The English Defence League: Some Additional Comments

A few people have asked me to expand on my views on the EDL, given the review on this blog of the 22 September Radio 4 documentary.

The first thing to say is that some EDL actions have been a touch thick. Others have been politically far more sophisticated. Just when you thought the group may have been on its last legs (the humiliating turn out for its event in Harrow) it pulls out far more impressive numbers - for example this month in Manchester.

Do Keep Up Please
The unsophisticated side was shown by the EDL action against the annual Al Quds day march on 13 September. A whole range of people have demonstrated against this event in the past (including myself) - people carrying pictures of the Ayatollah Kheomeini through central London deserve to be booed - but the EDL's presence this year was an embarrassment to the Iranian socialists who lead the counter event.

The EDL failed to grasp that booing a Shia Muslim march, as part of their campaign against Al Qaeda (a Sunni Muslim group, mostly made up of Wahabbi's from Iran's great rival, Saudi Arabia) makes little sense.
The biggest contingent on the march were Palestinians and their supporters. Hamas had just been involved in an armed conflict, in Gaza, against an Al Qaeda front group - yet here in London Palestinians are being heckled by people shouting 'No Surrender to Al Qaeda' at them! As Richard Littlejohn would say - you could not make it up.

Luton Calling To The Far Away Towns
Other areas of EDL strategy have been far more sophisticated. The focus on Luton - a town with broadly good race relations between white, black and Irish, and poor race relations between Muslim and non-Muslim, presents a microcosm of the debate parts of society is having, and that politicians (and the liberal left) are distinctly uncomfortable with. The harder they push at this, the more response the EDL could get.

Secondly the use of black and mixed race EDL members in interviews and media shoots demonstrates a thought out response to the inevitable media reactions the EDL provoke. In a society where the term 'racist' is used to stifle debate and is seen by some to trump any other argument on the table, how better to go into battle on the issue of Islam, than with a cloak of legitimacy draped around you?

A, B and C
To finish, I see three dangers from the EDL:

1. The first is that they will stimulate racist attacks - either on lone Muslims on the fringes of demonstrations, or as we have seen in Luton in an attack on a mosque.
2. That EDL actions will stimulate racist attacks by Muslims on whites. At the counter-demo to the EDL in Birmingham at least one white passer by was beaten up, with footage of the incident displayed across the papers. Racist attacks by Muslims are as bad as racist attacks by whites.
3. The third danger, which is by far the biggest, is that the EDL retard debate about Islam, and more importantly Islamism, in the UK. Their presence runs the risk of dividing debate into racists on one side, and professional anti-racists and Muslims on the other, with little or no space for anyone else to operate in.

If Not The EDL, Who?
There are problems, and indeed real concerns with some of the brands of Islam we now see in the UK. In Tower Hamlets, the most important political institution is not the Labour Party, trades unions or Respect - it is probably East London Mosque. How we articulate and oppose that is an even bigger challenge than dealing with the EDL.

Comments

[TomC]

I heard that they are trying to get really big numbers out for the Islam4UK march for shariah on the 31st of October. So it will be interesting seeing what sort of numbers they can call on.

[Paul Stott]

Rather than supporting either side on the 31st, surely the One Law For All campaign, rallying a few weeks later, deserves support?

http://www.onelawforall.org.uk/

[darren redstar]

Intelligent assessment Paul, A breath of fresh air from the standard OMG!!! THE EDL ARE THE BROWNSHIRTS REVIVED!!!! EVERY TIME THEY DEMONSTRATE IS KRISTALNACHT/CABLE STREET ALLOVER AGAIN which can be found across the majority of the lefty blogosphere.

[TomC]

Rather than supporting either side on the 31st? the EDL or Shariah Lawists!
is that like a rock and a hard place :)

[Al]

Good piece. Though I would point out that on the Al-Quds not even the Worker-Communist Party of Iran mobilised to counter it, it was mainly the Mousavi supporters. Also the main palestinian organisations didn't support the march, leading it to be more a party political rally for Hezoballah and Hamas.

The problem with the EDL for a pro-working class point of view, is that it has become less the flag bearers of the far-right but more the flag bearers of the British Army. The mentality is that this is a support our troops/no surrender/inger-land movement that will either fade away or turn into something more dangerous.