Sikhs Against the EDL

The clock is ticking down to the English Defence League's planned march in Tower Hamlets to continue their endless protest against the Muslim community. Of course, they like to remind everyone they are not against Muslims, but campaigning against militant Islam and are not a racist organisation.

The local residents, which comprises of a large Bangladeshi community, have raised concern time and again that the EDL are not coming to town just to march, but have a history of provoking trouble. The EDL claim they have a right to walk down any part of the country and there is no reason to suggest otherwise. But it's not likely that their members aren't just hoping to stroll down Whitechapel Road to check out the market before stopping for a curry down Brick Lane then heading to Shoreditch to check out an Indie gig.

There are even calls for the government to intervene and ban the march taking place in a part of east London which has a history of clashes, most famously the Battle of Cable Street, when fascist leader Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts were embroiled in a battle with the local community, comprise of a large Jewish community.

Should the EDL carry out their plans to march, they will be met with protest by not only the residents of Tower Hamlets, but standing alongside them will be Unite against Fascism (UAF) along with United East End and supported by the One Tower Hamlets - no place for hate campaign. And standing shoulder to shoulder with their Muslim brothers and sisters will be Sikhs against the EDL, an organisation which formed in response to some youngsters from the Sikh community being lured to join the EDL.

Indeed, the EDL claim to be open to everyone, even Muslims who are against extremism, but no matter how many times they put Guramit Singh forward as a spokesperson for the group, it's hard to believe they don't have equal hatred towards other ethnic groups and the cultural diversity which makes up the fabric of the country.

The “Sikhs against the EDL” organisation has no intention of allowing the EDL to win and is prepared to put up a fight.

Balwinder Singh Rana, spokesperson for ‘Sikhs against the EDL’ said,

The EDL intend to cause divisions amongst our communities. But the links between our communities are too strong as shown during the recent riots and people would not fall for the EDL’s ‘divide & rule’ policies.

The recent riots, which blighted the nation revealed two things; a strong unity between the different ethnic groups to guard their local communities and stories of Sikhs guarding mosques during evening prayers and Muslims returning the favour outside gurdwaras and temples.

The other, more interesting point was the shift of the EDL's hatred to not just "Islamism", but to other ethnic groups.

They became opportunists of the recent riots, attacking Black youths on a bus in London. Members of the EDL also attacked children in a Sikh summer camp in Chigwell, some verbally and others physically. We see the EDL abandoning their words within their mission statement of “protecting and promoting human rights” as well as the fact that they are only against Islamic extremists.

Time and again the EDL have been exposed as being a group which has hatred for the BME community. And their members, should they venture down the streets of Tower Hamlets, will come face to face with their worst fears as they see a wall of people of different faiths and races standing together and championing diversity.

Picture: EDL supporter