TAKE BACK THE SQUARE!

Ken Livingstone organised today’s event. Recently he also organised a conference where one of the principal guests was Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi. Many observers have described al-Qaradawi as a moderate, whilst others see him as a fanatic. We understand that the majority of Muslims don’t share all his ideas, yet his arrival kicked up a huge kerfuffle. Far fewer Muslims share the weird ideas of more fundamentalist Islamists, whose ideas are – frankly – barking. For example, the loons of al-Mahajiroun don’t consider there to be any mosques in the UK. Just as the NF are not representative of white people, al-Mahajiroun are out on the fringes of British Islam. But just how nutty are they?

You’ll have a chance to find out in Trafalgar Square next Sunday, 25 July, when al-Mahajiroun hold a Rally for Islam. This is not a fun-filled day out for all the family, unless your family is particularly patriarchal, homophobic, sexist and misogynistic, anti-Semitic and believes in killing everyone who doesn’t agree with you. Neither is it an introduction to what you’d understand as Islam, but to a political group seeking to use Islam for their own sordid ends. To their credit, al-Mahajiroun promise some miracles in the Square! It seems that atheists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and bizarrely socialists will renounce their ideas and embrace Islam, quite spontaneously. It should be a sight worth seeing!

The highlight of the day, though, is likely to be the appearance of the National Front, who will definitely not be converting to Islam. Many of their ideas differ little from those of al-Mahajiroun, especially as regards Jews, women and gays and lesbians. They’re not turning up to cheer on the fundies – they’ll be out for their blood. The NF will also use the day as an opportunity to demand the expulsion of all Muslims from the UK and the destruction of all mosques in Britain.

ANTIFA opposes both the obscene fascism of the National Front and the apocalyptic extremism of fundamentalist Islam. Neither offers ordinary people – already suffering from bosses, councils and landlords – any solution. We are holding a counter-demo against the NF and al-Mahajiroun, meeting outside the National Gallery at 12.30pm. We look forward to seeing you there.