presence
On Friday, however, there was a very strong anti-fascist presence organized by local Muslims and the Unite Against Fascism organization while the EDL supporters were heavily outnumbered. There were very regrettably also a number of clashes with the police reported.
The BBC reported Mr. Denham as saying that right-wing protesters were trying to provoke an "overreaction" from young British Muslims.
"Then people blame the people who overreact and the situation gets out of control. We know from the recent past that provocation can lead to community division and overreaction unless we nip it in the bud very quickly," he said.
The minister singled out the EDL in particular, "If you look at the types of demonstrations they have organized, the language used and the targets chosen, it looks pretty clear that it's a tactic designed to provoke, to get a response and create violence. It's important that we, right across government, make sure this does not happen. We need to make sure people realize we are going to deal with this and that people recognize there is not a need to tackle this through counter confrontation."
Denham was also quoted in the Guardian newspaper as saying, "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."
"A Very Welcome" Intervention
Denham was referring to the famous 1936 confrontation sparked by the British fascist and pro-Nazi leader Oswald Mosley's decision to march through the then-heavily Jewish East End of London. Mosley's followers were confronted at Cable Street by Jews, communists and anarchists, and a pitched battle ensued.
Denham's intervention will be viewed as a very welcome one by UK Muslims given the increasing boldness of the far right in openly targeting Muslims in recent months. There have been a number of arson attacks by suspected far right activists on mosques reported in recent months including in Luton, Bishop’s Stratford and Woolwich.
The EDL website says that they are planning additional rallies in the coming weeks in Manchester and Leeds, including one later today to coincide with the annual al-Quds Day demonstration.
Luton's Old Carpenter
The self-proclaimed leader of the EDL is a 28-year old carpenter from Luton who goes under the pseudonym Tommy Robinson. He says that he decided to set up the EDL after a small group of Muslim extremists from the al-Muhajiroun group in Luton held a widely publicized protest at the homecoming parade of the Royal Anglian Regiment in March this year where they held up placards which read "Butchers of Basra" and "Anglian soldiers go to hell”. The al-Muhajiroun protestors were vigorously denounced by mainstream Muslim organizations as being known troublemakers who were clearly intent on polarizing relations between Muslims and non-Muslims.
The Muslim Council of Britain – the UK’s largest Muslim umbrella body – has issued a statement urging British Muslims to "be vigilant and exercise caution in the face of growing provocation."
It is worth noting that the MCB did not appear to give backing to the anti-fascist groups who did so much to raise awareness of the EDL’s inflammatory antics and helped ensure that there was a large turnout on Friday to thwart the ambitions of the EDL and SIOE in Harrow.
Indeed, the MCB went out of its way in its press release to commend those who had "caution[ed] young Muslims against joining [the] counter-protests."
The MCB's Take
The MCB appears to be understandably concerned that some young British Muslims may allow themselves to be provoked into committing unlawful actions against the EDL and/or the police which will then in turn play into the hands of the far right.
However, whether the MCB’s aim of trying to dissuade Muslims from attending counter-protests rather than encouraging them to hold peaceful protests while ensuring better and more disciplined stewarding will succeed in the coming weeks is a moot point.
The "War on Terror" Generation
A younger generation of Muslims has now grown up with the so-called "war on terror", it has witnessed the relentless vilification, denigration and attacks on their community and faith, the state-sponsored promotion and funding of docile non-entities such as the Quilliam Foundation as a means of trying to marginalize more established and representative Muslim organizations and instead of being cowed or intimidated, they appear to be more than ready to stand up in defense of their rights as British citizens.
Denham’s strong denunciation of the far right’s tactics should be seen as a necessary first step. However, it is to be borne in mind that the UK’s laws on incitement to religious hatred are currently far weaker than the corresponding ones on inciting racial hatred and it is precisely this loophole that the far right have been exploiting to foment hatred of Muslims. It is to be hoped that the government will now look at this area afresh.
Inayat Bunglawala is an Advisor on Policy and Research at ENGAGE. He is also a spokesperson at the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). He also writes a regular blog column for the Guardian's popular Comment is Free website. Bunglawala has been active in UK Islamic organizations since he joined The Young Muslims UK in 1987. He has written pieces about Islam and current affairs over the past few years for The Times, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Daily Express, The Observer and The Sun. In August 2005, he was appointed by the Home Office as the Convener of a working group on Tackling Extremism.
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