islam

The anti-Muslim ralies are increasingly becoming a norm in UK. It is a bit intriguing - the timing and numbers, seeing the sudden increase in caputred alleged terrorists.

Seven people have been arrested after clashed at an anti-Islam demonstration, police have said.

Officers were dealing with a gathering of around a 1,000 people in Station Road, Harrow, north-west London, said a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police.

The pressure group Stop Islamification of Europe (SIOE) had pledged to hold a peaceful protest outside Harrow Central Mosque in London.

Counter protests were also planned at the site, where a new five-floor mosque is under construction, and hundreds of people were expected to attend.

The seven arrests were for possession of offensive weapons.

source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/latest/2009/09/11/clashes-at-anti-islam-demonstration-115875-21666551/

Right-wing protesters failed in their attempts to disrupt a pro-Palestinian march in central London on Sunday.

The English Defence League, an anti-Islam fringe group, sought to confront an annual pro-Palestinian march through the city, but only mustered about 30 supporters.

Police kept the group away from hundreds demonstrating against Israel’s control of Jerusalem as part of the annual “al-Quds day” (Jerusalem day) march.

A handful of the right-wing activists marched through Piccadilly Circus in the centre of the city’s shopping district shouting “Muslim scum off our streets” before they were barricaded into a small area by police, while the pro-Palestinian supporters marched past.

Bemused tourists watched as the groups exchanged taunts. They were prevented from physical confrontation by large numbers of police.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said there were no arrests.

The presence of the right-wing activists marked the latest in a series of confrontations in London, Luton and Birmingham.

On Friday there were several arrests as the activists clashed with young Muslims and anti-fascist groups outside a mosque in Harrow, north London.

Another group, called Stop Islamification of Europe, had organised a protest against “violent extremism” outside the Harrow Central Mosque on the anniversary of September 11. However they were vastly outnumbered by up to 2,000 Muslim and anti-fascists, who gathered to “defend the mosque”.

Police used “kettling” tactics — keeping the protesters within a small area — to maintain control and were involved in skirmishes with youths, who threw fireworks and bottles at officers.

source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6833142.ece

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Police arrested 48 men during skirmishes between a far-right group and opponents in the northern English city of Manchester on Saturday.

Supporters of the English Defense League, a new group which stages street protests against what it terms "radical Islam," clashed with anti-racism campaigners from Unite Against Fascism.

Around 2,000 rival protesters congregated in the Piccadilly Gardens area of the city center. The two groups were mainly kept apart by a line of police in riot helmets and anyone trying to break through the cordon was led away.

Most of those arrested were held on suspicion of public order offences, police said. One person suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Police eventually herded the English Defense League supporters out of the area and put them on double-decker buses to take them out of the city center. Their rivals were forced away in the opposite direction.

"The presence of so many protesters in the city has proved a challenge and while many have turned out to protest peacefully the police reaction has been necessary in order to prevent the few hell-bent on violent confrontation," Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said in a statement.

Police described many of those arrested as "agitators and trouble-makers."

The English Defense League sprang up this year after a small group from a local Muslim community staged a protest in the southern town of Luton against soldiers returning from Iraq.

The far right has made political progress this year, with the British National Party winning two seats in the European parliament.

Experts on community relations fear a rise in tensions between working class whites and immigrant communities could lead to further violence in the run-up to an election due by next June

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE5991Q620091010

Right-wing Dutch legislator Geert Wilders, who faces prosecution in his homeland for anti-Islam remarks, won an appeal on Tuesday against a ban from entering Britain.

Wilders was barred in February because British ministers said his presence would threaten community harmony and public safety.

He had planned to show his film "Fitna", which argues that the Koran incites violence, in the British parliament but was turned back after landing at London's Heathrow Airport.

Britain's Asylum and Immigration Tribunal has now overturned that decision following a challenge by Wilders, meaning he could now be allowed into the country.

"It's a fantastic decision," Wilders told Reuters. "It's not a victory for myself, but a victory for freedom of speech."

Wilders said he had no specific travel plans but would return to Britain "as soon as it's possible".

Eleven men were arrested and a policewoman was taken to hospital Saturday after violence broke out at a far-right group's demonstration against Islamic extremism in central England, police said.

The 29-year-old policewoman hurt her arm while policing a cordon at the protest by the English Defence League in the city of Nottingham, but no one else was seriously hurt in the skirmishes, Nottinghamshire police said.

About 500 members of the EDL, a marginal group which has staged a number of demonstrations against radical Islam in recent months, sang the English national anthem and football songs as they gathered in the city.

Many of them had their faces covered with scarves and hooded tops as they chanted: "We want our country back" and held aloft placards saying "Protect Women, No to Sharia (law)" and "No Surrender".

A counter-demonstration by Unite Against Fascism, who claim the EDL are a racist organisation, took place nearby, despite police requests that they move.

Concerns about immigration and Islamic extremism in Britain were highlighted by the success of the anti-immigration British National Party (BNP) in European elections this year, where they secured their first two MEPs.

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