Re: British Muslims call for ban on extremist rally at mosque in Ramadan
The racists are finding it easier to target the muslims as they are finding it difficult to target ethnic groups without falling foul of the racism laws. Demonstrations that aim to incite violence and are provokative should not have been allowed by the authorities in the first place.
Riot police called in as demonstrators clash at anti-Muslim protest | The Independent | The Independent
Riot police clash with demonstrators at anti-Muslim protest
By Jerome Taylor
Friday, 11 September 2009 Hundreds of Asian youths threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at riot police tonight as anger over a demonstration by anti-Muslim groups spilled onto the streets of Harrow.
Police made eight arrests and fought a series of skirmishes with masked protestors close to Harrow Central Mosque which had been targetted by anti-Islamic demonstrators.
The demonstration organised by two groups, the English Defence League and Stop the Islamization of Europe, was called off after the first 15 supporters to turn up were chased off by counter-demonstrators who outnumbered them heavily.
Anti-Islamic protestors had to be sheltered by riot police who formed a cordon round them and rescued one from a beating after he was caught and set upon by a crowd of Asian youths.
As police protected the men further violence broke out when a number of masked protestors started hurling botles, rocks and fireworks at officers. The masked youths ignored pleas by a larger crowd of Muslims who urged them to keep the protests peaceful.
The violence came just a few days after an anti-Islamic protest organised by the English Defence League in Birmingham descended into running street battles which led to 90 people being arrested, with more anticipated as CCTV footage is examined.
In Harrow, several of the Asian youths making up the bulk of 1,500 counter-protestors armed themselves with sticks and metal poles. All eight arrests were for the suspected possession of offensive weapons.
The town’s central mosque is still under construction and is expected to provide a enough prayer space for the area’s 35,000 Muslims.
Elders at the mosque said the timing of the protests were particularly insensitive because it fell not just on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks, but also during Ramadan, a deeply spiritual month where Muslims fast from dawn until sunset.
The violence which erupted in the early evening came in stark contrast to the peaceful mass protest earlier in the day before the anti-Islamic demonstrators had arrived.
In an emotional speech during midday prayers, the mosque’s imam, Ajmal Masroor, called on his followers to ignore any anti-Muslim protestors and resist the temptation to retaliate. He prompted laughter when he told listeners: “My father always said to me, ‘If a dog bites your leg do you turn around and bite the dog back?’ Of course not.” But he could do little to prevent hundreds of angry young Muslim men from outside the borough gathering to defend the mosque which they believed would be attacked by Islamaphobes. Mahmood Abdullah, a 17-year-old student, travelled up from Morden south London, and said: “We don’t want to start a fight but we are willing to defend our brothers and sisters if we have to. We want to show them that for every protestor they bring, we’ll bring ten.”
By early evening hundreds of young Asians had taken over Station Road, the main thoroughfare that runs parallel to the mosque, and frequent cries of “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Greatest) could be heard.
The small group of white men who were protected by the police from the mob were largely reluctant to speak. One who said he was from Middlesex but declined to give his name simply stated: “We’ve become a minority in our own country.”
Members of both groups are thought to have been behind a series of controversial protests in Birmingham and Luton where demonstrators paraded through the streets shouting anti-Islamic slogans leading to a number of arrests and Asians being attacked.
The English Defence League first surfaced as an organisation in the spring and has been banned from holding any marches in Luton for three months. Activists have been using social networking sites such as Facebook to spread their protests across the country.
Stop the Islamization of Europe, which boasts 2,300 supporters on its Facebook page, is inspired by a right-wing group in Denmark of the same name who have held regular protests outside mosques ever since cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad appeared in a newspaper sparking riots across the Muslim world.
Unlike far-right groups such as the British National Party, which campaigns on an anti-immigration ticket, the EDL and SOIE have concentrated on campaigning against Islam.
Their emergence has alarmed anti-racism campaigners who fear a return to the days of the National Front when regular street battles broke out between its members and immigrant groups in the 1970s and 1980s.
Tony McNulty, the MP for Harrow, said: “Emotions are running a little high. But the vast majority of people protesting on both sides are not even from here. A load of young teenagers chasing ghosts should not detract from an overwhelmingly peaceful and multi-racial protest which stopped fascist groups from targetting Harrow.”