The English Defence League will be holding a march in Peterborough next Saturday. Peterborough Trades Council have organised a counter-protest. Details here.
Update: See “Anti-fascists demonstrate against EDL in Peterborough”, Islamophobia Watch, 29 March 2014
A jury has been shown a video of a teenager accused of planning a repeat of the Columbine massacre throwing a molotov cocktail in an alley. Michael Piggin is accused of arming himself with guns and explosives as he plotted a terrorist attack on staff and pupils at his former school in Loughborough, Leicestershire.
The teenager, who was 17 when he was arrested but can now be named after turning 18, also identified his college, Loughborough mosque, a local cinema, Loughborough University and the town’s council offices as potential targets, the Old Bailey has heard.
The jury was shown a video of Piggin lighting a rag stuffed inside a bottle of flammable liquid and then throwing it. It explodes leaving a trail of flames on the ground and up an exterior wall. Piggin then inspects the small fire and pours cola on it before walking away swigging from the drink bottle.
A second video was shown to the courtroom of Piggin writing anti-Muslim graffiti on a wall. The teenager is seen spray-painting “No More Mosques!” in large black letters.
A teenager accused of planning a terror attack made videos containing threats against Muslims, a court heard. The jury at the Old Bailey were shown footage of Michael Piggin, 18, talking about an “invasion of our country”.
He is alleged to have planned attacks on targets in his hometown of Loughborough, Leicestershire, including a mosque, a cinema and a school. The teenager denies two charges under the Terrorism Act but has admitted having explosives found in his house.
The jury heard the defendant referring to the URA in several of the clips, which they were told stood for the Urban Revolutionary Army. In one video, Mr Piggin, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, said: “Hello great people of the United Kingdom, we are the URA, we support the EDL and the Knights Templar. We are against the Muslim invasion of our country. If you are looking at us… we will kill you, yeah – we are willing to take arms to fight for this country.”
Police have still not identified the above individuals wanted for questioning in connection with violent clashes at an English Defence League march in Birmingham last year.
Contact West Midlands Police on 0121 626 4017 or email tellus@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk.
Update: See “Further 15 men due in court accused of EDL violence”, West Midlands Police news report, 21 March 2013
Bournemouth EDL members caused a stir during the last event of Islamic Awareness Week held at Bournemouth University.
A large group of men, claiming to be from counter-terrorism think tank Quilliam, attended the talk and posed some difficult questions to converted Muslim speakers Hussein Thomas and Musa Ugandhi. However, a video uploaded to the Bournemouth EDL YouTube channel confirms that they are in fact members of the English Defence League.
Soon after the last of the two speakers had finished his address at the event, organised by BU’s Islamic Society, the group of English Defence League members entered into a heated debate with members of the society. The EDL members posed queries about female genital mutilation (FGM), sharia law and the oppression of women in regard to the hijab, the head decoration that many female Muslims wear.
Speaker Musa Ugandhi defended his religion. “What you see on the news is not from Islam,” he said. “Your disapproval is with certain cultures, it’s not Muslim culture. FGM happens in certain places in Africa and Asia, but it doesn’t just happen with Muslims; it happens with Christians as well, therefore your issue is with the culture.” One of the Bournemouth EDL members agreed, saying that FGM is wrong “no matter who does it”.
The representative recording the talk justified their presence. He said: “The reason we’ve come here today is because we’re concerned that people have come to Bournemouth University to talk about Islam and there are components of Islam that are a threat to us and we’re concerned for our children who are of the age to be in university.”
An imam who had planned a day out for Muslim families at Legoland in Windsor has blamed “extreme Islamophobia” for the event being cancelled.
Haitham Al-Haddad said his group privately hired the theme park for a day of “halal food and no alcohol”. But the event was cancelled and the resort had to temporarily close its hotel after receiving threats from right-wing groups. The English Defence League (EDL) had called Mr Al-Haddad “a hate preacher”.
EDL’s Islamic centre protest condemned
By James Dwan
Clacton Gazette, 13 March 2014
THE English Defence League has been accused of trying to hijack the controversy over plans for an Islamic community centre in Clacton.
Tendring Islamic Cultural Association got the green light to convert a former beauty salon in Pier Avenue into an education and prayer centre last week. Clacton EDL members were in the town centre on Saturday and staged a small demonstration outside the empty building.
The jury in the trial of a teenager accused of planning a “Columbine-style” attack has been shown weapons and a swastika flag found in his bedroom. Michael Piggin, 18, from Loughborough, denies two charges under the Terrorism Act.
A trade union group has expressed disappointment after Legoland cancelled a controversial private event following threats of violence and protests.
An Eid family fun day organised by the Muslim Research and Development Foundation on Sunday was pulled by the Windsor theme park last week because it could “no longer guarantee the safety of guests and employees”. That followed staff being bombarded with threats from far-right groups including the English Defence League (EDL) because of the foundation’s association with controversial preacher Haitham al-Haddad.
The Slough Trades Council secretary, Anas Ghaffar, said: “It is a tragedy that an event such as this has been stopped as a result of the bullying tactics of groups such as the EDL.”
The anti-fascist publication Expo has reported that Kamil Ryba, head of the EDL’s sister organisation the Swedish Defence League, has been sentenced to six months in prison for threatening the staff at GT, the Göteborg edition of the Swedish daily Expressen.
Ryba turned up at the GT offices last December to protest against Expressen publishing the names of people who had anonymously incited racial hatred. He threw an egg and said he would come back with a knife next time. Ryba subsequently returned and left a package containing a knife and a copy of the Qur’an, which was addressed to the editors of Expressen and GT. The package was seen as a possible bomb threat and GT staff were forced to evacuate the building.
Ryba pleaded not guilty. According to GT, he claimed that by including a knife with the Qur’an he intended to convey that Islam is a violent ideology, not a religion. However, he was convicted of the offence of violating civil liberty, on the grounds that he had made threats that endangered freedom of expression. Ryba’s lawyer stated that he will appeal against the verdict.