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- UK mosque burns, anti-Islamists to keep demonstratings
Posted by : Unknown
Monday, May 27, 2013
Islamophobia has surged in Britain since the religiously motivated
knifing death of a British soldier last week, and late Sunday, while
inciting messages circulated on social media, flames erupted at a
mosque, police said.
Officers arrested two
men in the town of Grimsby on England's east coast on suspicion of
arson, according to Humberside county police. No one was injured in the
blaze.
The anti-Muslim English
Defence League demonstrated in the town's center the morning before the
fire. It will launch another march Monday near the office of Prime
Minister David Cameron.
Enraged by the murder of
British soldier Lee Rigby in the southeast London neighborhood of
Woolwich Wednesday, the EDL has called for marches around the UK.
In a demonstration in Newcastle on Saturday, angry supporters cried out for Muslims to leave the country. EDL demonstrators threw objects at counter demonstrators, and police stepped in to keep the raucous men from going after their opponents.
The EDL claims Islamic law is poised to overthrow British society and calls for Britons to act aggressively to preempt it.
"If we fail to show
courage now, we will leave revolution, civil war or subjugation to our
children and our children's children," reads the motto on the EDL's
website. "Any act of muslim extremism will now be countered by the
EDL," it vows on its Facebook page.
Fear at the mosque
On Friday members of
the Grimsby Islamic Cultural Centre expressed fear on its Facebook page
over the EDL's announcement of Saturday's protest.
"Guys can you try to
keep as safe as poss as the EDL in Grimsby have planned a few
demonstrations in the coming days," Nadia Hussein posted.
Another poster on the
mosque's Facebook page claimed the Grimsby EDL gave out the Islamic
center's address. "Stay safe and Allah be with us all," Gayle Hardy
added.
CNN could not
corroborate the claim on EDL Grimsby's Facebook page. Police have not
implicated the EDL or any other group in the mosque fire.
After the blaze, police
said they were aware of online postings "by a small minority of
individuals" that were intended to "incite trouble," Humberside County
police said.
"Those people should be
aware that we are monitoring these sites in Humberside and we will take
action against those intent on attempting to incite violence or post
messages of a racial nature," police warned.
Reports of anti-Islamic
incidents surged after Rigby's gruesome killing, according to Fiyaz
Mughal, who operates a hotline for Muslims under attack. In the 48
hours after the murder, he received 162 reports from victims saying
people had called them names, assaulted them or thrown things at them.
Before the Woolwich killing, Mughal received around five complaints per day.
Eight mosques were attacked across the country during that time, he said.
The EDL
The EDL sports
symbolism that resembles that of neo-fascist groups. It's logo is
adorned with red medieval crosses. One of its popular slogans is
"Defender of Faith! Defender of England!" A motif on some of its sweat
shirts is the image of a Christian knight, possibly a Crusader, praying
with his sword drawn.
Many EDL sympathizers
seen at demonstrations have similar appearances to those of right-wing
extremist groups. Almost all of them are young, white men. Many of them
have shaved heads typical of skinheads and wear nationalist symbols.
But the group focuses
strictly on Islamophobia. It claims to oppose racism and to promote
democracy and diversity. It brags that it has support from gay rights
groups, Sikhs and Hindus.
The EDL even links to a
"Jewish Division" on its Facebook page and posts messages of support
for people of color it feels have fallen victim to Islamist extremists.
Members of the EDL
clashed with police near the scene of Ribgy's killing last week. A
tweet from its official account proclaimed then that "it's fair to say
that finally the country is waking up!:-) NO SURRENDER!"
Murder sparked outrage
Men in a blue car drove
up on a sidewalk Wednesday and struck the 25-year-old Rigby. The
alleged killers got out of the car, according to police, then stabbed
and slashed him to death with knives and meat cleavers, before dragging
his body into the middle of the street.
After the attack, one
of the men, his right hand covered in blood, the left brandishing a
knife and a cleaver, found someone with a camera and talked into it. He
justified the terrible deed as revenge for the killings of Muslims
around the world.
The video went viral on the Internet.
When police arrived,
one of the suspects rushed officers with a gun, authorities said.
Police opened fire, wounding both of them.
Nine arrests were made
in the case. Three are still in custody, including the two wounded men.
Two were released without charge, and four were released on bail.
Extremism task force
Britain is forming a
task force that will examine the dynamics behind extremist groups in
the country, Prime Minister David Cameron's office announced Sunday.
The group, led by
Cameron, will "have a general focus on extremist groups, but accept
that in practice the greatest threat is from Islamist extremists," a
statement from Downing Street said.
The Muslim Council of
Britain said the task force needs to look at "extremism from all
quarters" while forming an effective strategy.
"We must be vigilant
and ensure we do not inadvertently give into the demands of all
extremists: making our society less free, divided and suspicious of
each other, said a statement from the council's secretary-general,
Farooq Murad. Lessons from the past indicate that policies and measures
taken in haste can exacerbate extremism."
Rigby's slaying near the Royal Artillery Barracks in the working-class neighborhood shocked people across the United Kingdom.