EDL in whitechapel area today too

whitechapel report | 20.06.2010 18:41 | Anti-racism

some EDL went over to whitechapel this afternoon after their racist get together in the edgware road

they were met by a large banner drop in whitechapel "EDL go to hell"

they were forced out of the area earlier in the week by large gangs of asian youths

today they were also met by anti-fascist protestors this afternoon.

hopefully someone will post more details later.

whitechapel report

Additions

pic and tiny vid

20.06.2010 21:22

short film - video/quicktime 3.5M

edl go to hell banner drop

after trying various buildings, two brave anti-fascist acitivists found their way up on the the royal london hospital to drop their banner. it was well-received by the local community, and despite a heavy police presence in the area there were no arrests and the banner and activists made it home safely.

whitechapel report

Comments

Hide the following 18 comments

something not right

20.06.2010 21:55

an anarchy symbol and a banner reading "i love mosques" don't sit easily together

something dodgy about all this...

sceptic

Is this the best we can do?

20.06.2010 22:12

can someone from WAG ask the young "anarchist" shaver just why he "hearts" mosques and maybe post up the first 10 reasons on here?

What would makhno say?

Opposition to edl is opposition to islamic fundamentalism

21.06.2010 00:17

"All nationalism is reactionary in its nature, for it strives to enforce on the separate parts of the great human family a definite character according to a preconceived idea. In this respect, too, it shows the interrelationship of nationalistic ideology with the creed of every revealed religion."

Rudolf Rock east end anarchist

Boots Snifter

"i love mosques!"

21.06.2010 00:50

cause if you go at the muslim community with a negative message, they ain't going to listen to anything else you got to say.

best way to start a debate with anyone is with a friendly gesture.

joe blogs

Why "anarchist" would hold an 'l love mosques bannner' (No1)

21.06.2010 07:08

...to ingratiate themselves with the gangs muslim lads who constitute the 'local community'.

- So not only lying to the local community, but cynically doing so in order that they will perhaps listen to you in any future debate.

Ritalin as politics

Anti-religion is not an apology

21.06.2010 07:21

joe blogs, you patronising middle class twat.

What next: i heart pubs, i heart betting shops, i heart car boot sales - to get the white working class on board?

Why the fuck would any decent anarchist worth their politics actively choose to hold up a banner declaring they heart mosques!!??

Some serious fucked up thinking going on here

Jack Spot

Friendly debate

21.06.2010 08:24

Joe Blogs believes in approaching in a friendly way to initiate friendly debate. Then come join us at a picket outside the South Korean embassy on fri 25, marking month of solidarity with DPRK. 12.20pm sharp. Organised by the UK Korean Friendship Association.
Now lets see how friendly he responds to this comment.

Fok

perhaps the reason is

21.06.2010 10:26

that some people consider anarchism is about working with people and having respect for their views and beliefs. Not just shoving some dogmatic ideology down their throats.

The heart thing may have been a bit musjudged (and perhaps a bit tacky), but the important thing surely was working with the people of the east end to stand up to the EDL. How would you lot do it? By saying we hate both Mosques and the EDL, and ending up with four of us and a dog to fight the fascists?

bored of anarcho-trots

"i love mosques" banner is a disgrace

21.06.2010 21:57

No anarchist would support a religion which is so profoundly oppressive, sexist and homophobic. Islam and EDL should be equally opposed. "This is a way to start a dialogue" is a pathetic and lame excuse for such ass licking which betrays anarchism. What next, "I heart Jesus Christ" to start a dialogue with the majority of white and black population?

bored of stupidity

reflections on the anti-edl mobilisations

21.06.2010 22:49

http://whitechapelanarchistgroup.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/whitechapel-united-against-division-reflections-on-the-anti-edl-mobilisations-on-sunday/
WAG are a great bunch of people and unlike many people/groups are actually prepared to put serious thought and effort into serious, effective action.
The revolution is coming.

wag supporter

The EDL didn't go to Whitechapel on 20th June. There are no other reports of it

24.06.2010 16:37

The EDL were arrested in Downing Street after going to Edgeware Road to disrupt an Islamic conference. If the EDL had ventured into Whitechapel on 20th June there would be other reports and there are none.

anon

Emma

24.06.2010 16:43

That is correct. The EDL were threatening to come, and had planned to come, but the leadership called it off. The UAF had already printed 200,000 flyers and decided they should have the demo anyway. WAG were there to defend the area if any racists did decide to come down as the EDL are not the most disciplined lot as I'm sure you'll agree...

Emma

three points

24.06.2010 17:55

1) the hidden comments seem to have hidden an entirely valid point that the EDL did not go anywhere near Whitechapel on said day, they were indeed all arrested (what was left of them) on Whitehall.

2) The points about the 'I ♥ mosques' sign is an appalling gesture however it was meant; the EDL hadn't even explicitly threatened the mosque and there is no opposition to it locally whatsoever. If anything, given the IFE's role in the Mosque, there should be some measured criticism of it.

3) this should be on London IMC. And London IMC should be listed down the left hand side. I know IMCistas work there arses off but it has been years now - it would be great to see london IMC integrated into the main IMCUK page :)

Bill Stickers
Homepage: http://www.libertyandsolidarity.org

The EDL have explicitly threatened the mosque.

24.06.2010 20:36

The EDL have promised to "close" East London Mosque and London Muslim Center. I agree with the comments that the I heart mosques poster is an awful thing to do and I'm not sure why the posts that say that the EDL were arrested and never went to Whitechapel were hidden. The EDL were apprehended in Whitehall before they could go there.

There has been some controversy over some of WAG's behaviour at the weekend and this should not be hidden. WAG are more than one person they are a group that are fairly mixed and quite large. If one or two have been silly then this should not be hidden but lessons must be learned from it. Everyone makes mistakes, it is human to make mistakes and WAG will recover from it.

anon

apologies if i was wrong

24.06.2010 21:02

Ok, if EDL have threatened the mosque then i haven't seen that, but i'm happy to have been wrong on that. My point was, more accurately, that they were not marching on the mosque that day and the 'I love mosques' sign was completely out-of-the-blue. Little more than a ham fisted attempt to patronise local asians via the majority religion. Even the SWP have not quite come out with a statement so glaringly awful.

If it was WAG then i agree, they can deal with it, admit mistakes and go on with things. But it doesn't really sound like anyone i can think of in WAG and i'm an auxiliary member...

The truth will out on e lists and such i'm sure.

apols again if I was wrong about EDL threats to the mosque - btw if you don;t want to be confused with the other, misinformed, 'anon' then stop posting as 'anon'.

Bill Stickers

I love mosques

25.06.2010 09:06

First off the banner drop was not done from people from WAG but was supported I think by alot of people. The "I love mosques" was one person involved in the action, whether they were anarchists or not - I don't know. Whether its reflective of the 30-40 people from WAG who were active in the area then I very much doubt it. What it is reflective of is the misguided "its my version anarchism" idea that seems to infect our scene/movement. Anarchism is more than just a moral outrage, it is a very specific critique on authority and domination which includes the concepts of religion.

anon is a shit stirrer and liar

to : anon is a shit stirrer and a liar

25.06.2010 19:09

So you have an authority now on who is allowed to be an anarchist and whose version of anarchy is the official one? You have scene or a movement? Is your scene/movement a membership / exclusive thing? Like a hierarchy sort of thing? As in anarchist authority?Everyone is their own autonomy. If other anarchists want to form their own anarchist group that does not answer to your authority then that's up to them.

anon

P.S. to "anon is a shit stirrer and a liar"

25.06.2010 19:15

So..um...some peoples version of anarchy has "infected" your scene or movement? So, you have a ruling elite anarchist movement that decides for everyone else what anarchy is and wether or not they are allowed to "join"? Other peoples "versions" of anarchy have been infecting "YOUR" scene/movement? Shove your elitist heriarchical authoratarian version of anarchy up your arse.

anon