On 29th October a little over 500 EDL supporters gathered in Birmingham to demonstrate about radical Islam’s presence in the city.

As expected, it was a trouble-free occasion (which is probably why you’re unlikely to have heard about it in the press).

EDL supporters marched to Centenary Square, whilst around 150 UAF supporters gathered nearby for a ‘counter demonstration’. Apparently demonstrating about the threat posed by radical Islam, and daring to criticise the government’s approach to countering Islamic extremism, is something that they believe needs countering.

A compilation of the speeches made on the day can be seen below:

Kevin Carroll’s full speech is available here. In it he reminds everyone about the continued harassment of Tommy Robinson, and the fact that if he were to have attended, Tommy would have been arrested simply for exercising his right to peaceful protest. What a country we live in nowadays.

We live in a country where burning a poppy results in a £50 fine – an amount that hardly makes a dent in the benefit payments that Islamic extremists ‘Muslims Against Crusades’ members continue to receive. They may be opposed to ‘crusades’, but they’re not opposed to violent extremism, Islamic Supremacism, or engaging in a series of incredibly offensive publicity stunts. If only the government and local councils were as busy hampering the efforts of MAC as they were trying to hamper our demonstrations. Perhaps then we wouldn’t have to keep bringing attention to these people.

But as it stands, insulting the war-dead of this country, openly supporting terrorism and Taliban forces, and spreading a radical and dangerous form of Islam, is only ever likely to cost you a £50 fine. On the other hand, make any efforts to prevent this kind of extremism and you’ll be branded a racist or a bigot. How dare we be so intolerant of extremism!?

When Tommy Robinson tore the black flag of Islam from the hands of an Islamic extremist he didn’t receive a £50 fine, he was fined seven times as much! £350 for snatching away a symbol of hatred! And of course, it didn’t stop there. Barred from protesting, dragged through the courts on a series of politically motivated charges, and constantly harassed – he’d be forgiven for being angry.

But how did the EDL respond? We just kept going. We didn’t let our frustrations get the better of us, and we maintained our commitment to peaceful protest. We stayed the course.

Not once have we lowered our standards by responding to provocation from the government or the courts. We have not harassed MPs or intentionally misrepresented their intentions, nor have we disrupted the courts. And with the notable exception of Richard Howitt (who’s still an idiot), we’ve usually managed to resist the temptation to call politicians names.

As Kev mentioned in his speech, we’ve also not responded to the burning of poppies or the burning of flags by burning what is dear to Muslims. We have not burned copies of the Qur’an, we have not attacked mosques, and we have not held our demonstrations on important days in the Islamic calendar.

We are not the ones who need a lecture in respect or tolerance. And yet all we ever continue to hear from the government, the BBC, the Muslim community itself, and others who have been so ineffectual at dealing with Islamic extremism, is that the reason that there is growing antipathy towards Muslims in this country is because Islam is misunderstood or misrepresented. This no doubt is a part of it (a small part), but what about the elephant in the room?

The biggest reason why Muslims may believe that there is growing hostility towards their communities is not because we’ve all failed to really understand Islam but because so many Muslims (who no doubt believe that they do understand Islam) continue to embrace extremism. We could argue about how many Muslims in Britain today are embracing extremism, but the fact remains that it is Islam that has a problem with extremism. And this should entail certainly responsibilities. It should mean that there is a clear need for reform.

This documentary, which repeated recently on Al Jazeera, questions how to deal with the ‘threat’ posed by the EDL, but doesn’t once (not once!) mention Islamic extremism. How can they ‘deal’ with us without ever acknowledging why it was that the EDL began in the first place!?

Kev sums it up nicely – our government’s selling us out, but apparently that’s our fault!? What a ridiculous idea. Islamic extremism is not our fault. We know that, and the vast majority of the British people know that. Let’s just hope that the Muslim community shares this view, because if they don’t then how can they ever be expected to help us rid this country of Islamic extremism? And if there are those who are encouraging the Muslim community to resist the need to change, then how dare they accuse us causing extremism?

If Tommy had been in Birmingham he’d no doubt have said what he’s had to say time and time again – we’re a symptom, not a cause. If you really don’t like the EDL, then deal with the cause. Because until that goes away – until Islamic extremism no longer threatens the future of this country – we will not be going away, and we will not surrender.

(englishdefenceleague.org)

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