Shaaz Mahboob has a good article on Saturday’s demonstration by the BMSD against Al-Muhajiroun.
Anjem Choudary’s chums abandoned their own demo, of course, and the field was left open to the supporters of liberal democracy. But to be precise, when I say “open”, I am ignoring the identity politics played by the organisers of the Mulsims4UK counter-demonstration, who made it a point to distance themselves from the Secular Democracy message of the BMSD counter-demo.
As Shaaz mentions:
Sadly, we were not joined by the Islamic Society of Britain and Inayat Bunglawala’s group, Muslims4UK, who called off their own counter-demonstration. Also, disappointingly, we discovered that Inayat Bunglawala had formally requested that the police set up a separate pen, so that they would not have to stand with pro-democracy and anti-sharia Muslim groups such as us. This sort of sectarianism is incredibly damaging, not only to Muslims, but Britain as a whole.
When our so-called “Muslim representatives” continue to put personal ambition and political interests before the collective interest of British Muslims and a secular, non-sectarian Britain, the danger is far greater than that posed by Anjem Choudary and the al-Muhajiroun.
Update:
Bungles posts his ‘pretexts’ for pulling out of the Muslim4UK demo. It is clear he he knew about the BMSD demo because it had already registered, before he had got round to it. But rather than back the pro-Democracy message of the BMSD, he decided, after consulting some people, to create an altogether new platform of his own making, Muslims4UK:
11 Comments
Ah, good ol’ Inayat still on his “acceptable face of Islamism” kick. What an utter twit.
What is it with Inayat that he thinks we can’t see the continuity between his Islamism-lite and the fascist scum of ALM?
Here is a comment to Shaaz’s peice on CiF which cuts straight to the chase:
So, what were the numbers? How many from each group showed up? In particular, how many Muslims for secular democracy? (It’s all very well to have supporters of SD, but how many actual real and live BMs were present is too interesting a statistic to be buried under all the congratulatory rhetoric — or maybe that’s the point?)
This is the *very first time* Muslims have stood in public demonstrating against extremism under an unapologetically Secular Democratic banner in the UK.
Something gelled on Saturday and judging by the extremely positive feedback we’re receiving, I think we have hit just the right note. There is a demographic that has been waiting for us to come along and stick our heads above the parapet.
If you regard this as “congratulatory rhetoric”, well that’s because that’s exactly what it is, because it is justified.
Absent any numbers, that’s exactly what it is, I’m afraid. And whether the congratulations are deserved isn’t the issue (or even an issue) at all. The issue is a simple one: how many Muslims showed up for secular democracy? Why is this a difficult question to answer?
At this point, the core constituency of the BMSD seems of the same order of magnitude as Anjem’s merry band. Why is this a problem? The reluctance to admit small beginnings, in favor of brave talk of an emergent demographic, is not a good sign.
Why is this a difficult question to answer?
It isn’t. No one really took a roll call and asked “Who’s Muslim”, I’m afraid. There were about 100 people who turned up at the demo and about a 20 were probably Muslims members of the public.
The reluctance to admit small beginnings, in favor of brave talk of an emergent demographic, is not a good sign.
I don’t see any reluctance to admit small beginnings, that’s exactly what the case is here. One key message is that Anjem’s army did a no show *because* they realised there would be Muslims in the demo out to challenge them.
At this point, the core constituency of the BMSD seems of the same order of magnitude as Anjem’s merry band.
Except they have been around for the last 20 years, agitating public sensibilities with the help of the Daily Express and the other red-tops. If the BMSD can manage what it did with zero media profile on our very first outing, I should think that ‘s a great start.
There were about 100 people who turned up at the demo and about a 20 were probably Muslims members of the public.
Excellent. Thank you.
One key message is that Anjem’s army did a no show *because* they realised there would be Muslims in the demo out to challenge them.
Indeed. 20 Muslims were enough to rout that army.
You must remember guys a lot more were due to turn up but decided not to when andy chickened out. As for how many Muslims support secular democracy I’d say the vast majority in the UK do. Others certainly can’t wait to move to a country which governs by secular democratic principles, including the nutters. How much enjoy sitting on armchairs biting the hands the feed, it seems one too many.
Another thing you must remember is that there are approximately four identifiable camps who will be wishing for the failure of British Muslims for Secular Democracy:
1) Hard Islamists – because they support Islamist supremacism.
2) The British Far-left – because the very existence of ‘Muslims for SD’ smashes their lies which have emboldened them thus far to speak for and of Muslims as the victims of the post-colonial world and an homogeneous anti-Western bloc. Seumas Milne of the Guardian comes to mind.
3) Soft-Islamists – because they don’t understand what secularism is and hate their misconceptions of it, and they would really like to see Sharia implemented in the UK.
4) Eurabianist Islamophobes and graduates of the Geert Wilders School of Comparative Religion – who will insist that the Eurabian bollocks is manifestly true and the vast majority of Muslims are crypto-Islamists by doctrinal influence.
All four camps have invested a lot of time and energy to ensure that their version of events is regarded as the de facto narrative of Muslims in the UK. You can be sure that they will be doing their best to discredit and diminish the BMSD.
Have I missed anyone out?
Yes Faisal – you’ve missed out those who prefer to sit on their backsides at home all day and criticise anyone who stands up to do something.
Ah, I wondered when the empty sloganeering would start.
It started by invoking the Daily Express, and inserting ‘agitation’ in the same sentence.
It continued by resorting to the nonsense word ‘Islamophobia’. It is hilarious to see someone using this demagogic nonsense, and then accusing someone else – and in the same sentence! – of talking ‘bollocks’.
This is not even gesture politics. It is kindergarten politics. You seem to think that by having a demo with 20 people, you have nullified the position of genuine anti-Islamists in this country and elsewhere. I am sorry to disabuse you. All you have done is undermined your own claim to be pursuing serious politics, and made yourself look like an absurd fifth-former.