EDL....

[DandyFloss]

I am a regular who has name changed for this thread.

I would like to have a discussion about EDL. I want to know exactly why people find them so abhorrent and why it is such a taboo subject.

I dislike militant Islam, it is a dangerous movement and it really frightens me. A family friend was killed in 9/11 and it was a horrible horrible tragedy.

I have two mixed race children, my DH is mixed race, I would not say I'm racist or xenophobic.

As far as I can gather EDL oppose militant Islam, and this alone.

Why does this make them racist? Surely militant Islam, although a very small proportion of Islam, should be opposed?

The right to express themselves by doing Nazi salutes and shouting abuse about Muslims, homosexuals, black people? The right to threaten opposing marches with violence? The right to spit at people in the street?

Adventure, seriously Ive never seen the twin set and pearls bridgade on an BNP/EDL march. Unless you are being deliberately obtuse you know the people who join these marches, are they are not people concerned with whats happening in their areas.

Dawn - all true.

If you don't support them. Why have you spent so much time and energy defending their views and searching google tor links/articules to support your argument which to me seems to indicate you do support the EDL and you are trying to convert some of us on MN.

Not true - just stuff you've heard does not make it true.

No, Adventure all bigoted nonsense.

Onestep - at least some of them are concerned locals. If girls had been gang-raped in your town for years and the police had ignored it, would you not be out on the streets calling for action with the only
organisation who appeared to give a damn?

Do white Christians never do that kind of thing?

Have priests never 'interfered' with young boys?

You seem to be making that an issue of colour and religion, when really it is an issue of paedophiles and rapists. They come in all shades and from all religions as far as I'm aware.

If you don't support them. Why have you spent so much time and energy defending their views and searching google tor links/articules to support your argument which to me seems to indicate you do support the EDL and you are trying to convert some of us on MN.

Utter rot that that any Muslim ladies need to be protected from the shariah council. We go to them of our own free will for religious rulings on civil matters.

You hate Muslims at least have the courage to come out and admit it, stop trying to hide behind our burkhas.

The edl don't give a damn about victims of rape! If they did they would protest against the shockingly low conviction rate and high rate of sexual assault, not just those few cases that involve Asian men. They have a right wing, sexist agenda that victim blames women.
The issue is even that you are stereotyping a whole group of people based on the actions of a few. And that is clearly moronic.
If you care so much about these issues then do something about by looking into WHY people act in the way they do. Look at encouraging integration and acceptance from both sides! The absolute wrong way of going about it is what the edl do which is promote hatred and segregation, that itself is what causes problems. If certain groups in society feel hated and segregated it pushes them towards more extreme belief systems and actions, tolerance and acceptance will benefit us all.

I think youve just come on to goad Adventure.

Either that or you are just ashamed of openly admitting who you are!

Mind you, tbf most EDL members dont know what they believe in either, its usually just what fat dave told them down the pub.

Good point, well made OneStep

Flafla & Adventure Ted - you don't half spout some bollocks! I spent the first 19 yrs of my life growing up in Glodwick, Oldham (you know, the town where the race riots erupted in 2001?), NOBODY has been "forced" out by muslims so they can move in! There is no "sharia law" in existence that dictates people should segregate themselves.

oldham has always had (as far back as i can recall) some areas that are mainly populated by a specific racial/ethnic group. For example, areas like Derker, Sholver, Fitton Hill, Limeside etc have always been mainly "white/english", areas like Glodwick, Werneth, Westwood have always mainly been black/asian. Why, in your opinion, is there not a bigger racial mix in the so-called "white areas"? There are idiots and racists in both cultures, asians have been targeted in mainly english areas too by the few bad apples in those communities-what do you make of that?

to understand the difference in demographic you need to understand the history of oldham as a mill town....and you obviously don't.

the majority of oldhamers get along fine with each other, and they've worked bloody hard to repair the damage caused in the communities by the idiots during the race riots - but again you choose not to look at that. Have you ever been present in oldham-or more specifically Alexandra park during events like the Oldham Carnival or mela? If you were you would see people of all backgrounds and nationalities represented and enjoying each others company.

it pisses me off how racist groups like the EDL think they can go to oldham and undo all our hard work and create an atmosphere of terror. Well, i think the EDL are beginning to understand they are not welcome in our town-especially after the reception they got in Ashton a few months ago! lmao!

I'm open mouthed that anyone who lives by their religion and prays several times a day is considered extremist. Many jews and Christians do exactly this. Many jews abide by Beit din rulings, especially in divorce matters. A jewish woman may not have a religious wedding unless she obtains a religious divorce. This is overseen by a religious court.
But some people on this thread pick on the same thing happening in Islam. Islamaphobic I call it.

Dysfunctional - so Gary Hopley, killed for wandering into a no-go area doesn't count?

Sorry, Gavin Hopley

blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tag/gavin-hopley/

Do you mean Gavin Hopley? We could just as easily list the murders of many others. Shall we start with Stephen Lawrence?

Dysfunctional - please also read this:

www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/politics/oldham1.shtml

Ted Do you really want people to go find links to all the Muslims killed for reasons of race? Will that add anything to this discussion?

Just for the sake of amusement (ha) would you like a list of crimes EDL members have committed? Do enjoy especially all the ones listed as racially aggravated.

Murder - Dysfunctional was talking about Oldham, including Glodwick - that's why I included these links, about the Utopia that is Oldham, including Glodwick. Plenty more unfortunately if you google them.

Oh ffs. No one called Oldham a 'Utopia'. How very silly.

We've all been clicking on your spurious links... click on Murder's.

YoutheCat - I do not understand how you can be so callous about someone's murder. I am disgusted.