UAF demonstration at Downing Street today

Handing in of UAF unity statement to Downing St prior to EDL mobilisation

Monday 27 May 2pm outside Downing Street London SW1A

Speakers:

Jeremy Corbyn MP
Murad Qureshi AM
Daniel Trilling Assistant Editor, New Statesman
Azad Ali, Islamic Forum Europe
Mohammed Kozbar, British Muslim Initiative
Zita Holbourne, TUC Race Relations Committee
Steve Hart, Unite the Union Political Director
Andy Reid, PCS Executive Member and Woolwich resident
Kate Hudson, General Secretary CND
Unjum Mirza Political officer, RMT
Aaron Kiely NUS Black Students Officer
Matt Stanley NUS LGBT Committee
Lynne Chamberlain, Woolwich Trades Council
Weyman Bennett Joint National Secretary, Unite Against Fascism

and others tbc

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Petrol bomb attack on Grimsby mosque

Grimsby mosque arsonPetrol bombs were thrown inside a Grimsby mosque tonight – in front of police officers who were guarding it.

The police, fire service and two ambulances attended the building, on the junction of Weelsby Road and Legsby Avenue, at about 10pm. Two people were arrested on suspicion of arson at the scene. The building was being protected by the police because of another incident there earlier this week.

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York: Students and community unite in opposition to EDL

York mosque supportersOver 100 students and members of the public turned up outside the York Mosque and Islamic Centre at Bull Lane on Sunday afternoon after rumours of a EDL rally surfaced on Facebook and Twitter on Saturday evening. The York community stood together as an act of solidarity against fascism that very afternoon. 4 EDL supporters arrived at around 3:00 pm.

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EDL riot in Bristol

EDL wreck Bristol pub
‘Peacefully protesting against militant Islam’ – Bristol pub after the EDL had finished with it

Supporters of the English Defence League marched through Bristol yesterday, using the armed forces charity Help For Heroes as a flag of convenience. Around 40 of them ended up being penned by mounted police in a pub in the St George area of the city, where they paid tribute to the memory of Lee Rigby by getting drunk, fighting the police and trashing the pub.

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Young woman spat at as charity reports rising anti-Muslim incidents after Woolwich murder

WDL Facebook postYoung Muslims in Wales say they fear a backlash after the barbaric killing of Drummer Lee Rigby in London. Charity Faith Matters said it is looking at claims a young woman was spat at in an incident in the Cardiff area and said it was dealing with a significant rise in the number of anti-Muslim incidents in Britain as a result of the attack in Woolwich.

Meanwhile, hateful messages have been posted on social media websites. The Welsh Defence League’s Facebook page boasted a picture of the aftermath of the shocking murder with the message: “Still believe Islam is the religion of peace? How many more have to die to disprove the lie?” It comes after bacon was left outside a Cardiff mosque the day after Drummer Rigby was hacked to death.

Other incidents across the UK have seen a mosque in Kent attacked, while in Essex a man walked into a temple brandishing a knife and a burning bottle was hurled at an Islamic centre in Bletchley. Young Muslims in Wales have now told how they fear a rising tide of hostility will engulf them following 25-year-old Drumer Rigby’s murder.

Wales Online, 26 May 2013

YouGov poll: 80% say most Muslims are peaceful and terrorist threat is low

YouGov poll May 2013

Following the attack on soldier Drummer Lee Rigby outside the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich on Wednesday, new YouGov research finds the British public resolute in their perceptions of the terrorist threat level and in their attitudes towards the Muslim community.

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The English Defence League visits Newcastle

EDL Newcastle May 2013

The English Defence League marched through Newcastle today. The local paper, the Evening Chronicle, reported that around 1,500 EDL members participated in the protest, with up to 1,000 joining the counter-demonstration by Newcastle Unites. (See also ITV News and Sky Tyne and Wear reports.)

Chanting their usual slogans of “I’m English till I die” and “Whose streets? Our streets”, the EDL threw firecrackers, bottles and cans, attacked photographers and clashed with police.

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Arrests during protest outside Portsmouth mosque

Jami Mosque arrestFour people have been arrested amid protests in Portsmouth, including two outside Southsea’s Jami Mosque.

Officers from Hampshire Constabulary stood guard outside the mosque, in Victoria Road North, this evening after small pockets of people expressed an intention to protest. The force says it has extra officers out on the streets to ensure protests remain peaceful and prevent disorder.

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Daughter of murdered Muslim says brother was threatened by EDL, criticises police

The daughter of a man killed on his way home from a mosque says she believes his death was racially-motivated. Mohammed Saleem, 75, was stabbed after leaving the Green Lane Mosque in Small Heath, Birmingham, on 29 April.

His daughter, Shazia Khan, said police were not listening to her family and her brother was threatened, apparently by the English Defence League, prior to their father’s death. West Midlands Police said it would work “tirelessly to find the killer” of Mr Saleem.

BBC News, 25 May 2013