August 04, 2011

It’s time to act against the EDL

Searchlight has long complained that the Home Office has failed to appreciate the threat posed by the English Defence League. It fails to classify the EDL as a far-right extremist organisation and pays little attention to it other than as a law and order issue.

Searchlight hopes that the connection between Anders Breivik and the EDL might prompt the authorities to reconsider.

The EDL began its life as a street gang opposing “militant Islam” but it quickly morphed into a more dangerous anti-Muslim organisation. It opposes all new mosques and other Islamic buildings, its slogans and chants abuse the Muslim faith and its supporters have increasingly been involved in violent attacks.

As has been demonstrated elsewhere in this magazine, it shares much of the same ideology and interpretation of the world with the Norwegian killer.

Indeed, several EDL supporters have written approvingly of the car bomb that ripped through the administrative heart of Oslo. Even its leader, Stephen Lennon, while distancing himself from the murders of young people, claimed that Breivik was articulating legitimate concerns.

“People should look at what happened in Oslo and understand that there is growing anger in Europe,” he told the press. “You suppress people’s rights you suppress people’s voices and people will just continue to go underground – but that doesn’t make the problem go away.”

The EDL is not a terrorist organisation but it could act as a conveyor belt for potential terrorists. “I think they are best viewed as a ‘gateway organisation’ to terrorism – like Hizb ut-Tahrir – and subjected to the same kind of monitoring,” says Dave Rich, of the Community Security Trust.

EDL supporters have displayed a growing militancy in recent months. Some have called for the taking up of arms while others are actively demanding a more confrontational and violent strategy.

A cursory study of the Facebook pages of EDL supporters reveals many posing with guns and other weapons.

The growing relationship between the EDL and elements within the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association should be cause for concern.

The EDL arguably presents the biggest threat to community cohesion in the UK today. Its strategy of provocative marches and physical attacks on political opponents is designed to increase tensions and divisions in communities with a large Muslim population.

Worse still, it is politicising a generation of young extremists, some of whom could go on to commit more violent acts.

It is time the Home Office reclassifies the EDL as an extremist organisation and allows the police to deploy the same manpower and resources on monitoring its activity as they would in relation to other extremist groups.


Thanks to Nick Lowles at Searchlight

9 comments:

Artist said...

Please put this picture on your blog, to help take the piss out of the EDL, Lancaster Unity.

If it doesn't fail to raise a chuckle, I'm a kangaroo :)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-74lerLfv3zo/ThB-WFTLPII/AAAAAAAAAEY/xa-86eeSVCM/s1600/star+jerks_flattened_100_muzlamicrayguns.jpg

NewsHound said...

EDL (SUPPOSEDLY) DITCH ALAN LAKE: -

http://uaf.org.uk/2011/08/edl-racists-and-fascists-ditch-shadowy-strategist-alan-lake/

(BEWARE: - COULD JUST BE ANOTHER OF YAXLEY'S LIES, LAKE COULD STILL BE THERE LURKING BEHIND THE SCENES LIKE ROBERTA MOORE)

Anonymous said...

Anti-EDL satire pieces, regularly updated.

Feel free to use them on your blog, thanks!

NewsHound said...

WHY THE ENGLISH DEFENCE LEAGUE ARE FAR RIGHT: -

http://exposingon.tumblr.com/post/8318719286/why-the-english-defence-league-is-far-right

(VERY INTERESTING READ)

Anonymous said...

The EDL releasing statements and mission statements saying they aren’t fascist makes no difference when their stated core beliefs are and so are their actions. Declaring they aren’t racist in their Mission Statement when their leader says that Muslim birth rates are a threat to continuing existence of the ‘white race’, is as meaningful as me releasing a statement to the effect of me being a purple carrot from the planet Mars called Eric. On 13th February 1945 Hitler declared “I promise you I am quite free of all racial hatred”, in his Political Testament. Releasing an official statement does not make lies turn into the truth.

Combined with the historical precedents and expert opinion, all this leaves no possibility of any other conclusion other than the EDL is fascist and therefore Far Right.

Ed Woods

John P said...

Anonymous said...

Anti-EDL satire pieces, regularly updated.

Feel free to use them on your blog, thanks!


Thanks, if you have anymore send them through as a comment with the website.

Anonymous said...

I think The Sun are trying t make up for their shcoking cock ups over the last couple of weeks,
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3732148/BNP-chiefs-Hitler-salute-to-Breivik-heroine.html

Chris Hurst is fooked. lol

NewsHound said...

FAR RIGHT BLAMES BBC FOR "IGNORING BRIEVIK'S BELIEFS": -

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/82531,news-comment,news-politics,far-right-blames-bbc-for-ignoring-anders-breivik-beliefs-norway-killer-massacre-utoya

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 3:17.

Yes, but notice that little side comment which blames immigration for the rise of the BNP and then says that BNP support fell as a result of David Cameron speaking out on the issue.

Total bollocks!