"The EDL is not a racist group"

[IrrelevantElephant]

Please please don't flame me. DPs best friend is a fairly senior member of the EDL. Every time we get into a discussion about race/racism, DP defends his mate. Says there are senior people in the EDL who are black etc.

I'm not smart. I'm not well educated. But I know EDL is wrong. I would appreciate help to defend my views.

Who says you have to live in the UAE to be Muslim?

I don't see how shariah courts are a step backwards for Muslim women's rights. 99% of the shariah courts work is granting divorces to women who want to leave their husbands, so surely this is a good thing? without shariah courts there wouldnt be a way for Muslim women to get an Islamic divorce? The courts make it easier for them to do so. Although they are not perfect and there are issues with them. Jewish courts have existed for ages I believe?

Also lets talk about the protests at the returning soldiers, Muslims against the Crusades, or whatever Anjem Choudary is calling his group now is nowhere near mainstream, it is a group of about 300 misguided individuals, that no other Muslim organisation wants anything to do with.

Who said you have to live in the UAE to be Muslim?

yp.theemiratesnetwork.com/browse/churches/united_arab_emirates/-/all/ churches in the UAE

www.huffingtonpost.com/blackberry/p.html?id=2100461

Some of the issues around sharia courts are covered here, and in the telegraph article

It is partly about those courts that use mis-information - so women are not informed that they would do better if they used UK law, or that they are not protected under religious marriages in the way they are under civil marriages. And let's not look too deeply at domestic violence issues under sharia

you cannot use uk law to get an islamic divorce, so how will they be better of using uk law? they can get divorced legally, that doesnt mean they can get another muslim marriage or religiously in the faith they adhere to they are divorced! The shariah courts require the civil divorce if you were legally married before they give islamic divorce!

I disagree that communities would prefer women to go to shariah courts, communities would prefer they didnt get divorced and stayed in their marriages, and that is what not having the shariah courts would mean, that in the eyes of the community they were still married!

and why blame mis information, I am not misinformed, yet I do not have a civil marriage, that is nothing to do with the shariah courts, I have been no where near a shariah court!

domestic violence issues? It is the shariah courts that allow women to escape abusive husbands,as like I said without them they would still be considered islamically married!

As for the witness of men vs women etc, there are situations where the womens witness is worth more then mens as well!

Arf at the idea BeataNoxPotter
No, I'm just trying to inform the op about some issues the EDL might mention so she knows more about them. The issue of Sharia Courts is currently being discussed by the mainstream political parties and so there is no need for the EDL to get its knickers in a twist about it.
There are reasons why people are drawn to the arguments of the EDL. Some of them are dubious and racist. Some of them are because legitimate concerns have been overlooked by mainstream parties imo. A lot of their arguments do have a grain of truth wrapped up in layers of lies and misinformation. Because there is an element of truth, they are both more convincing and also misleading. It is important imo to know more about the issues, not wave them away with a 'racist thugs' wave of the hand.

Well, yes, you do have a point on that too! I thought it was more about what to say to her dp? Not much point arguing with someone high up in the EDL although I always think it worthwhile speaking to those who for example leaflet. Sometimes it's just about feeling confident in your own views and knowing a bit more about what's going on politically.

I know someone who belongs to the edl, as a person he's really nice. He doesn't strike me as particularly racist. He,s black though I know that doesn't mean anything because racists come in all shapes and colours.

can i be racist and have a black friend op? Yes i can. If i was, i'd be a racist twat and my black friend would be stupid for being my friend.

having a black/muslim membership does not preclude racism in itself.