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English Defence League

EDL supporter and a police officer at an EDL march in Newcastle, 29 May 2010.
Abbreviation	EDL
Formation	27 June 2009 (2009-06-27)
Type	Far-right
Purpose	Anti-Islamism, Anti-Sharia, Anti-Islamization
Location	Originated in Luton
Leader	Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson)
Key people	Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (aka Tommy Robinson) Kevin Carroll Alan Lake
Website	www.englishdefenceleague.org

The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-right street protest movement which opposes what it perceives as the spread of Islamism, Sharia law and Islamic extremism in England. The EDL uses street marches to protest against Islamic extremism.

Formation

The EDL originated from a group known as the "United Peoples of Luton", which itself was formed in response to a March 2009 protest against Royal Anglian Regiment troops returning from the Afghan War organised by the Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun and including members of the group Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. The EDL evolved from the football casual subculture and is loosely organised around figures in hooligan firms. When the Luton counter-demonstration led to arrests, local football supporters, using social networking websites, collaborated with other football casual groups, including those associated with hooliganism.

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, the EDL founder, has reportedly considered forming a political party.

Membership and support

EDL membership figures are not clear. In October 2009, the EDL claimed to have "thousands" of members in scores of branches, and the organisation's spokesman Trevor Kelway explained that about 300 active supporters attended demonstrations with strong support from Cardiff, Swansea, Luton and Portsmouth. At the time "an analyst" claimed the group had between 300 to 500 active supporters that it could mobilise at any given time. Police estimated 1,500 to 2,000 EDL demonstrators marched in Newcastle upon Tyne in May 2010. The EDL incorporates a Jewish and a gay division. Researchers have suggested that the EDL is unique among far-right groups, because it seeks to attract non-white support, but its discourse is seen as "one that reflects that of the BNP and others albeit tailored to be more inclusive and by consequence, more relevant to contemporary Britain’s inherent diversity"

The Scottish Defence League is an offshoot organisation formed to hold demonstrations in Glasgow, while the now defunct The Welsh Defence League was formed to demonstrate in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea.

Yaxley-Lennon has previously issued an anti-Nazi statement and taken part in the burning of a Nazi flag in a warehouse in Luton. The origin of "United People of Luton" lies in the Bedfordshire BNP and the tactic of distancing the EDL from the BNP was proposed by Alan Lake who provided funding for the EDL. Lake was also responsible for suggesting that Lennon use the name "Tommy Robinson" in the early days of the EDL. 'Tommy Robinson' was the pseudonym used in two books by Yaxley-Lennon about the Luton Town MIGs hooligan firm, published before the foundation of the EDL.

Protests

Association with violence and anti-social behaviour

The group states that its aim is to demonstrate peacefully in English towns and cities, but conflicts with Unite Against Fascism (UAF), local opposition and other opponents have led to street violence, anti-social behaviour and arrests. A proposed march in Luton in September 2009 was banned by the police, citing a threat to public safety. There is normally heavy policing of these demonstrations, due to the likelihood of violence. The cost of policing these demonstrations has ranged from £300,000 to £1 million. Journalists that have covered EDL marches have received death threats, for instance journalist Jason N. Parkinson from The Guardian wrote about receiving a death threat by email from someone he described as an EDL organiser, as well as death threats sent to Marc Vallée, a fellow journalist. The National Union of Journalists also released a statement about journalists who had been intimidated after covering EDL demonstrations.

Four specialist national police units involved in policing hooliganism, extreme violence, and terrorism are investigating the EDL. After their second demonstration in Birmingham Assistant Chief Constable Sharon Rowe of West Midlands Police: "Really, there was no intent to protest. I think they knew that the community was very much against them coming to the city, which...potentially would generate violence". Before their Manchester demonstration of October 2009, the EDL held a press conference, during which they burned a Nazi flag and asserted that "There is no militant undertone. We will peacefully protest but we will not be scared into silence". During the Manchester city centre demonstration Mat Trewern, from BBC Radio Manchester reported that "At one point, earlier on, when it became extremely tense, members of the UAF tried to break the police line between the two groups” Greater Manchester Police confirmed a man, believed to be heading to the protest, had earlier been arrested in Birmingham on suspicion of distributing racially aggravated material. One week later, at a Welsh Defence League demonstration, supporters burnt an anti-Nazi flag and made Nazi salutes.

On January 2010 in Stoke-on-Trent, there was trouble as EDL members broke through police lines, four police officers were injured and police vehicles were damaged. The BBC's Matt Cooke said there had been few problems with the Unite Against Fascism demonstration.

In March 2010 in Bolton, 74 people were arrested in the demonstrations; at least 55 of the arrested were from the UAF and nine from the EDL. Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism was arrested and charged with conspiracy to organise violent disorder, Martin Smith, of Love Music Hate Racism and Dr. Moran, joint secretary of Greater Manchester UAF were among those arrested on conspiracy charges. Police said that UAF protesters were responsible for most of the trouble and that they had turned up intending to cause trouble saying "It is clear to me that a large number have attended with the sole intention of committing disorder and their actions have been wholly unacceptable."

At their second Dudley protest, on 17 July 2010, there was widespread damage to local property, the local council estimated the bill to be over £500,000. On 11 September 2010, police in Oldham received an advance call from the EDL. Around mid-day approximately 120 supporters had descended on the town. A separate mob of around 50 members attacked a police car with bottles. There were 8 arrests for public order offences.

On 9 October 2010, a police officer and several civilians were injured during protests by the English Defence League and Unite Against Fascism in Leicester. A Sky News van was attacked by members of the English Defence League who had earlier thrown fireworks, smokebombs and bricks at police and smashed windows of the city's International Arts Centre. There were also clashes between EDL supporters and local black and Asian youths as a group broke out of the EDL protest site at Humberstone Gate East and engaged with the locals. One man from Tyne and Wear was later convicted of causing criminal damage to the value of £1500 to a restaurant in this area of the city. Riot police fought to maintain control over the sporadic fighting that ensued. Thirteen people were arrested, one on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, only one was from the city of Leicester and the cost of policing the demonstration was put at £850,000.

In February 2011, prior to an EDL march in Luton, national British newspapers ran headlines with expectations of violence. The march, which was held on 5 February 2011, was concluded without major incident.

2011 riots

The EDL offered to support police in the suppression of rioters.

On 10 August, during the 2011 England riots, police clashed with a bottle-throwing crowd in Eltham of about 200 vigilantes containing many English Defence League members. Jack England, EDL's south-east regional organiser, claimed to be combining 50 EDL members with 200 local vigilantes to patrol the streets. Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin expressed concern that the EDL and the BNP were seeking to exploit the situation after 90 EDL members joined vigilantes in Enfield.

Views and reactions

The British press describes the EDL as far-right.

Nick Lowles, the editor of Searchlight, an anti-racist magazine, has stated that the EDL poses two risks. One is the formation of a street army prepared to travel around the country to fight and provide organisational support. The other is the group's tactics of carrying placards and chanting in places that are potential flashpoints. Searchlight added that not every leader of the EDL is a fascist or hardcore racist. Meanwhile, on the BBC's Sunday morning Andrew Marr show on December 13, 2010, Liberty director Shami Chakrabarti described the EDL as "modern day blackshirts". The creation of an EDL "Jewish division" in June 2010 was condemned by various different Jewish Groups.

Jon Cruddas, writing in The Guardian, describes the EDL as "a dangerous cocktail of football hooligans, far-right activists and pub racists...a bigger threat than the BNP...providing a new white nationalist identity through which they can understand an increasingly complex and alienating world. In a similar way to how football hooligans once coalesced around support for Ulster loyalism and hatred of the IRA, the followers of the EDL genuinely believe they are "defending" their Britain against the threat of Islam. What makes the EDL much more dangerous is how it reflects a wider political and cultural war."

The EDL's leaders say they are opposed to racism and say that the EDL is "keen to draw its support from people of all races, all faiths, all political persuasions, and all lifestyle choices". . Trevor Kelway, a spokesman for the EDL, has denied that the group is racist. He said he had taken over as spokesman because the previous spokesman was Islamophobic. "We would march alongside Muslims and Jews who are against militant Islam," he said. "There were none on Saturday and an all-white group doesn't look good. But they can join the EDL as long as they accept an English way of life. It is the people who threaten with bombs and violence and threaten and bomb our troops – they don't belong here."

The response from British police has been negative. Det Supt John Larkin of West Midland's Counter Terrorism Unit has previously expressed concerns that the EDL's Islamophobia fuels extremism and undermines counter-radicalisation efforts. Dr. Robert Lambert, co-director of the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) at the University of Exeter and previously head of the Muslim Contact Unit (MCU) in the Metropolitan Police, has written that the EDL has undermined efforts by British Muslims to tackle terrorism and extremism.

Government

British Prime Minister David Cameron stated in the 2010 election campaign, "The EDL are terrible people, we would always keep these groups under review and if we needed to ban them, we would ban them or any groups which incite hatred." Former Home Office secretary Phil Woolas stated of the organisation's tactics "This is a deliberate attempt by the EDL at division and provocation, to try and push young Muslims into the hands of extremists, in order to perpetuate the divide. It is dangerous." John Denham, the then UK Communities Secretary, has condemned the EDL, saying its tactics are similar to those of the British Union of Fascists in the 1930s, although he stressed that they did not present anything like the same "potency, organisation or threat". He was commenting after clashes between different groups at a new London mosque, during a demo by the group Stop the Islamification of Europe. He singled out the EDL in particular: "If you look at the types of demonstrations they have organised, the language used and the targets chosen, it looks pretty clear that it's a tactic designed to provoke, to get a response and create violence".

The leader of Dudley council, Anne Milward, stated after the second EDL demonstration in her city: "We are extremely saddened that Dudley has again been targeted by the English Defence League. Yet again this group of outside extremists have shown they are incapable of demonstrating peacefully and have brought public disorder and violence to our town."

Academic analysis

Matthew Goodwin, an academic who specialises in the study of far-right extremism, has argued that the press are more sympathetic to the Islamophobia of the EDL than they were to the anti-Semitism of the National Front in the 1970s:

The reason why the EDL's adoption of Islamophobia is particularly significant is that unlike the 1970s, when the National Front was embracing antisemitism, there are now sections of the media and the British establishment that are relatively sympathetic towards Islamophobia. It is not difficult to look through the media and find quite hostile views towards Islam and Muslims. That is fundamentally different to the 1970s, when very few newspapers or politicians were endorsing the NF's antisemitic message.

Furthermore, it has been argued that while the group differs from other British far-right groups such as the British National Party or the National Front by publicly promoting an image of multi-ethnicity, inclusion, and liberal values of tolerance, its affinities with other right-wing groups, its Islamophobia, and the outspoken racism of its membership tend to belie this image.

International activities and support

American talk radio host Michael Savage became the first popular media figure to publicly announce support for the EDL, stating, "How does England take the Islamofascists spitting on their war dead, without letting the English Defence League wade into them with pipes and beer bottles, I'll never understand". Erick Stakelbeck, a terrorism analyst and commentator for Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, also expressed support for the EDL and compared it to the American Tea Party movement.

The EDL is reported to be developing links with anti-Islamic elements within the Tea Party movement, through individuals associated with the Park51 controversy.

Anti-islamic pastor Terry Jones was invited to a rally in Luton in in February 2011 to share his views on islamic extremism. Anti-fascist group Hope not Hate successfully petitioned the Home Secretary have Jones banned from entering the UK

In October, 2010, Rabbi Nachum Shifren travelled to England to speak at a rally. In his speech, he called Muslims "dogs" and told the EDL that "history will be recorded that on this day, read by our children for eternity, one group lit the spark to liberate us from the oppressors of our two governments and the leftist, fifth column, quisling press, and that it was the EDL which started the liberation of England from evil."

The Jewish Defense League has held a demonstration in support of the EDL, saying that the two groups will "take a stand against the forces of political Islam". The Canadian Jewish Congress has opposed the alliance.

Following a claim by Anders Behring Breivik to have had multiple contacts with EDL members accompanied by controversy over those claims, the EDL leadership condemned the attacks saying that "the taking of innocent lives can never be justified,".

See also

• Stop the Islamification of Europe
• Casuals United
• Far right in the United Kingdom
• Football hooliganism
• Islamophobia
• Islam in England
• Islam4UK

Image gallery

References

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External links

• Official website
• The English Defense League: The New Face of Europe?

• Anti-Muslim organizations from the United Kingdom
• Far-right politics in the United Kingdom
• Organizations established in 2009
• 2009 establishments in England