English Defence League back in Brum on August 8th
A concerned local | 05.07.2009 11:08 | Anti-racism | Birmingham
It is clear from the events of yesterday (July 4th) the the EDL do not conform to any pre-existing stereotypes of fascists as "sad old men in ill fitting suits". They appear to represent a union of football firms. They are up for it and more than capable.
They are planning a return to the city on August 8th and have the following post on their facebook group
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/wall.php?id=107676721904
"40 of the english defence league were in london yesterday to confront the islamic rd show, the same islamic rd show that converted an 11 yr old white boy ti islam in birmingham last month. because of our presence choudry and his mob of extremists cancelled there wood green event. good news, we are going to chase them down where ever they raise there head. we are gutted we could not be in brum yesterday to stand shoulder to shoulder with u all. we are hearing another march for brum is being planned for 8th august. we will defo be there and bring all our placards and banners. we will push the march against sharia law as a focus. we have already got a 25 seater coming from luton and many other london firms are on it, qpr and arsenal for defo. so everyone who turned ouy yesterday make the effort again for 8th august, details will follow, if we make enough noise as we have in luton the authorities will be worried about backlashes from our communties when making local decisions,god bless"
Yesterday the opposition to the EDL was sporadic with no organisation. If this is the case on 8th August then the implication is that the city belongs to fascist mobs and the police.
These are worrying times.
They are planning a return to the city on August 8th and have the following post on their facebook group
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/wall.php?id=107676721904 "40 of the english defence league were in london yesterday to confront the islamic rd show, the same islamic rd show that converted an 11 yr old white boy ti islam in birmingham last month. because of our presence choudry and his mob of extremists cancelled there wood green event. good news, we are going to chase them down where ever they raise there head. we are gutted we could not be in brum yesterday to stand shoulder to shoulder with u all. we are hearing another march for brum is being planned for 8th august. we will defo be there and bring all our placards and banners. we will push the march against sharia law as a focus. we have already got a 25 seater coming from luton and many other london firms are on it, qpr and arsenal for defo. so everyone who turned ouy yesterday make the effort again for 8th august, details will follow, if we make enough noise as we have in luton the authorities will be worried about backlashes from our communties when making local decisions,god bless"
Yesterday the opposition to the EDL was sporadic with no organisation. If this is the case on 8th August then the implication is that the city belongs to fascist mobs and the police.
These are worrying times.
A concerned local
Comments
Hide the following 27 comments
they should
05.07.2009 11:50
also the 11 year old converting to islam is the biggest pile of bollocks i have ever heard where did they invent that from?
ballz
the kid
05.07.2009 12:11
The reality is that anjem choudary and muslim extremists and these EDL lot are feeding each others fire, one says that muslims are oppressed by white brits (while calling for the stoning of homosexuals) and then a bunch of football hooligans from villa, baggies and luton turn out shouting "dirty muslim batsards" and before we know it we have race riots on our hands.
If we want to organise against the EDL we have to take on Islamic extremists as well. In birmingham yesteday some lads started chanting "allah akbar", this didn't last long but you can easily see a situation where the battle lines of pakistani/muslim v english/christain/white are drawn and blood flows.
If they come back to brum on the 8th then we need a united front against them, balck, asian, white, atheist, muslim, etc, etc.
It's also worth remembering that these aren't bnp bureaucrats, they're football hooligans.
brummie
not on either side
05.07.2009 12:40
Gharaniq
I agree, not on either 'side' but...
05.07.2009 13:24
The EDL has nailed their colours to the anti-muslim mast but it's transparent nonsense, they want a ruck, they see tensions in the city and they want to exploit them to get their ruck.
The issue isn't muslim extremists versus anti mulsim extremists, it's everyone versus violent gangs of thugs who think they can come here shouting the odds and smashing the place up.
A concerned local
zulus
05.07.2009 14:02
don`t we have a multi racial firm in brum?maybe they should show up.
bcfc
Numbers
05.07.2009 14:58
don`t we have a multi racial firm in brum?maybe they should show up. "
BCFC. Was wigan mike definately there? Have you got pictures?
I'd agree that nect time these muppets come to town local lads as well as anti-facsist from farther affiedl need to liaise with one another to provide some stiffer opposition. The zulus used to be mixed race as were villa youth though i know a lot of these blokes were still very much "for queen and country" types. I'm sure something could be organised, infact it has to be.
brummie
Villa Anti Fascists!
05.07.2009 19:33
'Villa Anti Fascists - better done than run'
VILLA ANTI FASCISTS!
BFF in Birmingham
06.07.2009 00:03
Proof, if ever it was needed, I think.
Please come out one and all next time.
David
Not Racist
06.07.2009 08:28
Publically saying SAY NO TO THE NF placard
UAF Champion
BFF
06.07.2009 09:19
Durruti
EDL
06.07.2009 11:45
people should work together on this for the next one for august.back in the hey day i went with brum to watch everton and we took loads of stick for being mixed race fans our answer was birmingham is black and white.lets stand up and be proud of our diverse culture.an give all fanatics the same treatment.no on our streets.
bcfc.
bcfc
A Neo-Con Conspiracy
06.07.2009 12:53
"Muslims Out", the racist scumbags shouted. If Islamic extremsits had shouted "White Brits Out", they would have been on the front page of the sun, and would have been featured on all television news broadcasts.
There's one law for one set of people, and another law for other people.
Such neo-nazi groups as this, help shore up the Government's "War On Muslims", so millions of taxpayers money can be continued to be spent upon waging America's wars on our behalf.
George W Bush may be gone, but the neo conservatives live on, and sadly President Obama is being told what to do by the powers that be in the CIA, and Britain is still America's slave.
StopTheWarProtesta
a couple of points
06.07.2009 14:27
Second off, there is no "war on muslims", the governments war is on anyone who wants to organise for a better world, there are muslims in the government. The idea that there is a "war on muslims" is one that is propagated by the likes of Anjem Choudary to stir up hatred towards normal people. It's as ridiculous as the myth peddled by the far-right that there is a conspiracy to wipe out the white race!
Durruti
Bugger the Nazis
06.07.2009 16:07
If you want to organise against the racists and neo-nazis you need to look deep into the existing western public discourse and how it shields and sustains the white supremacy in genteel forms and cultural norms. Only then you can understand the alienation imposed on a non-white person in the West and how in the absence of radical left alternatives the only vehicle for her to counter their frustration and anguish remains religion or the dreams of a ‘utopia back home’.
@ A concerned local - Where does this muslim extremism exist? in the asian and black ghettos where the cultured white middle class people, like you, can't stand to stay for a minute or venture occasionally to boost their activist ratings? The left and the rest of us in this country will pay for what it has been harbouring for ages - racism. You want to fight it? Fight alongside the victim!
@ Durruti - Surprised by your comment - 'there is no war against muslims' ; all gitmo prisoners - muslims, most torture victims - muslims, most anti terror law victims - muslims, most casualties in iraq and afghanistan - muslims. Imperialist/Capitalist need a bogeyman to keep their own masses in check, it was the savage black man, the barbaric Hindu (south asian), the devious Jew and now the fanatic muslim. While focusing on the forest we cannot forget that it's made up of the trees.
Inquilab Zindabaad !
PakPunk
@ PakPunk
06.07.2009 19:33
There is no conspiracy against Muslims, i've been stopped and searched under anti-terrorist legislation on various occasions and i'm white and atheist. The anti-terrorist legislation is used for a wide range of purposes from preventing terrorist acts to curtailing legitimate protest and simple information gathering on dissidents, this happens against people of all races and religions. I don't doubt that profiling targets more bearded men of an asian backgorund but i don't think this is an affront to islam since you can be white and clean shaven and be a muslim.
I think the boy being converted to Islam in public was only part of the issue with the group who were in the area who were a fundamentalist group, who rather than simply converting a boy made a big show of it. He must've been a very clever young lad as i've tried reading parts of the koran and the language is so interminable that it's hard to read more than a couple of pages wihtout nodding off. There's a report on indymedia somewhere about the event and the ideology of those taking part was pretty reactionary.
We are all victims of capitalism, choosing to be a fan of one religious book over another doesn't make you any more of a victim. Were the workers at Lyndsey sacked because they were Muslim? Are the tube drivers being targetted by management and a vitriolic press campaign being run against them because they are Muslim? Capitalism affects everyone regardless of ethnicity or nationality.
If we really want to deal with the white nationalists on our streets we also need to counter fundamentalist Islam, both ideologies have much in common, from their disdain of homosexuality to their views on feminism and their contempt for those who do not tow their line, i think pointing out the similarities between the EDL and say Choudary's nutcases is a decent way to start undemining support for them, as well as offering a real verison of anti-fundamentalism/anti-fascism.
Durruti
bcfc
06.07.2009 19:56
UAF Champion
Links and general responses
07.07.2009 12:50
Link back to here plus anti-fascist commentary:
I wrote an article on the promotion of Islamic fundamentalism in Birmingham not too long ago, which may be of interest:
I wonder to what degree the timing of the SWP's Marxism Festival encouraged these racists to come out on Saturday, knowing that a large group of anti-fascists would be unavailable to oppose them? (That's not to imply, incidentally, that they are the only/main source of UK anti-fascism - before anyone reacts strongly!)
To respond to the main thrust of the article: whilst Islamic authoritarianism needs to be challenged, it must be challenged through intellectual discourse and carefully considered politics. Violent thuggery from reactionary morons is surely not the solution, and this is even more so if the same morons turn out to be fascists also. People who are opposed to Islamic fundamentalism must understand and be able to put forward anti-racist and anti-fascist arguments, so that the fight against religious authoritarianism does not encourage the formulation of racist or fascist views.
@StopTheWarProtesta is quite right; widespread racism against Muslims tends to fade into obscurity, whilst what little there is of anti-white racism makes front page news. This is why the anti-racism angle is important despite the Islamic fundamentalism; moderate Muslims need to be publicly supported to prevent racist ideas from taking hold.
@PakPunk is also right to say that there is nothing wrong with a white child converting to Islam. Personally, I'd rather no-one was religious, and I'd particularly advise people of impressionable ages not to join religious groups. But we should all be agreed that freedom is important, and accordingly should be supporting the right of Muslims to practise their faith - even newly converted white ones.
Jon
SWP
07.07.2009 14:53
Please tell me you are joking????
Can just see it now:
Fash 1 'Think we should march in Brum next'
Fash 2 'Good idea mate, but I aint going near the place unless the SWP are all at Marxism!'
Fash 1 'I know what you are saying, I'll find out the dates and get back to you'.............................
You really are out of touch with reality!
VILLA ANTI FASCISTS!
@Jon
07.07.2009 14:58
I very much doubt this influenced their thinking in the slightest, there were local anti-fascists in attendance. From past experience the presence of SWP members has done nothing to deter fascists, what are the SWP going to do? Try and sell them papers? No offence mate but i wouldn't have thought the EDL would worry about the SWP.
Durruti
Analysis
13.07.2009 17:53
Islamic extremism is a growing threat in the UK, as it is in much of the Western world, as is the growing threat of far-right extremism. Radical Islam should be opposed (as should all religious groups and movements that seek oppression and violence). BUT, as evidence would show, the English Defence League (EDL) are not the way to go about this opposition. Narrow-minded thugery and flag-waving will not stop radical Islam or other extremist religious movements in this country or elsewhere. This can only come about by the people that these groups seek to exploit, whether they be Asain immigrants, or white working class people in areas where fascists hope to organise.
While I don't think that the EDL is an explicitly fascist organisation, they certainly have racist and very reactionary sentiments within their actions. There have been attacks on Asain locals and their propety, and also attempted attacks on anti-fascists, as well as racist chanting at the majority of EDL events so far. Numerous football firms make up the ranks of the EDL, with hooligans from Luton, Wolves, Villa amongst others being present at recent marches. These are people that use violence casually most weekends, and would not hesitate to do the same at these marches. The neo-Nazi skinheads of the British Freedom Fighters (Wigan Mike and his teenage followers) have also been present at previous EDL marches and have said they are planning on attending the up-coming march in Brum on the 8th August. If the EDL claim they are not racist, and do not have neo-Nazi tendencies within them, then they have an opportunity to openly state this and can refuse that the BFF take part. However with the involvement of some BNP activists, and talk that the EDL was actually started by BNP activist Chris Renton, I think this is unlikely.
For these reasons, anti-fascists will be present in Birmingham on the 8th, showing our opposition to both radical Islam, AND the far-right thugs of the English Defence League. They cannot march through Birmingham hoping to stir-up racial tensions further, and local people will not stand by and let violent attacks happen unopposed. Details will be published nearer the time.
PS. The UAF may as well steer clear of this one, we know what you lot are like when you come face to face with real working class people. Leave this one to people who can deal with themselves and don't have to resort of waving purple banners and shouting at people through megaphones.
Nazi Hunter
well said
14.07.2009 13:01
bcfc
Where are they drinking?
14.07.2009 14:48
VillaTillIDie
Where are they drinking
14.07.2009 21:54
brummie
villa til i die
15.07.2009 17:40
keep the nazis of our streets.
bcfc
BCFC
16.07.2009 09:42
All i'm saying is that if there are fash noses/wolves/luton in Aston on the 8th August then they shouldn't expect to be able to stroll around the place like they own it, neither should any fash, this is Birmingham after all!
VillaTillIDie
jokers
08.08.2009 11:47
brookz
@ brookz
08.08.2009 18:52
brookz
Just thought I would recreate 'brookz' post to cheer us all up, must do better brookz.
We are ready and waiting, now jog on you mug
VILLA ANTI FASCISTS!