English Defence League: Difference between revisions

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Undid revision 433360641 by The Last Angry Man (talk) this does not belong in the lead, and it goes against consensus. Additionally, claim not supported by source.
The source most certainly supports what is written, check again. Restore for NPOV
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The '''English Defence League''' (EDL) is a [[far-right]]<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=XUdbVsADpfgC&pg=PA94&dq=%22English+Defence+League#v=onepage&q=%22English%20Defence%20League&f=false Preventing violent extremism: sixth report of session 2009-10]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Allen|first=Chris|title=Fear and Loathing: the Political Discourse in Relation to Muslims and Islam in the the British Contemporary Setting|journal=Politics and Religion|year=2010|volume=4|pages=221-236|url=http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj2/8%20chris%20allen%20vol.iv%20no.2.pdf|accessdate=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Garland|first=Jon|coauthors=Treadwell, James|title='No Surrender to the Taliban': Football Hooliganism,Islamophobia and the Rise of the English Defence League.|journal=Papers from the British Criminology Conference|year=2010|volume=10|pages=19-35|accessdate=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8200443/English-Defence-League-says-Pastor-Terry-Jones-will-not-speak-at-rally.html Telegraph.co.uk]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/21/inquiry-police-anti-fascist-protester Guardian.co.uk]</ref> street protest movement which opposes what it sees as the spread of [[Islamism]], [[Sharia]] law and [[Islamic extremism]] in [[England]].<ref name=Newsnight /><ref name="BBC 20091012" /><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4749183.ece Timesonline.co.uk]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/jul/05/sharia-law-religious-courts Guardian.co.uk]</ref> The EDL uses street-based marches against what it labels as Muslim extremism.<ref name=Guardian2 /><ref name= BirminghamPost1 />
The '''English Defence League''' (EDL) is a [[far-right]]<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=XUdbVsADpfgC&pg=PA94&dq=%22English+Defence+League#v=onepage&q=%22English%20Defence%20League&f=false Preventing violent extremism: sixth report of session 2009-10]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Allen|first=Chris|title=Fear and Loathing: the Political Discourse in Relation to Muslims and Islam in the the British Contemporary Setting|journal=Politics and Religion|year=2010|volume=4|pages=221-236|url=http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina4_broj2/8%20chris%20allen%20vol.iv%20no.2.pdf|accessdate=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Garland|first=Jon|coauthors=Treadwell, James|title='No Surrender to the Taliban': Football Hooliganism,Islamophobia and the Rise of the English Defence League.|journal=Papers from the British Criminology Conference|year=2010|volume=10|pages=19-35|accessdate=8 June 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/8200443/English-Defence-League-says-Pastor-Terry-Jones-will-not-speak-at-rally.html Telegraph.co.uk]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/oct/21/inquiry-police-anti-fascist-protester Guardian.co.uk]</ref> street protest movement which opposes what it sees as the spread of [[Islamism]], [[Sharia]] law and [[Islamic extremism]] in [[England]].<ref name=Newsnight /><ref name="BBC 20091012" /><ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article4749183.ece Timesonline.co.uk]</ref><ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2010/jul/05/sharia-law-religious-courts Guardian.co.uk]</ref> The EDL uses street-based marches against what it labels as Muslim extremism.<ref name=Guardian2 /><ref name= BirminghamPost1 /> The group says they are a peaceful protest group and that they are a multi ethnic and multi religious group.<ref name=Gunning>{{cite book|last=Gunning|first=Dave|title=Race and Antiracism in Black British and British Asian Literature|year=2010|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=978-1846314827|pages=151}}</ref>


==Formation==
==Formation==

Revision as of 11:20, 9 June 2011

English Defence League
AbbreviationEDL
Formation27 June 2009
Typefar-right
PurposeAnti-Islamism, anti-sharia
Location
Key people
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon aka "Tommy Robinson", Kevin Carroll, Alan Lake
WebsiteEnglishDefenceLeague.org

The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right[1][2][3][4][5] street protest movement which opposes what it sees as the spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in England.[6][7][8][9] The EDL uses street-based marches against what it labels as Muslim extremism.[10][11] The group says they are a peaceful protest group and that they are a multi ethnic and multi religious group.[12]

Formation

The EDL originated from a group known as the "United Peoples of Luton", which itself was formed in response to a March 2009 protest against Royal Anglian Regiment troops returning from the Afghan War[13] organised by the Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun and including members of the group Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.[14] The EDL evolved from the football casual subculture and is loosely organised around figures in hooligan firms.

When the Luton counter-demonstration led to arrests, local football supporters, using social networking websites, collaborated with other football casual groups, including those associated with hooliganism.[7][15]

Tommy Robinson, the founder has considered forming a political party.[16]

Membership and support

EDL membership figures are not clear. In October 2009, the EDL claimed to have "thousands" of members in scores of branches,[17] and the organisation's spokesman Trevor Kelway explained that about 300 active supporters attended demonstrations with strong support from Cardiff, Swansea, Luton and Portsmouth.[10] At the time "an analyst" believed the group to have 300 to 500 active supporters that it could mobilise at any given time.[6][10] Police estimated 1,500 to 2,000 EDL demonstrators marched in Newcastle upon Tyne in May 2010.[18] The EDL also incorporates a Jewish and a gay division.[19] Researchers have suggested that the EDL is unique among far-right groups, because it seeks to attract non-white support, but its discourse is seen as "one that reflects that of the BNP and others albeit tailored to be more inclusive and by consequence, more relevant to contemporary Britain’s inherent diversity"[20]

The Scottish Defence League is an offshoot organisation formed to hold demonstrations in Glasgow,[21] while the now defunct[22] Welsh Defence League was formed to demonstrate in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.[23][24]

The leader Stephen Yaxley Lennon has previously issued an anti-Nazi statement and taken part in the burning of a Nazi flag in a warehouse in Luton.[25]. However the origins of the United People of Luton lay in the Bedfordshire BNP and the tactic of distancing the EDL from the BNP was proposed by Alan Lake who provided funding for the EDL. Lake was also responsible for suggesting that Lennon use a false name "Tommy Robinson" in the early days of the EDL[26]

Protests

Date Location Attendance Arrests at event (includes non-EDL) Description of event
8 August 2009 Birmingham Unknown 35[27][28] Counter protest by, and clashes with, Unite Against Fascism (UAF) supporters.[27][28]
5 September 2009 Birmingham Unknown 90[29][30][31] Clashes with socialist protestors,[32] West Midlands police state the EDL "...had no intent to protest".[33] 45 arrested were from the EDL a similar number were arrested belonged to groups opposing them.[34]
13 September 2009 London Unknown Zero Counter demonstration to pro-Palestinian rally.[35]
10 October 2009 Manchester 700[36] 48[36] Counter-protest by 1,400 UAF supporters.[36] Riot police on hand to separate sides.[36] [1]
31 October 2009 Leeds 900[37][38] 9[37][38] Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF. Leeds council and West Yorkshire Police thanked the public and participants "for their patience and consideration".[37][38] [2] The protest was controversial as a tree which had been erected in City Square with the intention to decorate it as a Christmas tree at a later date had to be taken down to accommodate the protest.
5 December 2009 Nottingham 500[39] 11[40] Demonstration following Mercian Regiment homecoming parade, clashes with Asian students and UAF.[39]
23 January 2010 Stoke-on-Trent 1,500[41] 17[41] EDL break through police lines, injure police officers and damage police vehicles.[41] All arrests were linked to the EDL demonstration.[42] [3] Approximately 300 supporters of Unite Against Fascism held a counter demonstration.[4]
5 March 2010 London 300 [5] 50 [6] Rally in support of Geert Wilders' visit to the House of Lords. 100 UAF counter-demonstrators.[43]
20 March 2010 Bolton 2,000[44] 74[44] Counter-protested by 1,500 UAF.[44][45] 9 arrested from EDL and around 55 from UAF.[44][46][47]
3 April 2010 Dudley 2,000[48] 12 [7] Several EDL supporters knocked down fencing and escaped the police cordon.[48] [8] [9] There were 1500 UAF counter-demonstrators.[10]
1 May 2010 Aylesbury 800 12[49] Protest against militant Islam. Eight of the arrests were on suspicion of carrying an offensive weapon.[49] [11] About 75 UAF counter-demonstrators gathered in the town, but later left.[12]
29 May 2010 Newcastle 1,500-2,000[50] Zero[50] UAF hold counter demonstration of around 1,000. No arrests at either demonstration despite minor scuffles.[50]
17 July 2010 Dudley 500[51] 21[52] [52][53] The UAF attendance of 350.[13]
28 August 2010 Bradford 300[54]–700[55] 13[56] 1,300 police officers were involved in policing the protest.[57] Various missiles were thrown by EDL supporters during the protest.[54][55][14] [58] Approximately 300 UAF supporters attended the counter-demonstration.[15]
11 September 2010 Oldham 120[59] 8 [59][60] EDL converged on Oldham around mid-day after telephoning police in advance at 8.45am[60] and laid a wreath at the war memorial.[59][60]
9 October 2010 Leicester 1000[61] 13[61] After the Home secretary accepted Leicester City Council's application for a ban on all marches in the city on this date[62] the EDL held a static demonstration numbering 1,000,[61] whilst Unite Against Fascism (UAF) staged a counter-protest numbering 700.[61] One police officer was taken to hospital with a leg injury and two protesters were treated by paramedics for minor injuries.[63]
25 October 2010 London Unknown 0 The EDL held a protest opposing "Islamification" of the United Kingdom and showing support for Israel outside the Israeli embassy. It was attended by Rabbi Nachum Shifren.[64]
27 November 2010 Preston 1000+ 14 There was a counter demonstration attended by 150 supporters of UAF.[65]
27 November 2010 Nuneaton 500 [66] There was a counter demonstration by 150 local anti-fascists. Both sides threw missiles and fire works.[67]
11 December 2010 Peterborough 500[68] 11[68] The protest was policed by roughly 1000 officers from 18 forces. A counter-protest by the Peterborough Trades Union Council took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 80 people. Police kept the two protests apart.[68]
5 February 2011 Luton 1500–3000[69][70][71] 7[69] The EDL was joined by new "defence leagues" from Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, as well as other more established groups from France, Germany and Denmark.[70][72] A counter-protest took place in another location in the city and was attended by approximately 1000 UAF supporters.[69] The protests were policed by officers from 14 forces.[69]
5 March 2011 Rochdale 500 31 Around 500 EDL protesters congregated at Rochdale town centre's war memorial. A counter protest was held by Unite Against Fascism, with the two groups being kept 100 feet apart by police. 31 people were arrested.[73]
2 April 2011 Blackburn 2000[74] 12
28 May 2011 Blackpool 1500[75] none

Association with violence and anti-social behaviour

The English Defence League protest in Newcastle, England

The group states that its aim is to demonstrate peacefully in English towns and cities,[17] but conflicts with Unite Against Fascism (UAF), local opposition and other opponents have led to street violence, anti-social behaviour and arrests. A proposed march in Luton in September 2009 was banned by the police, citing a threat to public safety.[76] There is normally heavy policing of these demonstrations, due to the likelihood of violence. The cost of policing these demonstrations has ranged from £300,000[45] to £1 million.[39] Journalists that have covered EDL marches have received death threats,[77] for instance journalist Jason N. Parkinson from The Guardian wrote about receiving a death threat by email from someone he described as an EDL organiser, as well as death threats sent to Marc Vallée, a fellow journalist.[78] The National Union of Journalists also released a statement about journalists who had been intimidated after covering EDL demonstrations.[77]

Four specialist national police units involved in policing hooliganism, extreme violence, and terrorism are investigating the EDL.[15] After their second demonstration in Birmingham Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe of West Midlands Police: "Really, there was no intent to protest. I think they knew that the community was very much against them coming to the city, which...potentially would generate violence".[33] Before their Manchester demonstration of October 2009, the EDL held a press conference, during which they burned a Nazi flag and asserted that "There is no militant undertone. We will peacefully protest but we will not be scared into silence".[79] During the Manchester city centre demonstration Mat Trewern, from BBC Radio Manchester reported that "At one point, earlier on, when it became extremely tense, members of the UAF tried to break the police line between the two groups” Greater Manchester Police confirmed a man, believed to be heading to the protest, had earlier been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of distributing racially aggravated material.[80] One week later, at a Welsh Defence League demonstration, supporters burnt an anti-Nazi flag and made Nazi salutes.[81]

On January 2010 in Stoke-on-Trent, there was trouble as EDL members broke through police lines, four police officers were injured and police vehicles were damaged. The BBC's Matt Cooke said there had been few problems with the Unite Against Fascism demonstration.[41]

In March 2010 in Bolton, 74 people were arrested in the demonstrations; at least 55 of the arrested were from the UAF and nine from the EDL.[44][46][47][82] Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism was arrested and charged with conspiracy to organise violent disorder,[83] Martin Smith, of Love Music Hate Racism and Dr Moran, joint secretary of Greater Manchester UAF were among those arrested on conspiracy charges.[84] Police said that UAF protesters were responsible for most of the trouble and that they had turned up intending to cause trouble saying "It is clear to me that a large number have attended with the sole intention of committing disorder and their actions have been wholly unacceptable."[85]

At their second Dudley protest, on 17 July 2010, there was widespread damage to local property, the local council estimated the bill to be over £500,000.[53] On 11 September 2010, police in Oldham received an advance call from the EDL. Around mid-day approximately 120 supporters had descended on the town. A separate mob of around 50 members attacked a police car with bottles. There were 8 arrests for public order offences.[59][60]

On 9 October 2010, a police officer and several civilians were injured during protests by the English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism in Leicester. A Sky News van was attacked by members of the English Defence League[86] who had earlier thrown fireworks, smokebombs and bricks at police[87] and smashed windows of the city's International Arts Centre.[88] There were also clashes between EDL supporters and local black and asian youths as a group broke out of the EDL protest site at Humberstone Gate East and engaged with the locals. Riot police fought to maintain control over the sporadic fighting that ensued.[89] Thirteen people were arrested, one on suspicion of assaulting a police officer,[90] only one was from the city of Leicester[61] and the cost of policing the demonstration was put at £850,000.[91]

In February 2011, prior to an EDL march in Luton, national British newspapers ran headlines with expectations of violence.[92] The march, which was held on 5 February 2011, was concluded without major incident.[93]

Views and reactions

The British press describes the EDL as far-right.[94][95][96][97][98]

Nick Lowles, the editor of anti-racist magazine Searchlight says the EDL poses two risks. One is the formation of a street army prepared to travel around the country to fight and provide organisational support. The other is the group's tactics of carrying placards and chanting in places that are potential flashpoints. Searchlight added that not every leader of the EDL is a fascist or hardcore racist.[15] Meanwhile, on the BBC's sunday morning Andrew Marr show on December 13, 2010, Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti described the EDL as "modern day blackshirts".[99] The creation of an EDL "Jewish division" in June 2010 was condemned by various different Jewish Groups.[100][101][102]

Jon Cruddas, writing in The Guardian, describes the EDL as "a dangerous cocktail of football hooligans, far-right activists and pub racists...a bigger threat than the BNP...providing a new white nationalist identity through which they can understand an increasingly complex and alienating world. In a similar way to how football hooligans once coalesced around support for Ulster loyalism and hatred of the IRA, the followers of the EDL genuinely believe they are "defending" their Britain against the threat of Islam. What makes the EDL much more dangerous is how it reflects a wider political and cultural war."[103]

The EDL's leaders say they are opposed to racism and say that the EDL it is "keen to draw its support from people of all races, all faiths, all political persuasions, and all lifestyle choices"[citation needed]. Trevor Kelway, a spokesman for the EDL, has denied that the group is racist. He said he had taken over as spokesman because the previous spokesman was Islamophobic. "We would march alongside Muslims and Jews who are against militant Islam," he said. "There were none on Saturday and an all-white group doesn't look good. But they can join the EDL as long as they accept an English way of life. It is the people who threaten with bombs and violence and threaten and bomb our troops – they don't belong here."[10][104]

The response from British police has been negative. Det Supt John Larkin of West Midland's Counter Terrorism Unit has previously expressed concerns that the EDL's Islamophobia fuels extremism and undermines counter-radicalisation efforts.[105][106] Dr Robert Lambert, co-director of the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) at the University of Exeter and previously head of the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU) in the Metropolitan Police has written that the EDL has undermined efforts by British Muslims to tackle terrorism and extremism.[107]

Government

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated in the 2010 election campaign, "The EDL are terrible people, we would always keep these groups under review and if we needed to ban them, we would ban them or any groups which incite hatred."[108] Former Home Office secretary Phil Woolas stated of the organisation's tactics "This is a deliberate attempt by the EDL at division and provocation, to try and push young Muslims into the hands of extremists, in order to perpetuate the divide. It is dangerous."[109] John Denham, the then UK Communities Secretary, has condemned the EDL, saying its tactics are similar to those of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, although he stressed that they did not present anything like the same "potency, organisation or threat". He was commenting after clashes between different groups at a new London mosque, during a demo by the group Stop the Islamification of Europe. He singled out the EDL in particular: "If you look at the types of demonstrations they have organised, 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".[110][111]

The leader of Dudley council, Anne Milward, stated after the second EDL demonstration in her city: "We are extremely saddened that Dudley has again been targeted by the English Defence League. Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town."[51]

Academic analysis

Matthew Goodwin an academic who specialises in the study of far-right extremism has argued that the press are more sympathetic to the Islamophobia of the EDL than they were to the anti-Semitism of the National Front in the 1970s:

The reason why the EDL's adoption of Islamophobia is particularly significant is that unlike the 1970s, when the National Front was embracing antisemitism, there are now sections of the media and the British establishment that are relatively sympathetic towards Islamophobia. It is not difficult to look through the media and find quite hostile views towards Islam and Muslims. That is fundamentally different to the 1970s, when very few newspapers or politicians were endorsing the NF's antisemitic message.[112]

International activities and support

American talk radio host Michael Savage became the first popular media figure to publicly announce support for the EDL, stating, "How does England take the Islamofascists spitting on their war dead, without letting the English Defence League wade into them with pipes and beer bottles, I'll never understand".[113] Erick Stakelbeck, a terrorism analyst and commentator for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, also expressed support for the EDL and compared it to the American Tea Party movement.[114]

The EDL is reported to be developing links with anti-islamic elements within the Tea Party movement, through individuals associated with the Park51 controversy.[115]

In October, 2010, Rabbi Nachum Shifren travelled to England to speak at a rally. In his speech, he called Muslims "dogs" and told the EDL that "history will be recorded that on this day, read by our children for eternity, one group lit the spark to liberate us from the oppressors of our two governments and the leftist, fifth column, quisling press, and that it was the EDL which started the liberation of England from evil."[116]

The Jewish Defense League has held a demonstration in support of the EDL,[117] saying that the two groups will “take a stand against the forces of political Islam”. The Canadian Jewish congress has opposed the alliance.[118]

See also

Image gallery

References

  1. ^ Preventing violent extremism: sixth report of session 2009-10
  2. ^ Allen, Chris (2010). "Fear and Loathing: the Political Discourse in Relation to Muslims and Islam in the the British Contemporary Setting" (PDF). Politics and Religion. 4: 221–236. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
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