UK and Europe Mosque Protests

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

by Jeffrey Imm

http://www.realcourage.org/2010/06/uk-and-europe-mosque-protests/

Everyone has a
right to believe, a right to freedom of worship, and a
right to
freedom of conscience. These are universal
human rights that are rights
for all people around the world, regardless of whether we agree with
their religion or faith (or lack thereof). Because we support such
unquestioned freedom of conscience in a world where
attacks on houses of worship are routine acts of hate, Responsible for
Equality And
Liberty (R.E.A.L.) is deeply concerned about the growing practice in
the United Kingdom and Europe of protests at or against individual
mosques.

In the United Kingdom, we are concerned about the recent protests and
violence by protesters among the English
Defence League (EDL) on April 3 and on May
2, 2010, and their efforts to block the mosque in Dudley. While
the EDL is pleased with their success in blocking the creation of a
mosque in Dudley, the larger question that must be asked is what is the
message the EDL is sending to the world on British commitment to
freedom of religion?

Clashes:
English Defence
League protesters break through barriers during a demonstration through
the streets of Dudley (Photo: Daily Mail/PA Wire - David Jones)

On

May 28, 2010, the UK
Guardian newspaper also reported on plans for future EDL protests at

"Muslim centers," including East London Mosque, Tower Hamlets, and
Bradford this
summer. The May 28 reports highlight a growing sense of anti-Muslim
hatred, rage, and violence which is growing in the United Kingdom and
which is targeting Muslims and Islamic houses of worship.

The UK
Guardian reports and videos on an "undercover investigation" of the EDL
shows supporters calling for hate against all Muslims, with chants such
as "We All Hate Muslims," use of racial slurs and profanities, and
threats. The reports allege that the EDL is increasingly becoming
infiltrated with others who hate, including Skinheads, Combat 18 Nazis,
and other racists. Hate attracts hate.

The May 28 Guardian reports include:

-- "English
Defence League: new wave of extremists plotting summer of unrest"

-- "English
Defence League: Inside the violent world of Britain's new far right"

-- "The
English Defence League uncovered" - 11 minute video report

I strongly urge you to look at these reports, especially
the video report, to fully appreciate this issue.

Where there is religious discrimination and hatred, often there is
resultant violence and terrorism. As with other houses of worship,
there has been vandalism of mosques in the United Kingdom, one
mosque attacked in Eccles on April 16, 2010, and another mosque
building burned to the ground in Cradley in December 2009.

UK
Mosque in Cradley
(Photo: Express & Star) -- UK Mosque in Eccles (Photo: Manchester
Evening News)

Any struggle or protest against
religious extremism that uses hate and violence, attacks houses of
worship, and attacks all individuals of one identity group without
respect to diversity and individual views, is nothing less than a mirror
image of another form of religious extremism.

The people in the United Kingdom must find organizations and leaders
with credibility to speak out against such hatred, such violence, such
intolerance, and who will be consistent in their support for our
universal human rights, including our
universal right to freedom of religion, worship, and conscience.

One group that seeks to reach out to British Muslims and non-Muslims
in a spirit of our shared human rights is the group British
Muslims for
Secular Democracy (BMSD.) In January
2010, when the anti-democracy religious supremacist group Islam4UK
sought to hold a march in Wootton Bassett, the
BMSD promised to hold a counter-demonstration to show that other
Muslims do not accept the anti-freedom, anti-democracy views of the
Islam4UK group. Responsible
for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) promoted this statement by the BMSD
to stand up to the Islam4UK extremists, but such acts of responsible
protests and consistent commitment to our universal human rights do not
get enough media attention. This needs to change. Too little media and
public attention is given to those who pursue a human rights solution
to extreme views, as opposed to those that promote hatred and reject
human rights - whether it is the EDL or the Islam4UK.

Another group in the United Kingdom and Europe is the
"Stop Islamization of Europe" (SIOE) group. The slogan of the SIOE
group is that "Islamophobia is the height of common sense." In the
United Kingdom, the SIOE has had two protests in front of Harrow Central
Mosque in September
2009 and December
2009. In the September
2009 SIOE protests at the Harrow mosque, there was violence between
supporters and counter protesters, as SIOE protest supporters went to
the mosque chanting "Muslims out." In the
December 2009 SIOE protest at the Harrow mosque, the SIOE
reportedly refused the opportunity to dialogue with leaders of the
Harrow mosque.

The SIOE group also has other European divisions, as well as a
sister group in the United States, the "Stop Islamization of America"
(SIOA) group. One of these groups is the 'Stop Islamiseringen af
Danmark' (SIAD) division in Denmark.

We are also concerned about the
May
21, 2010 protests by the Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) against a
mosque in Aalborg, Denmark titled "no mosques in our streets."
The Aalborg SIOE/SIAD protest led by SIOE leader Anders Gravers was
targeting a mosque in Aalborg because of reports that the mosque's imam
supports genital mutilation of women.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) shares the concern of
challenging those who support abuse against women or any abuse of our
universal human rights. But we understand that two wrongs do not make a
right, and that seeking to protest houses of worship is not the way to
gain the support of others on human rights issues. In fact, protesting
houses of worship is a sure way to attract those committed to hate and
violence.

The May 21, 2010 SIOE/SIAD march's chant, however, was not about
women's human rights, but was to call for "no
mosques in our streets." Not surprisingly, we learned that the May
21, 2010 SIOE/SIAD protest was then joined by individuals representing a
Nazi organization. TV2
NORD reports that the Nazi
organization DNSB (Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevaegelse - Danish
National Socialist Movement) joined the SIOE/SIAD protest at Aalborg
against the mosque, and the Nazi protesters were led by Daniel Carlson.

According
to TV2 NORD, the Nazi DNSB group sought to raise its own banner
with the Nazi swastika as part of its participation in the SIOE / SIAD
protest against the Aalborg mosque. An embarrassed SIOE leader Anders
Gravers then sought to remove the Nazi swastika banner from the protest
march, which led to a scuffle.

Denmark: SIOE/SIAD March "No
Mosque in Our
Streets" Leads to Support by and then Confrontation with Denmark Nazi
Group when Nazi Swastika Banner Raised

Certainly,
anyone who has ever been involved with a public activity or protest is
aware of the challenges of unwelcome participants who may seek to
"hijack" an event. However, the lesson that SIOE should have learned is
that its messages that "Islamophobia is the height of common sense" and
"no mosques in our streets" are viewed as messages that Nazi groups can
support. This is why those who challenge religious supremacist and
anti-human rights activities must have a human rights message, human
rights leadership, and human rights consistency, that groups like the
SIOE and the EDL will never offer the public.

What has the SIOE learned from this humiliating experience? Has it
learned not to promote "Islamophobia"? Has it learned that hate only
attracts hate? Has it learned that human rights issues cannot be
addressed by promoting intolerance and hate? Unfortunately, all that
the SIOE has learned is that it needs to have another protest against
the Aalborg mosque because the May 21 march was not satisfactory. Like
the EDL, the SIOE also has other protests against mosques planned for
the summer of 2010, which it calls "hatecentrals," while they cannot
recognize the hatred in their own activities. SIOE plans another protest
against a mosque in Copenhagen on August 28, 2010.

SIOE's leader Anders Gravers, whose Denmark event attracted the
support of the Nazi party, will also be coming to America to join in a
New York City protest on June 6, 2010 against a mosque in
NYC.

Human Rights Begins with Human Freedoms

Both the EDL and the SIOE groups claim to be protesting such
existing and planned mosques to protest "radical Islam," and in the
case of the SIOE on behalf of "democracy."

But who is the "radical" when they seek to stop others from having
freedom of worship? What are the "democratic" values in seeking to
intimidate others from seeking the right to believe at mosques? How can
anyone be promoting human rights by seeking to deny freedom of
conscience at a house of worship?

Since many such protesters claim to be Christian, what type of
example do they think they are setting for those oppressed Christians in
other parts of the world whose churches are regularly protested,
worship services disrupted, worshipers attacked, and even churches
targeted for terrorism? Are they determined to prove that they can be
just as intolerant and disrespectful of our universal human rights
regarding other people's freedom of religion?

Responsible for

Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) promotes freedom of religion,
freedom of worship, and freedom of conscience as our
unqualified, universal human rights. We challenge those who deny
such universal human rights.

Religious freedom, freedom to worship, and freedom of conscience is
defined in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
"Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in
public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching,
practice, worship and observance."

There is no caveat to these inalienable human rights, no asterisks,
no qualifiers. Those who promote religious supremacism of any kind may
not respect these inalienable human rights. But those who reject,
disrespect, and defy such universal human rights do not change the
rights of all people, everywhere to such universal human rights.

If we are to defend such human rights, we must be consistent in our
convictions for all people, not just for some people. We don't have to
like others, agree with others, or support other faiths - to recognize
that the only way to fight for human rights is to be consistent in
defending human freedom for all people, everywhere. People that we
like and people like us are not the only ones with a right to believe
and a right to freedom of worship. People we don't like and disagree
with have a right to believe. We either support universal human rights
or not - there is no "relative" human rights just for some people, some
times, in some places. But remember, even if we choose not to support
such universal human rights, all people will still be entitled to them.

People in every part of the world of every
faith have a right to freedom of worship.

We cannot struggle for human rights if we do not acknowledge and
respect such basic human freedoms.

We cannot build any consensus of humanity to effect change based on
hate and violence.

Choose
Love, Not Hate. Love Wins.