Now here's a terrifying prospect...I read in The Independent today that the English Defence League, that bastion of all things far-right and extremist, are uniting with their counterparts from other EU countries including host nation Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy and Poland - as well as the Ronseal-named groups Stop Islamisation of Europe and Stop Islamisation of the world and the more intriguingly-titled European Freedom Initiative - to take part in the first ever European Counter-Jihad Meeting. In the words of the Almighty Eddie Izzard - quod the actual fuck?
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to suddenly reveal myself as a leading cheerleader for the Al Quaida group or anything - as far as I'm concerned, any form of militant extremism and fundamentalism, be it religious or nationalistic, is an abhorrent thing that needs wiping out, particularly when the tactics these groups choose to implement result in the murders of innocent people (yes, AQ, I'm looking at you...) However, the idea of the EDL and their little friends having some form of tea party in Denmark in order to consolidate and politicise their hate-fuelled, bigoted and ignorant agenda makes me want to go rushing to the nearest mosque to beg their faiths collective forgiveness on behalf of everyone in England with even half a brain cell. The point of the meeting in Aarhus, according to the EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is to "discuss tactics. Each country's delegates will get time to describe the problems they have. We will try to pool resources. For example, if another defence league wants to run a demonstration in their own country they are unlikely to get as much media interest as if we were involved, so we would go over there and lend our support". Ah, the EDL, doing their bit to ensure that historical depictions of the English as "thugs for hire" remains resolutely and charmingly intact...
Seriously, though, surely there has to be some sort of law against a meeting of this type? There's a difference between allowing freedom of speech and allowing incitement of racial/religious hatred, which is what this little shindig is coming down to. At the moment the EDL resemble nothing more than a bunch of hooligans out to cause trouble and stir up hatred; bad enough in itself, but can you imagine them getting together with the likes of the Norwegian Defence League (who spawned Anders Brevik, the man who went on a murderous rampage in the country late last year) or some of the other groups who have political wings and are elected to local, and in some instances national, government? What a terrifying prospect...and this meeting is expected to be only the first; the various defence leagues intend to make their little get-together a regular thing, eventually forming a European Defence League which will model itself on the EU and both politicise and unify these disparate groups.
In the 1930's the right-wing Fascist movement gained popularity not just here in the UK (Oswald Mosley and his 'Black Shirts' for example) but across Europe - and we all know what happened next. Now I'm not suggesting for one second that this gathering in Denmark is going to lead to a full-scale persecution of Muslims and the outbreak of World War Three, but I think it should make us wary. Very wary. And when I say 'us' I mean all of us; every sensible, right-thinking human being in Europe needs to be aware of this and put pressure on those in power to ensure that history doesn't end up repeating itself and these mindless idiots don't get the chance to do something the rest of us will regret. It is completely unacceptable for Al Quaida and their ilk to go around deliberately misinterpreting and twisting the Q'uran for their own ends and murdering innocent people. It is equally unacceptable for the EDL and their European counterparts to go around tarring all Muslims with the same brush and advocating the brutal disrespect of their faith. Some of our European neighbours already have far-right politicians making threats at coming into power, even in some small and seemingly insignificant way, but any advance the far-right makes is something which should send a small shiver of warning down the spines of anyone with the aforementioned half a braincell and a conscience.
So let the 50 members of the EDL go to Denmark, if that's what they want, and let them have their little chinwag with their mates. Perhaps the UK border agency could do the rest of us a favour, however, and have another one of their 'glitches'. Lost passports, mislaid documentation, closing the borders to anyone inciting racial hatred...given the reaction of most Daily Mail readers to the news this was happening to that exotic and dangerous foreign 'other', I'm sure they'd quite understand if the Government announced it was having to really tighten up and clamp down on its border checks and so on...
Be afraid, Europe. Be very, very afraid...and also vigilant. If one side goes off you just know the extremist wings of the other side will feel the need to jump up and down as well, and frankly the last thing any of us normal citizens need is to be caught in the cross fire.
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