The Scottish Defence League’s demonstration in Edinburgh on March 20 brought together just 50 white supremacists, nationalists and national socialists.

Social media posts confirmed that individuals had driven from Nottingham and Bradford to attend.

Like in Dover, the protest brought together individuals linked to or inspired by National Action, Combat 18, the Scottish and English Defence Leagues, North West Infidels, Misanthropic Division, Central Scotland Infidels and Blood and Honour. This protest, however, passed without violence or arrests.

Chief Inspector Bob Paris told the National: “I would like to thank the wider public for their patience and hope that the minimal disruption during the events did not spoil their day.”

A Unite Against Fascism counter-protest brought together minority communities and speakers from the SNP, Labour and Green Party.

Chants of “Refugees welcome, Deport the Nazis,” were said to have drowned out the vocal far-right minority.

Police Scotland had escorted the far-right groups to the City Chambers as they did not have permission to gather at Waverley Station.

One protester held a sign that read ‘Stop the Invasion Say No to Islam Say No to Mosques Say No to Halal Say no to Europe’. Others threw Nazi salutes – as one person wore a jumper promoting the infamous neo-Nazi punk band Skrewdriver.

Paul Whiteside, the EDL supporter who allegedly vandalised a proposed mosque in Lincoln, also attended the protest.

In contrast, the Stand Up to Racism event drew between 2,000 to 5,000 people in Glasgow on March 19. It coincided with other marches in London and Cardiff to mark UN anti-racism day.

The post Scottish Defence League protest falls flat but brings together hardened neo-Nazis appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The Scottish Defence League’s demonstration in Edinburgh on March 20 brought together just 50 white supremacists, nationalists and national socialists.

Social media posts confirmed that individuals had driven from Nottingham and Bradford to attend.

Like in Dover, the protest brought together individuals linked to or inspired by National Action, Combat 18, the Scottish and English Defence Leagues, North West Infidels, Misanthropic Division, Central Scotland Infidels and Blood and Honour. This protest, however, passed without violence or arrests.

Chief Inspector Bob Paris told the National: “I would like to thank the wider public for their patience and hope that the minimal disruption during the events did not spoil their day.”

A Unite Against Fascism counter-protest brought together minority communities and speakers from the SNP, Labour and Green Party.

Chants of “Refugees welcome, Deport the Nazis,” were said to have drowned out the vocal far-right minority.

Police Scotland had escorted the far-right groups to the City Chambers as they did not have permission to gather at Waverley Station.

One protester held a sign that read ‘Stop the Invasion Say No to Islam Say No to Mosques Say No to Halal Say no to Europe’. Others threw Nazi salutes – as one person wore a jumper promoting the infamous neo-Nazi punk band Skrewdriver.

Paul Whiteside, the EDL supporter who allegedly vandalised a proposed mosque in Lincoln, also attended the protest.

In contrast, the Stand Up to Racism event drew between 2,000 to 5,000 people in Glasgow on March 19. It coincided with other marches in London and Cardiff to mark UN anti-racism day.

The post Scottish Defence League protest falls flat but brings together hardened neo-Nazis appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Lincolnshire Police are investigating claims that a supporter of the English Defence League (EDL) vandalised the site of a proposed mosque with offensive posters.

At 9:03pm on March 17, Paul Whiteside uploaded an image to his Facebook outside of the proposed site. Two of the posters made reference to child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The other poster read ‘No More Mosques’. Whiteside captioned the photo ‘Licolnite mosque lol’.

One poster parodied the Daily Mirror’s front page headlined ‘Horrific betrayal of 1,400 children,’ published on August 27, 2014. The crude edits morphed the front page into the ‘Daily EDL’. Its subheading read ‘Don’t let it happen in Lincoln’.

DAILY MIRROR FRONT PAGE: “Horrific betrayal of 1,400 children” #skypapers pic.twitter.com/4VXWuqKZ67

— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 26, 2014

The front page gave weight to the idea of a culture of ‘political correctness’ shielding criminals. This, however, did not tell the whole story.

For people like Paul Whiteside, these complexities do not matter. He’s already found the justification in his own beliefs. Whiteside posted, “The reason behind the posters on the gates of the mosque is a protest against all the mosques being built in britain”.

He went on to claim that, “Grooming gangs like Rotherham all stem from mosques, are you telling me that the information about the girls wasn’t passed around at the mosque but no-one at the mosque was willing to notify the police”.

Whiteside told the Lincolnite that: “The media aren’t telling you what’s really going off, grooming gangs all over the UK, terrorists storing weapons in mosques all over Europe.”

On Facebook, he speculates that the ‘influx of Muslim refugees’ will create more problems. He offers no evidence for it. But that’s not the point. He has his own online echo chamber – which contains conspiracy and hate websites. This crossover of conspiracy theory and hate sites fits Barkun’s theory of ‘stigmatized knowledge‘. In short, ‘stigmatized knowledge’ allows individuals to present information that mainstream institutions have not validated as ‘true’.

A self-confessed Trump supporter, he rejects political correctness and admires Nick Griffin. Anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Pamela Geller also appears in his Facebook ‘likes’.

A hatred of refugees and Muslims underpins much of his online rhetoric. In response to an article on Syrian refugees he wrote, “You are wanting to flood England with muslims and their ideology that as no place in the west,do you really want our beautiful home to end up like Sweden”.

Whiteside had attended a far-right demonstration in Dover on January 30. An event which brought together the National Front, North West Infidels, National Action, Misanthropic Division, British Movement and Scottish Defence League.

Tanweer Ahmed, the chairman of the Islamic Association, praised community cohesion at the expense of division.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 101 or contact Inspector Suzanne Davies, Community Policing Inspector for Lincoln South West Policing area directly.

The post Police probe far-right vandalism at proposed mosque in Lincoln appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Lincolnshire Police are investigating claims that a supporter of the English Defence League (EDL) vandalised the site of a proposed mosque with offensive posters.

At 9:03pm on March 17, Paul Whiteside uploaded an image to his Facebook outside of the proposed site. Two of the posters made reference to child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. The other poster read ‘No More Mosques’. Whiteside captioned the photo ‘Licolnite mosque lol’.

One poster parodied the Daily Mirror’s front page headlined ‘Horrific betrayal of 1,400 children,’ published on August 27, 2014. The crude edits morphed the front page into the ‘Daily EDL’. Its subheading read ‘Don’t let it happen in Lincoln’.

DAILY MIRROR FRONT PAGE: "Horrific betrayal of 1,400 children" #skypapers pic.twitter.com/4VXWuqKZ67

— Sky News (@SkyNews) August 26, 2014

The front page gave weight to the idea of a culture of ‘political correctness’ shielding criminals. This, however, did not tell the whole story.

For people like Paul Whiteside, these complexities do not matter. He’s already found the justification in his own beliefs. Whiteside posted, “The reason behind the posters on the gates of the mosque is a protest against all the mosques being built in britain”.

He went on to claim that, “Grooming gangs like Rotherham all stem from mosques, are you telling me that the information about the girls wasn’t passed around at the mosque but no-one at the mosque was willing to notify the police”.

Whiteside told the Lincolnite that: “The media aren’t telling you what’s really going off, grooming gangs all over the UK, terrorists storing weapons in mosques all over Europe.”

On Facebook, he speculates that the ‘influx of Muslim refugees’ will create more problems. He offers no evidence for it. But that’s not the point. He has his own online echo chamber – which contains conspiracy and hate websites. This crossover of conspiracy theory and hate sites fits Barkun’s theory of ‘stigmatized knowledge‘. In short, ‘stigmatized knowledge’ allows individuals to present information that mainstream institutions have not validated as ‘true’.

A self-confessed Trump supporter, he rejects political correctness and admires Nick Griffin. Anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Pamela Geller also appears in his Facebook ‘likes’.

A hatred of refugees and Muslims underpins much of his online rhetoric. In response to an article on Syrian refugees he wrote, “You are wanting to flood England with muslims and their ideology that as no place in the west,do you really want our beautiful home to end up like Sweden”.

Whiteside had attended a far-right demonstration in Dover on January 30. An event which brought together the National Front, North West Infidels, National Action, Misanthropic Division, British Movement and Scottish Defence League.

Tanweer Ahmed, the chairman of the Islamic Association, praised community cohesion at the expense of division.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 101 or contact Inspector Suzanne Davies, Community Policing Inspector for Lincoln South West Policing area directly.

The post Police probe far-right vandalism at proposed mosque in Lincoln appeared first on TELL MAMA.

At a Bedfordshire pub, the UK branch of Pegida announced a new leadership structure, following its disastrous relaunch in late 2015.

At the helm is Paul Weston, leader of the fringe party Liberty GB. Weston stood in the 2015 General Election and mustered just 0.4 per cent of the vote (158 votes) in Luton South. His party came bottom in the 2014 European Elections with 0.02 per cent of the vote (2,494 votes).

He stood in the 2010 General Election for Ukip and achieved just 664 votes in the Cities Of London & Westminster constituency. In a 2010 interview, Weston warned that immigration results in the “ethnic cleansing of the English”. And that a civil war could occur in the next ’20 years’.

Apocalyptic and self-victimisation narratives continue to pervade his ideology and writings.

Following the murder of Lee Rigby in May 2013, Weston warned that ‘we are losing a racial war, we are losing a cultural war‘. He claimed that you would find ‘no white people in Tower Hamlets’ due to rising demographics of non-whites and Muslims.

In response to accusations of racism, Weston responded “If I want to avoid a civil war happening in my country, I am prepared to accept being called a racist“.

Weston quit Ukip after Lord Pearson stood down as leader. For him, the party would take a soft line towards Islam under Nigel Farage. He wrote in 2012 that “I think Islam will cause even more death and destruction in Europe over the 21st century than Nazism and Communism caused over the 20th century”.

Ukip, however, are happy to exploit anti-Islam sentiments when politically expedient.

Weston took on the chairmanship of the British Freedom Party (BFP) in 2011. A year later and the party announced an alliance with the English Defence League (EDL). The EDL’s founder and ex-leader, Tommy Robinson, and his cousin, Kevin Carroll, joined the leadership structure.

In the 2012 Local Elections the BFP stood six candidates (five in Liverpool and one in Basildon) with derisive results.

Weston left the BFP before it dissolved. He launched Liberty GB in 2013. The foundations of Liberty GB are contingent on cultural nationalism and anti-Islam sentiments.

In 2014, police arrested Mr Weston after quoting from Churchill’s book The River War. In truth, the arrest had more to do with a failure to follow a dispersal order, and charges were later dropped.

Nor is Mr Weston a stranger to Pegida. He spoke at their Newcastle rally in March 2015; where he went on to compare the Prophet Muhammad to the ISIS extremist Mohammed Emwazi. A year earlier, his speaking engagements included EDL rallies.

Mr Weston’s links counter-jihad circles runs deeper than his political career. His blogs on the counter-jihad site Gates of Vienna began in 2007. He attended a Brussels conference in in that same year alongside Pamela Geller, Robert Spencer, Lars Hedegaard, and Bat Ye’or. Mr Weston attended the 2008 counter-jihad conference in Vienna. And in 2011, Weston brought a delegation of BFP members to the London counter-jihad conference. At the 2012 counter-jihad conference in Brussels, Tommy Robinson spoke on behalf of the BFP and EDL.

A discussion of Pegida’s new leadership is not complete without reference to Anne Marie Waters. She chairs an organisation called Sharia Watch. In May of last year, Ms Waters invited Tommy Robinson to speak at the launch of Voice UK – Victims of Islamic Cultural Extremism.

In the past she has contributed to Lars Hedegaard’s counter-jihad website Dispatch International. And shared a platform with him in 2011. In 2013, Anne Marie Waters

Before the 2015 election, a Daily Mirror sting exposed her anti-Islamic views during a Mothers Against Radical Islam And Sharia (MARIAS) rally. As Ukip’s parliamentary candidate for Lewisham East she went on to gain 3,886 votes (9.1 per cent).

Waters and Weston were due to speak at the ‘Draw Mohammed’ cartoons exhibition. Amid security concerns, the event was later cancelled.

So why the change? Pegida hope to tap the wellspring of anxieties towards Islam and appeal to ‘middle England‘ and individuals put off by the violence of the EDL. Pegida affords a new platform for Tommy Robinson’s unrepentant views towards Islam – without the toxic legacy of the EDL.

George Whale, Liberty GB’s Treasurer, who sat on the BFP’s Executive Council, has been invited into Pegida UK’s administrative team. So has Liberty GB’s Outreach Officer Jack Buckby – who posed for photos with former BNP leader Nick Griffin.

Pegida’s leadership change demonstrates the insulated yet interconnected networks within counter-jihad circles. This contiguous ideology extends across Europe and North America. It creates its own online echo chambers and speaks to simplistic, binary world views.

Pegida hopes this interconnectivity will come to fruition with simultaneous protests across Europe on February 6.

The post Who is Pegida UK’s new leader Paul Weston? appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Letters have been sent by West Yorkshire Police to mosques and community centres highlighting the march of the far right extremist group, the English Defence League, in Bradford on Saturday the 14th of November 2015. As the extremist group plan to march in West Yorkshire, we highlight the impacts of their sympathisers and their activists on members of the public who happen to be Muslim. Remember, such groups couch their hatred by suggesting that they are marching against ‘Muslim extremists’, though their actions show a different picture with Muslims going about their everyday business, targeted, vilified and abused.

This is the story of Khadija. Whilst we have altered her name and identifying details, the rest of her testimony to Tell MAMA is outlined below. This is the real impact of the activities of these extremist groups who are a burden and nuisance to all of our communities and to the safety of our country.

Khadija’s Story

Khadija is in her 30’s and does not wear the Hijab (a religious headscarf), the Niqab (a face veil) or the Abaya (the body covering which is usually in black).

Khadija was verbally and physically assaulted in April 2015 by individuals sympathetic to the English Defence League and who were carrying EDL flags and identifying material. The perpetrators were white males.

Khadija was at an arcade at a seaside resort and she was with her children and her husband. They had come out for a family day and wanting to smoke, she exited the arcade and noticed that there were men and women holding flags which she could not initially make out, though they were chanting in support of the English Defence League.

Individuals in the EDL demonstration noticed Khadija as she stood by the entrance to the arcade and in a few seconds, she had a group of males around her saying, “we will burn your f****** Qur’an” and “we will pi** on Mohammed”. Scared and shaken she started to move away though at some point as she walked backwards, she felt that she was punched given the sudden pain she felt in her head. In a daze, she glanced and caught site of a female joining in on the assault and at some point, a male pulled off the female perpetrator and in doing so, said the following to Khadija; “you know why the lady was hitting you, because she got raped by a Paki, that’s why”. Completing the sentence, the male perpetrator spat in the face of Khadija.

Khadija eventually was taken to a police station where she made a statement. The actions of the English Defence League’s sympathisers show the brutal reality of its sympathisers who peddle nothing but hate and who use demonstrations in order to target citizens. They continue to be a menace to all of us and our collective safety and security.

This incident also shows how the EDL target anyone who is non-white. They could not have known that Khadija was Muslim – she wore no clothes that were attributable to being a Muslim. They picked on her simply because she was Asian and the attack also was anti-Muslim in nature.

So, next time you hear an EDL sympathiser saying that the EDL are not racist, take a few deep breaths and notice the pig flying behind them. No doubt, they will be telling porkies!

The post As the EDL Plan to March in Bradford, We Provide Testimony About Their Hatred appeared first on TELL MAMA.

People have been discussing whether the English Defence League are really a threat to the security of the United Kingdom, whilst others have taken the position that they are not so bad as ”those Jihadis across the ocean’. Senior commentators have also suggested that the English Defence League are nothing of significance in relation to threat assessments and levels in this country regarding terrorism and extremism.

These apologists for extreme fascists groups have based their assumptions on nothing else but the fact that the English Defence League and such groups are largely non-violent, an untruth that in some way, justifies their flippancy and tacit acceptance of such extreme groups.

It is in this context that the following tweet shows that the English Defence League, are nothing more than malicious anti-Muslim haters and bigots. Masquerading as ‘counter-Jihadists’ these bigoted haters stated the following on the back of the horrific accident in the holy city of Mecca. 

These cheerleaders for the death of Muslims stated:

“This will cheer you up,” as they link to the story of the collapsed crane in the holy City of Mecca that has killed over 100 pilgrims who were on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca on the Haj. Furthermore, to add insult to injury, the following comment was placed on the EDL extremist web-site by a Dan Dickens. This is his heartless and bigoted comment against Muslims:

“Awkward moment when a crane does more for Britain than our prime Minister.”

This comment elicited over 375 ‘Facebook Likes’ on-line and we will be writing to his employer on whether his employer is satisfied about the bigotry of hate of Dan Dickens? Only time will tell.

The post Unmasked for the Thugs That They Are – The #EDL Fascists appeared first on TELL MAMA.

In Walsall, the various parts of our diverse community live together in harmony. We have a strong tradition of mutual respect and get along fine.

It’s important that we keep this tradition, resisting any attempts to divide us. On Saturday 15th August the group calling itself the ‘English Defence League’ plans to come to Walsall again. On the last occasion they were here, their violent racism resulted in dozens of them being arrested and
sent to prison for a total of over 50 years.

Their aim is to ferment hatred and division in our community. Whatever they claim, the EDL’s anti-Muslim and racist slogans along with their Hitler salutes tell us who they really are.

Their poisonous message of hate must not be allowed to go unchallenged. With music, song and the spoken word, come and join this peaceful and inclusive multicultural event celebrating unity in our community.

The post We are Walsall – Together We Can Overcome Hate appeared first on TELL MAMA.

This leaflet was circulated today on social media by an anti-fascist campaigner who suggested that these leaflets are being circulated in the North Shields area of Newcastle.

The text reads – “Muslim paedophile gangs operate in this area. Are your children safe.”

This abhorrent leaflet is meant to stir up hatred and intimidate communities, whilst trying to drive a wedge between communities. This leaflet shows the nature of the vile English Defence League which seems to push against legal boundaries with no care about communities and the cohesion or future stability of our country. A parent who received that leaflet would no doubt be alarmed and worried and the last thing any parent should do is to contact this vile group.

We have seen how CSE (Child Sexual Exploitation) is used by extremist far right groups to whip up tensions and hatred. We have previously highlighted this in posts (see below) where far right groups use the revulsion that we all feel and attempt to tap into it and manipulate it in order to gain support for their vile extremist set-ups.

This was a previous posting from another far right extremist group – Liberty GB. Once again, the Rotherham grooming scandal is used though what is interesting are the anti-establishment and anti-police messages. They characterise the extremist far mentality of fear of existing Government structures, yet they promote the twisted narrative that they have solutions to tackle CSE. They simply do not. All they do is to try to light the fire of conflict.

The post ‘Grooming’ Leaflets Targeted at Stirring Community Divisions Circulated in North Shields, Newcastle appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The EDL have also suggested that they are against ‘radical’ Islam. They have tried to suggest that they are not prejudiced and that they have been targeted, as if they have been hard done by. Each time they try and make this case, a bone seems to fall out of their mouth which proves what a prejudiced bunch they are.

Today, this banner was unfurled in Sheffield. We have reported in pictures of the banner and people holding it to the police. Statements on the banner read:

“Who the F…..is Allah”,

“Keep Calm and Hate Muslims “

“Death to Islam”

We believe that some of these statements are illegal and have infringed on criminal laws. A formal complaint has been made to South Yorkshire Police and we would be happy to provide a Community Impact Statement to South Yorkshire Police if there are arrests that are made on this. We will also ensure that we work with forces to send a clear signal that hate, intolerance and bigotry is unacceptable.

The post Banner Inciting Hate Unfurled by EDL in Sheffield appeared first on TELL MAMA.