On the English Defence League

I thought I had better note my own position on the issue of the English Defence League, which is currently all over the news.

The EDL can be understood, first of all, as an utterly predictable consequence, at street level, of years of government appeasement of Islam and Islamic demands: the first glimmerings indeed of civil war.

I don’t like the look of them generally, but they are a mixed bunch. Unlike Muslims, they do not as far as I know have a book which they have to believe is the undiluted word of God, encouraging them on to violence and telling them to hate people who disagree with them. This makes them rather different to Muslims.

Some in the EDL will be opportunist football hooligan types. Others are probably reasonable people, concerned about the rise of fascism with an Islamic face. How annoyed they must be to be called “fascist” in return.

I don’t like the EDL’s methods. I don’t think it has come to street battles yet. I think concerned parties should take their concerns to government, as I do, but en masse. Government, and ministers, need lobbying. You don’t take the law into your own hands.

Of course I can understand the EDL’s anger at this cowardly government and the rise of Islamofascism in the UK, but I think they will need to be watched and kept in check. There should be no bending to Islam, no capitulation, but this should, of course, be at the level of legislation. It is true that “ordinary Muslims” are not taking enough steps to clean up their own back yard – well, they can’t, since the penalty for apostasy under Islam is death – but direct, confrontational provocation will just result in EDL members being arrested.

At this stage, at least, the intellectual route is certainly preferable to the physical (which should only ever be a last resort). The EDL will see growing numbers for as long as the government continues to capitulate. They will also help the BNP to seem legitimate, which is a problem as the latter have a clear racist manifesto.

While the EDL’s mission seems to be no more than that they are against the Islamification of the UK, I’m on side with it, but I’m not on-side with their methods, not yet. If they produce a manifesto that is itself fascist, then they will be no better than the BNP or the religion of Islam, but they cannot be judged as such yet.

Either way, the rise of the EDL should serve as a wake-up call to the government.