By T4P friend, Huw I
I’ve been curious about the English Defence League (EDL) ever since first hearing of it. I initially assumed it was just a re-branded group of NF/BNP supporters. However, having viewed the various documentaries, heard about their origins, and seen some of the propaganda on You Tube, it seems simultaneously a much more absurd yet frightening movement. Ultimately, the EDL does seem to demonstrate a shift in thinking, a redefinition of the dividing lines – in order to maximize the potential for conflict.
There’s some emotion behind this, stemming as it does from the Wooten Basset demo by Islam4life – when the EDL began. And there’s been a whole load of stuff rolling around in my head about what this all means and why this shift has occurred… Devolution, the domestic repercussions of the war on terror and global definitions of “enemy”, the shift in the political spectrum at all levels both at the centre and the extremes. Whatever the reasons, there’s a whole process of myth-making going on – apparently attempting to create new dividing lines; And this is worrying.
This is where the opposition to the EDL needs to acknowledge that there’s some genuine change away from the old far right – and a change based on a sea of contradictions, that actually means the EDL has very little to hold itself together. So the aggression and conflict-driven stance of anti-fascist groups such as Unite Against Fascism doesn’t seem relevant or helpful. Instead, it’d seem worthwhile for both anti-fascists and the Muslim community to take a good look at the EDL…
It’s not so much what the EDL are protesting about – which we may all have differing views on – but the way in which they are using protest to generate division and conflict. If the EDL are protesting against Al Qaida, the imposition of Sharia law in Britain, attacks on Israel, attacks on the rights of homosexuals – then who is opposing what? For me, those wishing to oppose the EDL need to oppose the EDL’s attempt to draw all these issues into a mythological war between two sides – their attempt to create conflict and violence, to stigmatize and agitate. If responses to the EDL generate conflict, it feeds the EDL’s reason for being; without it, they can only look inwards.
And that is where the greatest threat to the EDL may lie. Anyone with half an ounce of sense knows that the issues raised by the EDL simply cannot be divided along “us and them” lines. Obviously, plenty of Muslims are opposed to the idea of Sharia law being implemented in Britain (“it would ruin my weekends”, remarked a Muslim colleague recently). And there are plenty are elements within the EDL (and beyond) that undoubtedly cause concern amongst other EDL supporters – who claim to be genuinely concerned about such issues as defending Israel or gay rights.
If responses to the EDL avoid stoking conflict, these contradictions within the EDL will rise to the surface – but what worries me is that, if we see large-scale unrest, the EDL myths may just start to take hold. Banners declaring “Allah is the greatest” (as seen in Bolton), and chants of “Nazi scum off our streets” feel blunt or even confirmatory to the EDL mindset.
Instead, counter protests could break-down the lines drawn in the sand by the EDL, and reclaim the EDL’s issues as ones that are not ingrained in a new definition of Englishness – showing that there is no “enemy” that cements their new definitions. Shouting “Nazi scum” may get to the actual Nazis in the crowd, but won’t help convert any of the new EDL recruits who actually think that they are opposing fascism.
Non-violent celebratory protest and avoiding unrest at all costs should be high priority, not least in places like Bradford – which have most to lose and in which the EDL have most to gain from high-level disturbances. In 2010, it could be argued that – despite the best attempts of the BNP – race has failed to cement a definition of Englishness, as ultimately it made no sense. We have to show that the EDL’s latest definitions make no sense either; so the nature of the counter-protest could either help draw support to or away from this dangerous organisation.