Gerry Gable reports on the inspiring demonstration against the English Defence League in East London last week.
Category Archives: English Defence League
EDL leaders are refused public venue in Sweden and Denmark
As we have already reported, the “counterjihadist” publication Dispatch International has been having difficulty finding venues for the Scandinavian speaking tour it had arranged for English Defence League leaders Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll later this month.
DI editors Ingrid Carlqvist and Lars Hedegaard (pictured) hired the Malmö Konferenscenter/Folkets Hus for the Swedish leg of the tour, only to have their booking cancelled by management. This was followed by the cancellation of the booking at the Odd Fellow Palæet, which was the advertised venue for Lennon and Carroll’s appearance in Copenhagen.
Carlqvist and Lars Hedegaard were reduced to holding meetings at undisclosed venues, the location of which would not be revealed until a few hours before the start of the event. But that plan has collapsed too.
‘Multicultural celebration’ against EDL demonstration
A “peaceful multicultural celebration” is to be held on the same day as the English Defence League is planning a protest in Sheffield.
The EDL is holding a demonstration at Sheffield Lane Top on Saturday, September 21, about plans to convert The Pheasant pub into a mosque – even though the proposals have been withdrawn.
The ‘counterjihad’ movement finds a new ally
Two weeks ago the self-styled Free Press Society and its Danish/Swedish publication Dispatch International announced that they have invited Stephen Lennon and Kevin Carroll to visit Scandinavia for a speaking tour later this month. The English Defence League leaders are to address meetings in Malmö and Copenhagen where they will explain “why they oppose England’s Islamization and how they go about it”.
Dispatch International was launched in August 2012, with Ingrid Carlqvist and Lars Hedegaard as editors, to serve as an organ of the international “counterjihad” movement. The far-right Sweden Democrats party (which observed that it had “many connections … both personal and ideological” with the Free Press Society) was so impressed with the new publication that it sent a free copy to each of its six thousand members. Challenged at a press conference over whether he was happy distributing a newspaper that compares Islam to Nazism, Sweden Democrats spokesperson Richard Jomshof said he thought this was “a perfectly reasonable comparison”.
EDL leader’s Oxford Union appearance cancelled
English Defence League founder and leader Tommy Robinson’s planned appearance at the Oxford Union has been cancelled amid security concerns. The institution, which had faced criticism over the event, said it could not afford the security to welcome him. Mr Robinson said the union had bowed to “threats of violence” but provided no specific details.
Mosque plan dropped but EDL protest to ‘go ahead’ in Sheffield
Proposals to turn a Sheffield pub into a mosque have been dropped – but the English Defence League still plans to hold a protest at the site.
Firth Park Cultural Centre had made enquiries about buying the former Pheasant pub at Sheffield Lane Top, which is for sale, and rename it Firth Park Masjid. But the group now says the £330,000 price tag is “too expensive” and it will be looking for an alternative site.
The English Defence League, which last gathered in Sheffield in June to lay a wreath “in tribute” to murdered soldier Lee Rigby, has organised a protest against the plans. The “peaceful” demonstration is to take place outside The Pheasant on Saturday, September 21 – and anti-fascist protesters are planning a presence.
When told the mosque proposal had been dropped, a spokesman for the EDL’s Yorkshire region, said: “The demo will still go ahead. There’s still a plan for a mosque somewhere in the area and we will be having a general protest.” He added several hundred members of the group are planning to attend the demonstration.
The protest was condemned by Sheffield Council deputy leader Coun Harry Harpham. He said: “The EDL are a right-wing organisation based on hate, and they are not the type of people we want coming into the city.”
George Galloway calls for ban on EDL march in Bradford
Bradford West MP George Galloway has urged the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire to help ban a proposed march in Bradford by the far-right English Defence League.
The Respect MP said he fears the intended march on October 12 could mirror the EDL’s national rally in London at the weekend, which resulted in more than 160 arrests.
600 join EDL protest against ‘sharia law’ in Tower Hamlets
About 600 supporters of the EDL tried to march to the East London mosque on Whitechapel Road on Saturday but were stopped by police near Aldgate East station, around 600 metres from the mosque.
East of the police lines a far larger counter-demonstration waved Unite Against Facism and Hope Not Hate banners.
The march started just after 1pm south of Tower Bridge and the marchers walked through the City of London shouting and singing: “England” and “I’m English till I die.” Marchers included members of similar groups from Poland, Finland and Germany.
EDL lose appeal against Tower Hamlets march ban
Leaders of the English Defence League have lost a High Court fight for the right to demonstrate in an area which they say is “subject to Sharia law”.
They objected to police preventing a English Defence League (EDL) march – planned for Saturday – entering Tower Hamlets in east London. Police said they had imposed restrictions on marchers because they feared an outbreak of “serious public disorder”.
Judge Mr Justice King ruled that the police decision was reasonable and proportionate, following a High Court hearing in London. He blocked an EDL attempt to pursue a judicial review.
Evening Standard, 6 September 2013
East London Mosque mobilises community against EDL
The East London Mosque has issued a statement calling for peaceful opposition to the English Defence League in Tower Hamlets tomorrow.