A report by One Law for All explores how the far-Right has attempted to hijack opposition to Islamism for its own ends. It focuses on the British National Party, the English Defence League and Stop Islamisation of Europe/America, and exposes how their activities, associations, opinions and intentions reveal a racist and inhuman worldview, which must be resisted and criticised with as much vigilance as Islamism itself.
Enemies Not Allies features:
– Evidence of the BNP’s relationship with neo-Nazi and ‘white’ supremacist groups and individuals, including Blood & Honour, Combat 18 and former Klansman David Duke.
– Proof that the BNP’s leadership believe Islamism is ‘the threat that can bring [them] to power’, and examples of how they have tried to use it for political gain.
– Evidence of how senior BNP members have praised the National Front, applauded acts of violence and expressed ‘nostalgia’ for ‘Germany in the 1930s’, while its election candidates have made racist comments and fought with Asian youths.
– Interviews with former members of the English Defence League who left due its bigotry and racism towards Muslims, which they believe is endemic and ‘increasing’.
– Evidence of EDL spokespeople, including leader Tommy Robinson and Guramit Singh, making racist and bigoted comments, as well as justifying or endorsing violence.
– A history of the umbrella group Stop the Islamisation of Europe and evidence of its racism and bigotry, as well as its collaboration with European neo-Nazis.
– Evidence of Stop Islamisation of Europe/America’s racist and alarmist literature and its promulgation of conspiracy theories.
– Documentation of Stop the Islamisation of Europe’s defence of and support for Serbian fascists and war criminals, including Stop Islamisation of America’s explicit denial of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
The recent massacre in Norway carried out by Anders Behring Breivik, (who praised the groups discussed in this report), has placed a spotlight on the new ‘Islamisation’ and ‘Crusader’ strain within far-Right politics, and the groups and individuals who promote its conspiratorial worldview. One Law for All’s new report by Adam Barnett and Maryam Namazie provides crucial evidence for the struggles ahead, and argues for greater care in distinguishing between allies and enemies.
NOTES:
1. The report can be downloaded free of charge or a paperback copy purchased from One Law for All for £8.50. To purchase the book or donate to the work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque to our address below or pay via Paypal by visiting: Donate Page.
2. The One Law for All Campaign was launched on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to call on the UK Government to recognise that Sharia and religious courts are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular and that citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable.
3. For further information contact:
Maryam Namazie
Spokesperson
One Law for All
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk
24 Comments
secularist
hi. what you wrote is coward and stupid. One can be a bad muslim or a bad person – not both. if one follows quran one is bad person, one discriminates against women, other religions, etc. If one thinks that quran doesn’t demand all that – one is plain stupid. One can’t be muslim and secular at the same time, as you try to pretend to be. Yes, devout muslims is a danger for our societies. And you have proven that by your post. You support your muslim identity above the values of the society you live in. And who will thank you for this, but your revengeful god and his pedofile messenger?
One more note – don’t put together people who support freedom and neo-Nazis like BNP. By this cowardice you just weaken your cause – no one will stand for you except them, not sleazy politicians and not still ignorant and chauvinistic public for whom you try to appease by this post.
Hope you be well and without sharia,
Yours.
Hassan
This is my reply to Robert Spencer’s article attacking Maryam for the above report:
_________________________________
My name is Hassan and I am an Ex-Muslim and an Executive member of the Council of Ex-Muslims. I congratulate Maryam for making a clear distinction between our stand against the Islamists on the one hand and your position and that of Pam Geller and groups like SIOE/A on the other.
I find it amusing how you throw “Anti-Semite” at her much like some Muslims throw “Islamophobe” at anyone who dares criticise Islam, simply because she criticised Israel’s tactics during the invasion of Gaza. It seems you have the attitude of anyone criticising Israel’s political and military policies is an anti-semite. Just as some Muslims have the attitude that anyone criticising Islam hates Muslims.
But worse than this your saying that moderates have “no truck” with extremists. I was Muslim most of my life, (I am 52) and my family and friends are Muslim and to imply that I never had – nor Muslims in general have – any problem with people who massacre innocent civilians or behead innocent people is deeply offensive to me. Do you also think the Synagogues and Jews Baruch Goldstein prayed with had “No truck” with him massacring 29 worshippers at a Mosque in Hebron? I suspect not. I guess guilt by association only applies to Muslims – right?
Unlike you, Maryam and CEMB don’t lump all Muslims (or any religious believers) in one boat, nor do we see Islam as a single homogenous entity. We were Muslims and we know about Islam and Muslims very well and have a much better understanding of the issues we face than you. Although we don’t believe in Islam, we have no problem with Muslims who wish to follow their own interpretations of Islam so long as they are peaceful and do not try to impose their beliefs on others. Just as we have no problem with those of other faiths who follow it peacefully.
We are only against the Islamists and harsh, literalist and violent interpretations of Islam and those who seek to impose it on others.
Contrary to what you may think there is no such thing as “True Islam”. There are many different traditions and interpretations and many personal versions of Islam that differ from Muslim to Muslim.
Of course every Muslim will tell you there is a “True Islam” and it just so happens to be the version they follow. But it is obvious they would say that since they are compelled to preserve the integrity of a religion they believe is revealed by God. But those of us who do not believe that Islam was the carefully planned work of an Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator, but the rather less carefully planned work of the human mind, are under no obligation to defend it’s integrity and consistency against all reason, when it is obvious that Muslims have very differing interpretations.
Even when one looks solely at the basic sources – the Qur’an and Hadith – it is clear that what Muhammad himself did and said varied at different points of his lifetime and according to the circumstances and each group is selective in how they interpret them. Nor is Abrogation – that you love to bring as evidence of the harsh verses superseding the peaceful one – as simple and straightforward as you make it out to be.
Anyone with the slightest knowledge of abrogation will know it creates more anomalies than it solves, and today huge numbers of Muslims reject the idea completely – as I did when I was a Muslim.
Regardless of how you or I wish to define Islam – it is not up to us but those who call themselves Muslims. I would no more impose my view that Christianity clearly considers homosexuality a sin, on a Christian who does not regard it as a sin – than I would impose my view that the Qur’an clearly allows a man to hit his wife on a Muslim who interprets; “Hit” as; “Leave her alone” – regardless of how absurd I may think those views to be.
We stand against Political Islam and the Islamists who hold harsh and violent views and who have a political agenda to impose Islam and Islamic Laws on others.
I agree that until the Islamists are defeated, it is extremely difficult for ordinary Muslims to live their lives according to their own ‘personal Islam’, and this is one reason we fight this battle, for all humanity – including Muslims themselves – who are the greatest victims of the Islamists.
I find it perverse that people like you want to convince everyone – including Muslims – that moderate forms of Islam are wrong and that the true version is the terrorists’ version and that Muslims that appear moderate are just practising “Taqiyyah”.
Of course I realise it is because you need to justify your agenda towards Muslims in general. To convince the public that ordinary Muslims are in league with the terrorists, they cannot be trusted and harsh and restrictive measures must be imposed on them all.
Even though you say you are against violence against Muslims it is clear from the sorts of people you attract and quote you, that your words have given great encouragement to those who do want to justify violence and aggression against ordinary Muslims.
You need to look closely at yourself and the the consequences of some of the things you say and the sorts of people supporting you – if you truly care about humanity.
Jack Rainbow
But Muslims murdered 169 people globally, for not sharing their beliefs,in the past two months, they wear extreme clothing as they walk in my town, the Koran contains 109 verses inciting violence by Muslims to people like me, who do not share their beliefs.I have read most of these verses and I have to say I am frightened and very angry – how dare you come into my country with this threatening rubbish, your stupid book full of terrible threats of violence to me because I don’t share your beliefs and then, when I challenge you on it, you tell me its not mandatory.? That is how I feel about Islam. I was told by The Muslim Council of Britain when I contacted them, that stoning and flogging under sharia law is ‘not mandatory’. Well, I have written down on a piece of paper that I think all Muslims should be stoned to death, but its OK, because its ‘not mandatory’. But I’m watching you, like many thousands of othe British people are starting to do, and I am not a fool, I can see that Islam is the Religion not of peace, but of war. I am not a BNP member or any kind of extremist and I do not advocate violence to Muslims, I just fear them because of their book of violence, the Koran.
Visitor
Why are you talking to Hassan as if he’s a Muslim? He’s not, and the points he brings up are pretty good. “they wear extreme clothing as they walk in my town” What you’re describing here is your own psychological reaction to people where you live wearing ‘unusual’ clothing(quite understandable), but just because these people choose to dress ‘piously’ doesn’t mean they’re all secretly violent extremists and to make such an extrapolation would, I feel, be unjustified; unless you or someone else can provide evidence that ‘pious’ Muslim dress has a strong correlation with violent extremism.
Les
The wearing of Islamic clothing is an expression of separateness, symbolic of Muslims’ refusal to integrate but instead to force their ways onto us. The claim in the article that Breivik “praised” certain groups is false. He disdained the EDL for not being exteme. Breivik did praise Muslim terrorist organisation, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and a host of others not considered “far right”. The article’s remark, “racist comments about Islam” is nonsense. Islam is not a race. However when large numbers of people invade an area and attack the native population, white AND black and brown then people are going to say things that the nice, sheltered people who run this wishy-wasy organisation will not like. Tough.
MaryamNamazie
What a load of racist rubbish. Yes criticism of Islam not racism but that does not mean that racism against Muslims does not exist. Islamism and Sharia law is about politics not religion per se and certainly not about Muslims. It’s the difference between Christians and the Christian Right. But you wouldn’t understand that now would you if it hit you on the head. Ironically you and your far-Right friends are very much the same as the Islamists and we are opposed to you both unequivocally. The fight against Sharia law is a fight against the religious right and that includes you!
tony olley
Im sure that somwere between the above post’s lies the truth ! Not all muslims have such extreme veiws in their interiptation of the quran that they would do harm to others. I am equaly sure that not all people that oppose those exreme veiws are facists or neo nazies. Most people that throw those words arround dont actualy know what they mean. Freedom to make choices is something we all should have as long as those choices dont hurt or otherwise harm others.
Raoul
Whether all members or supporters of a group are what they claim to be, who knows? People may think your group is made up of decent, liberal-minded people standing for democracy and freedoms; only to find some hardcore Marxist and Trotzkist in hiding under the carpet. Who can say?
One lesson we all should have learned: There are many good Germans and decent Austrians, buth there are no good Nazis. The same applies to Marxists, Fascists, Islamists etc.
We can’t choose our parents. But in the West we’re free to choose our socio-political, cultural or religious affiliation. This is an arbitrary choice. If you make a bad choice and affiliate with a bad ideology, then you should not complain to be seen as a bad person.
If you have not learned this simple lesson and still look to the Koran for guidance, you’re only playing “good cop – bad cop” for the wrong team.
And when you smear Spencer, Geller and the SIOx organisations in general with the same defamatory brush as neo-nazis and soccer hooligans, you have lost all credibility.
Des
I was raised as a Christian (Catholic) but have been an Atheist since my teens and that was a long time ago. I regard all religion as a problem in greater or lesser degree.
Maryam’s article absolutely reasonable and “Secularist”s post is ridiculous. You are not a secularist; you are an extremist, just a different kind of extremist from the religious ones. Please find another name for yourself. You are contaminating the word ‘secularist’.
Les
I fail to see what is extremist about Secularist’s post. He states facts. Btw, you don’t know what secularist means. Stalin and Mao were mass-murderers. They were also secularists.
LeeSouthend
Im getting fed up with this infighting from one Law. When this group started I was very enthusiastic but of late Maryam never misses a chance to rubbish people who could and should be allys. Many of the so called raceists simply need educating. Many think that all people with brown skin are the same where as many if not most are nice peacefull people following religions other than Islam. When explaned that many Hindus came here to excape Islam there attitude changes. But instead of putting this out there One Law now spends its time rubbishing other groups and appears more and more like another hand wringing liberal talking shop. Doing next to nothing while following the governments mantra that those who are not liberal are facist.
What has One Law For All actually done with reguard to closing down the Shria courts?
What has One Law For All done about the “Shria Law Zones” in london and other major citys?
This Sept is the 10th anniversery of my wakeup to What Islam is. Iv supported many groups financally attended marches fundraisers and Talks. But Iv never come across a group which spends as much time rubbishing potential friends and supporters as One Law For All.
Stephen Gash
As I stand by what I say, I will post the link to our piece “The extraordinary rendition of Radovan Karadzic”.
One Law for All and others have repeatedly claimed that SIOE, and I in particular, defended and excused the actions of Radovan Karadzic, on the basis of this article about him being incapable of having a fair trial. One Law for All’s condemnation of SIOE and me, based on this short post linked to below, actually exposed their own subjudicial prejudices, thus confirming what we wrote to be true; only they are too dim to see it.
http://sioeengland.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/the-extraordinary-rendition-of-radavan-karadic/
Les
I agree with you. Another thing to remember is that al Qaeda has training camps in Bosnia, Kosovo & Albania, where Christians are being murdered. See the barnabasfund.org
Cameron Riddle
Whilst I can’t really speak for Maryam Namazie, I’d imagine her problem with the far right goes beyond racism. Mine certainly does. The far right (and even the mainstream right) tend to promote reactionary Christianity with an agenda that in my view is no better than that of the Islamists. They say that in order to combat Islamism we need to turn back the clock on hard-won progress such as gay rights and abortion rights. They try to take advantage of widespread fear of Islam in order to promote their own theocratic principles on the basis that we need them in order to defend ourselves from Islam. “We need to return to our Christian roots or we’ll be living in an Islamic state”, goes the mantra.
The logic runs that because of a decline in so-called family values, our birth rates are going down, allowing Muslims to outbreed us, and Islamists are finding ever more to condemn about a supposed decline in our morals. The right-wing Christians agree with their condemnation; they just disagree that the solution is dictatorial religion x rather than dictatorial religion y. Their criticisms are not all wrong, in my view. It’s true that binge-drinking is a problem in countries like the UK, and it’s true that respect for authority is dangerously low. I’m a young teacher and am really not happy with the way kids are now allowed to treat the adults who take care of them these days. Of course I could go on, but for me the solution lies is moving forward and strengthening secular moral principles, rather than looking backward to religious ones of any kind. I also strongly reject the right-wing notion (often pandered to by hypocritical pro-Islamic leftists) that there is such a thing as a “Christian country” or a “Muslim country”. What about moving towards a world where such divisions do not exist; where people are just people?
Sean
Lee from Southend says:
‘This Sept is the 10th anniversery of my wakeup to What Islam is.’
You need to wake up and look a bit wider pal. Religion is not the problem. By you making it the main issue, you give covering fire to racists and nazi scum. Read this for a start:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/07/10/why-fears-of-a-muslim-takeover-are-all-wrong.html
LeeSouthend
Oh dear Sean Iv read your link and Iv read your comment. I dissagre that most Euro governments are right of center. I dissagree that immagration has been/is being cut. I also understand that the nazi party membership did not make up the majority of the German population before ww2. It simply doesnt require a majority to take control of a government. When is the last time the UK had a government which was voted for by over 50% of the population? And to suggest that theres no religous aspect behind 9/11 just shows how laughable you thoughts on this matter are. “Political” Islam is the reason why Muslims commit terrorst attacks against the kaffur. Islam is the reason why Muslims murderd millions of Indians just because they were not Muslims before the creation of Pakistan. Stick your head back under the blankets and hope Im wrong because Islam orders Muslims “Kill the Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the oneness of Allah) wherever you find them, and capture them and besiege them, and lie in wait for them in each and every ambush”. I copyed that word by word from Sura9 Verse5 of my Koran and people like me get to be called raceists for pointing out that the religion of Islam is to blame for Islamic terrorism. It is and pretending otherwise will not change things.
Cameron Riddle
There is a lot of misguided thinking going on here. On the one hand we have a view of Islam that claims to be based on the September 11 terrorist attack, and on the other we have a claim that “Religion is not the problem” and the common, irritating race/religion conflation.
Islam is not a race. You cannot be racist against Muslims any more than you can be racist against Marxists. Criticism of all and any religion is legitimate free speech. If you claim that “Religion is not the problem” you have to explain why Islam and Christianity have been the cause of so much more violence, misogyny and gay-hatred than Zen Buddhism. Is it not a fair suggestion that proportionally more Muslims will agree with a man’s right to beat his wife and/or take up arms for their ideology, than secular humanists? Religion may not be the sole cause but giving it an unqualified let-off is absurd. Finally, the issue is not the possibility of a Muslim takeover of any European country, which I agree is unlikely. The issue is that all people should have certain inalienable rights and freedoms, and Islamic separatism, exemplified by Sharia courts, is a threat to this.
Yasmin
What’s with the hysteria over anyone right-wing? There is no reason to join the media in smearing other right-wing groups as racist, aside from the Nick Griffin. There is a problem with Islam, that even Maryam Namazie will admit. The Koran say we non-muslims are najis/filthy. How’s that for bigotry? Maybe Maryam forgot that our far-left socialists celebrated when the Islamic regime took over Iran in 1979 and still champion this as standing up to “Western imperialism.” It’s sad how many amongst our Iranian community are unknowingly/knowingly serving the interests of the Iranian regime. I hope you Maryam aren’t one of them.
Danny
Nazi scum and nationalist who cant share the country and sees all as enemies are no better tahn terrorists who cant do the same, Whether it is a strong evangelical christian doing his gods work by dropping bombs or a islamic terrorist strapping a bomb to him both are the same, otherwise you wouldnt have americans lining up to kill “ragheads”. or white facists torchign mosques and attacking muslim women for wearing a hijab and therefore restricting said muslim womens rights, but attacking and abusing her is freedom??? And as we see Mossads handywork in the french alps, we ask why did they kill the women??? because they are doing their gods work, which has resulted inmany deaths including Jesus!
Ade
I have just read the report and find it very interesting. I notice Geert Wilders is not mentioned. While he is often labelled in the media as “far right”, he himself talks about defending liberal values.
I wonder how One Law for All positions itself with respect to Wilders’ party and whether they would support any political party in the UK.
Danny
Wilders is a sick nazi and we will do to him what we did to all nazis in WW2. i guess us true fighters for justice have to now fight the same fight but against home grown terrorists! EDL and BNP.
Al
Communists are just as sick and more dangerous and have killed more people than all their brothers and sisters combined i.e nazis, fascists and Islamists. Marxism is a poison which leads to DICTATORSHIP and the trampling of human rights.
Mabank
I pretty much agree with what Raoul said and like to add to what he said:
“People may think your group is made up of decent, liberal-minded people standing for democracy and freedoms; only to find some hardcore Marxist and Trotzkist in hiding under the carpet. ”
No, they are not hiding under the carpet, they are openly representing the group and imposing their extreme leftwing political agenda.
Maryam Namazie is Central Committee member of the Worker-communist Party of Iran.
http://maryamnamazie.com/biography.html
The extremists are in THIS group, not somewhere around Robert Spencer.
Communists demonstrating for freedom of speech and freedom of religion is like Islamists demonstating for women rights.
onelawforall has disqualified itself.
Al
I like the stand you are taking against Islamism, but since you are a communist I doubt your sincerity. Communism is as big a blight on humanity as Islamism and has up to date killed more people. Islamism is a form of Fascism just like Communism. I’m all for democratic government. Dictatorship is dictatorship.