Having been humiliated by anti-fascists last month when they turned up in Cricklewood to stage a protest against the Muslim Brotherhood, the South East Alliance came back today for a rematch.

The dozen or so fascists that turned up (I counted 13 of them, although I’m told that at one point the SEA’s ranks swelled to fully 14 “patriots”) were put in a pen on Cricklewood Broadway, some distance away from the Muslim Brotherhood office they were targeting. They were confronted by several hundred counter-demonstrators.

After milling around pointlessly in their pen for a couple of hours, the SEA retreated back to Kilburn tube station under police escort. There were so few of them that they didn’t even get to use the road and their “march” was restricted to the pavement.

The SEA, needless to say, claimed a victory over the left. Even their own supporters weren’t buying that.

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Anti-racism protesters are planning a demonstration against right-wing group Britain First which is holding a meeting in Swanley. The group originally planned to hold the meeting in Dartford, but tweeted that the first venue had cancelled due to “adverse police activity”.

Gabriel Forcella-Burton, organiser of the anti-Britain First protest, said: “This is exactly what happened in Wigan last week when the venue found out who they really were. I think it’s a combination of that and them knowing they would meet stiff opposition in Dartford.”

Britain First is now planning to meet at an unnamed venue in Swanley, the latest stop on the group’s controversial national tour.

Both Britain First and anti-racism protesters have been building support on social media over the last few weeks.

Mr Forcella-Burton said: “The majority of the protesters will be local people – some who have never met before. We have been in touch with some antifascist groups from the south east but the core will be from Dartford.”

The ‘Kentish Batallion’ of the stridently anti-Muslim Britain First recently ‘invaded’ Crayford Mosque in Bexley, demanding they remove signs designating separate entrances for men and women. Mr Forcella-Burton said: “The congregation from the Crayford Mosque they targeted two weeks ago will be present, as they have been directly affected by this.”

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When the far-right South East Alliance tried to march on a Muslim Brotherhood office in Cricklewood, north west London, last month their path was blocked by anti-fascists and they were forced to turn back.

On Saturday the fascists are returning for a rematch. North West London United, a broad coalition of community groups and trade unions, is organising a counter-protest.

See also “Fascists not welcome in Cricklewood”, Kilburn Herald, 8 July 2014

And “Community in Brent unites against plans for far-right group to march in Cricklewood”, Kilburn Times, 14 July 2014

Update:  See “Another flop for the South East Alliance”, Islamophobia Watch, 19 July 2014

A Muslim worshipper has told Anadolu Agency of the disturbing moments when members of a far-right group stormed a mosque in south London.

Worshipper Mohammed Luthful Wahid told AA on Wednesday that he found himself confronted by five members of the Britain First group after they entered the Crayford Mosque and demanded the removal of what they called “sexist” signs – designating separate entrances for women and men – from outside of the building. Wahid, who is 69-years-old, said: “To be honest with you, I was nervous and worried.”

The group, which posted a video of its invasion on the Britain First Facebook group, had marched into the North West Kent Muslim Association mosque on Sunday, trampled on the prayer area without removing their shoes and demanded to speak to the Imam, who was not present.

In the video, the leader of the group, Paul Golding, approached Wahid and said: “We’re Britain First, yeah? We object to your signs that are outside, the signs for men and women… in this country we have equality.”

Wahid told AA: “We are Muslims, we are not aggressive. I just wanted them to take their shoes off. I wanted them off the carpet.” He said the three worshippers in the mosque at the time were left feeling shocked.

In the video, when asked to remove his shoes, Golding responds: “When you respect women, we’ll respect your mosques and you’ve got signs out there that segregate men and women.” Wahid can be heard in the video saying: “Please get out.”

Before leaving the mosque, Golding and his associates demanded that a Christian cross engraved into the brickwork on the outside of the building – a former Methodist church which was only opened as a mosque in 2008 – be covered up. Wahid said: “I told them that Jesus is one of our prophets, but the guy kept saying, ‘No’. Thank God there were only two or three of us in the mosque at the time, if they had come at prayer time, when there are about 20 people, it could have been disastrous.”

Worpshipper Shiraz Ahmed told AA that the Britain First group’s actions were “disrespectful and aggressive”. He said: “If they had come at a different time, when there are more people here, it would have been very different. I would have thrown them out of the mosque.”

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