Al-Muhajiroun were not out in Bury Park yesterday.
On the surface thats good news. It means that on two of the last four Fridays they have been absent from the pitch they have occupied regularly for several years. Could something be changing? And if so for the better or is this more of a challenge?
Until recently one knew exactly where you would you would find "al-Muhajiroun" (or whatever alias they were using) in Luton several days of the week. On a Tuesday it was outside the Sixth Form College, Friday's after Jumma prayer they were at a table midway along Dunstable Road in Bury Park, and on Saturday in the town centre by Don MIllers bakery on George Street. On occasions when Muslims gathered to do things with people of other faiths they were reliably around as well - the annual Faith walk organised by my colleagues in the Council of Faiths , the Holocaust memorial event each January, etc. And then of course there was their infamous appearance on March 10th this year at the Homecoming Parade of the Royal Anglian Regiment. Its all conveniently summarised here in the recent Sunday Times article - Fear and Hatred on the Streets of Luton - page 2of 4. (There a little bit of me that resents quoting a journalist who has just hijacked "our" inglorious history for his own spurious story - but its a convenient summary and easier than turning up a string of dead links.)
Nowadays its not so simple. Things have become a bit harder for these extremists as some of the local Muslim population have begun to make it clear that they are not happy to be continually tarred with that brush. Fridays in Bury Park are now contested since a large group led from the Islamic Centre have taken it upon themselves to challenge their activity in the town: the Mail reported this, Extremists behind anti-war protest driven off the streets by moderate Muslims and then the Independent, Luton fights back against right-wing extremists. Al-Muhajoroun have not ventured into the town centre for a while, and Tuesday's at the college are apparently less regular.
The Islamic Centre are on the case. Last Saturday they organised a meeting, "Luton Against Extremism" to hear from councillors and others. including myself. (There is a copy of the Publicity here - scroll down to just before half way down the page) The way forward is unclear, at least to me. First it needs to be clear that are dealing with two very different forms of extremism here, and what will effectively deal with one is unlikely to be of help in dealing with the other. It is true that in dealing with one it helps to disarm the other. And I am convinced that by seeking to strengthen our relationship as peace-loving people, we deny the extremes their greatest coup, that is polarising us.
Anyway, what of al-Muhajiroun? We have been hearing in the media that they are seeking to take advantage of all the publicity they have had recently and re-launch themselves under the old name:
Al Muhajiroun's return presents test for terror laws. It seems that the group's leader at the time Omar Bakri dissolved it before it could be banned and while its succssors were banned no one thought that they would return to the name again so it was never banned. The groups leader in the UK, Anjem Choudary said to the Independent:
"It is a challenge to both the Government and the media to make them
understand that Al Muhajiroun was never illegal in the first place. We
have been demonised but there is no proof that any of our members have
done anything illegal or military."
The re-launch was scheduled in a debate on Wednesday with Douglas Murray of the Centre for Social Cohesion and Anjem Choudary of al-Muhajiroun at the Conway Hall, famous as a centre of secularism. The meeting, planned somewhat covertly, broke up in chaos over the refusal of the hall owners and Murray to allow segregation of the men and women. The story is here in the Independent: Islamist group has to abandon relaunch debate.
The debate is described on Islam for the UK site: THE GREAT DEBATE :: SHARI'AH LAW VS BRITISH LAW which is clearly pro-Choudary.
Douglas Murray states his own position and why he believes Why we must debate the extremists on U:TV. He writes:
You can't get much more egregiously wrong and wicked than the views
expressed by al-Muhajiroun. But they are currently operating in what I
hope will be a very brief legal air-pocket. As with the BNP, while they
are legal and are being given a platform by independent organisations,
they cannot go unchallenged. ...
... Some people will say that al-Muhajiroun should not be given the oxygen
of publicity. Yesterday showed why bringing them out in the open and
challenging their ideas is necessary. It reminds the government, the
press and British citizens of the true nature of these fundamentalist
thugs who are not just going to disappear. Not since Oswald Mosley's
British Union of Fascists (BUF) have we seen intimidation like this on
the streets of London. Like the BUF, they will resort to violence the
moment their fascist views are challenged. Every piece of publicity
al-Muhajiroun gain is additional ammunition to encourage the government
to shut down a group whose members have regularly exceeded our
incitement laws and even involved themselves in acts of terror.
The Freethinker ('The voice of atheism since 1881') reports: ‘We’re here to bring Brits the beauty of Islam,’ says frothing fanatic. There is no question what they think:
DERANGED koranimal Anjem Choudary
and a bunch of his rug-butting goons were given the bum’s rush at the
Conway Hall in London last night after their abortive attempt to
publicly relaunch the wacky Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun.
The view of Murray and The Centre for Social Cohesion wa intensified after the debate was called off: Al Muhajiroun hijack Sharia Law debate.
Islamophobia Watch believes it was a fruitless effort and Murray was a fooled. Douglas Murray and Anjem Choudary – two self-publicists help each other out.
We haven't heard from Al-Muhajiroun yet. They didn't come of all that looking too great, but ... was that what kept them away from Luton a couple of days later? Were they licking their wounds? Were they not wanting to confront the Islamic Centre? Are they thinking again. I personally doubt it.
The question is how you engage with a group like this? I have ideas. I have some theory. I have a few parallel experiences. Put together give me some hope. More on that another time.
NB: Of interest is the paper put together by the Luton Islamic Centre, "A critical study of the multiple identities and disguises of al-Muhajiroun." 116 pages long, it is a gives their perespective on the group. More managelable is Al-Muhaajiroon - The Extremist Cult Exposed at 3 pages.
This is the latest in a series of posts focusing on the issues
currently being worked out in Luton. For the full list of posts see Seeking Peace in Luton - and Multicultural UK