Football Hooligans ready to block hate cleric's march

Football fans ready to block hate cleric's march
Jan 10 2010 Jonathan Evans, Wales on Sunday
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/01/10/football-fans-ready-to-block-hate-cleric-s-march-91466-25565285/

WELSH football fans have vowed to show their support for Britain’s war heroes if a controversial march by a radical Islamic group goes ahead.

Members of Islam4UK are planning a protest walk through Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, to honour Muslim victims of the conflict who they are calling “the real war dead.”

The group’s leader, Anjem Choudary, wants to carry “symbolic empty coffins” through the town’s high street, which is now famous as the place where people gather to pay tribute to troops killed in Afghanistan.

Mr Choudary says the demonstration will be held to honour the Muslim victims of the Middle East conflict.

But more than 700,000 people have signed an online petition protesting against the march, while leading politicians, including Gordon Brown and David Cameron, have labelled the idea totally unacceptable.

Now Cardiff City football fans have waded in with their support and promised to “travel by the bus-load” if the march goes ahead.

A forum has been set up on Cardiff City fan Annis Abraham Junior’s website to arrange a trip to Wootton Bassett if and when such a protest takes place. And it has been inundated with messages of support over the past week.

Mr Abraham has close links with the club and has written a number of books including From Shattered Dreams to Wembley Way, as well as two instalments of Diary of the Real Soul Crew.

On his forum a post by gup-1 says: “I will be going up if they march. My views are to strong to post... what is wrong with our country, seriously what future have our kids got.”

And cwmbranbluebird added: “Makes me sick too, I know we live in a democracy but this is beyond. It’s treason.”

The Cardiff City branch of Casuals United and members of the Welsh Defence League have also pledged their support to any protest.

The forum on Mr Abraham’s website was started on January 4 when bluebirdbaz posted: “Are we still running a bus” after a discussion was had between fans about the proposed march.

Forever Blue posted a message saying: “If this country wants to survive then this march must be stopped. They are deliberately doing it here as this is one of the main places our British soldiers come from, Any of these people marching should be locked up and thrown out of this country.”

And NinianSHEEP added: “In honour of our fallen we cannot let these infidels make a mockery of our country!

“Organise the buses and me plus three will definitely be on board.”

The instigator of the march, Mr Choudary, has written a letter on the Islam4UK website entitled “To the families of British soldiers who have fallen”, where he explains the reasons for the march.

He says the event would involve “peaceful symbolic coffins” being carried to honour Muslim victims of the conflict in Afghanistan.

Mr Choudary’s statement says: “The procession is not actually about the people of Wootton Bassett and it never was about them.

“We are having a procession, it’s in Wootton Bassett but it’s not about the people there and it’s not against them personally – rather it’s to highlight the real cost of war in Afghanistan.

“The sad reality of the situation is that if I were to hold it somewhere else it would not have the media attention that it has now.

“In the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be engaging with the local community and the public at large by way of press releases and letters to explain why we’re having this march.”

No official date has been set for the march, and politicians in Wiltshire say they will do everything possible to make sure it doesn’t go ahead.

I'm lost for words, not about the football fans but once again this country and its Liberal wishy washy do gooders who pander to these scum, when will they understand that no one gives a flying fuck what these people think, this march should be banned and the people concerned interned,is this really what all the people who died through two world wars and even today laid down and continue to lay down there lives for, i really do despair, their really is no wonder people are turning towards the BNP.

As a liberal (sorry Brian ), I just wanna make my position clear here. British citizens have a right to protest or march, that is the nature of our democracy. BUT, with rights come responsibility. And that's where this mob's case falls apart. They claim to want to hold it in Wootton Bassett to raise awareness in the media. But it's plain to anyone that it's actually a massive insult to the British soldiers' bodies (and their families) that have been carried through that very town.

Just wanted to say that even though I consider myself to be a liberal, I am not in any way whatsoever in support of this march. It is an affront to common decency, and both the local authority and the government should be doing whatever it takes to have this stopped. It saddens me that this is not being done, and as Brian rightly says, is it any wonder that disillusioned people are turning to the British National Party?

P.S. 'mon the Cardiff hoolies....

Dan_the_Owl wrote:As a liberal (sorry Brian ), I just wanna make my position clear here. British citizens have a right to protest or march, that is the nature of our democracy. BUT, with rights come responsibility. And that's where this mob's case falls apart. They claim to want to hold it in Wootton Bassett to raise awareness in the media. But it's plain to anyone that it's actually a massive insult to the British soldiers' bodies (and their families) that have been carried through that very town.

Just wanted to say that even though I consider myself to be a liberal, I am not in any way whatsoever in support of this march. It is an affront to common decency, and both the local authority and the government should be doing whatever it takes to have this stopped. It saddens me that this is not being done, and as Brian rightly says, is it any wonder that disillusioned people are turning to the British National Party?

Post of the week IMO. It's not trying to be less than even-handed and does reflect what should be all our morals on what exactly is 'meant by 'free speech' and the right to 'protest'. Both those rights should not be allowed to diminish the rights and sensitivities of the majority, especially when such a march could and probably would incur the natural wrath of the majority against those proposing to march and would in all likelyhood potentially endanger some/all of those involved.
Quite simply the march/protest will NOT happen in Wootton Basset for these reasons alone!

hoolahoop wrote:

Post of the week IMO. It's not trying to be less than even-handed and does reflect what should be all our morals on what exactly is 'meant by 'free speech' and the right to 'protest'. Both those rights should not be allowed to diminish the rights and sensitivities of the majority, especially when such a march could and probably would incur the natural wrath of the majority against those proposing to march and would in all likelyhood potentially endanger some/all of those involved.
Quite simply the march/protest will NOT happen in Wootton Basset for these reasons alone!

Someone once said you are Blessed or cursed living in a Democracy, i think at the moment it is the latter..

The thing that hurts me is the fact people feel the need to take things into there own hands because the powers that be are useless

NIGHTMARE wrote:The thing that hurts me is the fact people feel the need to take things into there own hands because the powers that be are useless

And that is the problem Nightmare we have a Government that goes out of its way to pander to the minority while the majority are not allowed to speak out, well speak out we must or before long anything that is left that can be said is good about this country will be gone forever, i myself have voted BNP in the past as there is no mainstream party that is prepared to listen to what i believe the majority of people want in this country. Well they can continue to ignore people but they should not be too surprised when they find out that despite all they try to stop people speaking out that one day it will be too late and they will only have themselves to blame.

Ive Voted BNP myself in the past in the local polls but more to make a statement, i wont waste my vote in the main elections but in the smaller ones i hope these main party's are looking at the way people feel

NIGHTMARE wrote:Ive Voted BNP myself in the past in the local polls but more to make a statement, i wont waste my vote in the main elections but in the smaller ones i hope these main party's are looking at the way people feel

But eventually people will stop voting BNP to make a statement but start voting BNP becauce they have had enough, Look in Doncaster we have just elected a Mayor who to the establishment terrifies them, becauce he actually says what a vast majority of people in this country believe in and they are terrified that he will make a difference and other towns and cities elect like minded people when that happens they have had there day.

hoolahoop wrote:Quite simply the march/protest will NOT happen in Wootton Basset for these reasons alone!

Agreed. As Nightmare said, it's unfortunate when people feel so let down they feel they have to take matters into their own hands. But it is this very negative attention that will undoubtedly lead to the police calling time on this march. For them it will be costly, and dangerous. It is a shame that the politicians lack the cojones to do the right thing, and require the police to shut it down for them.

I agree that we should have a certain amount of free-will, etc but this march is imo offensive to all the families who have lost someone in the fight. I don't think it should be allowed to go ahead at all and if it does I hope people are prepared for all the trouble it will cause. It's a disgrace imo and it just shows how little say the majority have in a democratic country! I doesn't fill me with hope for the future I can tell you.

It's not the march that's the problem. Just think they chose the location poorly.

At the end of the day theya re families who have lost sons and husbands too. The media are focussing on their religion rather than their loss and grief.

Far, far more Muslim people have lost their lives in the fighting in Afghanistan and iraq than British, American etc added together. In Pakistan a bomb in a market place kills over 70 people and it recieves less than 1 minute of air time on the BBC news. That is what they want to point out I think, that the conflict has a cost that we rarely think about. Every time I hear of one of those attacks in Pakistan by Taliban then I wonder if one of my taxi drivers families have been affected. They are real people, with real concerns, and it is easy to forget that the massive majority of Pakistani, Indian, Afghan and Iraqi people just want to live peaceful lives. They are not getting that choice at the moment. What is so wrong in pointing that out to people? Fundamentalist Christians are as much of a threat to us as these idiots in the Muslim faith, they are even taking over our education system and pushing their "faith" based schooling to try and subvert our culture, nothing is said. Think a little deeper folks, there is more to life than the simple stupid philosophy of the fascist, be it Muslim or Christian.

East Yorks, you're spot on. This group entirely have the right to spread their message, and get their point across (and I agree with you there too, it's entirely valid), such is the nature of our democracy. But surely it should be obvious to them, if indeed their cause is sincere, that where they are choosing to hold this march is deeply, deeply insensitive to dead British soldiers and their families. That this has not been heeded sadly leads me to believe that their intentions are malicious, and certainly the response from around the country seems to back that up.

I agree with you Dan And Will. The group do have the right to show their beliefs but I don't think they just want to show them that's why they have picked the location they have. There is more to it as far as I'm concerned.

Well it seems our on the ball socialist Government has decided to ban the Group that planned to do the march, wonders never cease, you've left it a bit late to start listening to the majority though Gordon.

yorkie64red wrote:...you've left it a bit late to start listening to the majority though Gordon.

Typical Gordon Brown really, almost terrified to make a difficult decision. It was made easy for him in the end though, this group's insistence on marching in such a sensitive town made their claims of compassion seem hollow. I'm happy that this has been done though, no matter how long it took.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8453560.stm

Government to ban Islam4UK under terror laws

A radical Islamist group that planned a march through Wootton Bassett will be banned under counter-terrorism laws, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.

Islam4UK had planned the protest at the Wiltshire town to honour Muslims killed in the Afghanistan conflict.

The government had been considering outlawing the group - Islam4UK is also known as al-Muhajiroun.

A spokesman for Islam4UK told the BBC they are an "ideological and political organisation", and not a violent one.

Mr Johnson said: "I have today laid an order which will proscribe al-Muhajiroun, Islam4UK, and a number of the other names the organisation goes by.

"It is already proscribed under two other names - al-Ghurabaa and The Saved Sect.

"Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, a group can be banned if it "commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for, promotes or encourages terrorism or is otherwise concerned in terrorism".

Groups can also be outlawed if they "unlawfully glorify the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism".

Islam4UK spokesman Anjem Choudary told BBC Radio 4: "What the people will see is if you don't agree with the government and you want to expose their foreign policy, then freedom quickly dissipates and turns into dictatorship."

He denied Islam4UK members were involved in violence: "I challenge anyone to authentically prove that any of our members have been involved in any violent activities or promoting violent activities or asking anyone to carry out any sort of military operations.

"We are always at pains to stress that we are an ideological and political organisation.

'Whatever price necessary'

"We won't be using those names and those platforms which have been proscribed, but I can't stop being a Muslim, I can't stop propagating Islam, I can't stop praying, I can't stop calling for the Sharia.

"That's something I must do, and ultimately I will pay whatever price I need to for my belief."

Speaking from Lebanon, Omar Bakri Muhammad, founder of al-Muhajiroun, told the BBC the decision to ban the group would "increase the popularity of al-Muhajiroun" and "force them underground".

On Sunday Islam4UK cancelled the march, saying it had "successfully highlighted the plight of Muslims in Afghanistan".

The group denied members had planned to carry 500 empty coffins through the town.

The banning order will come into effect on Thursday and make it a criminal offence to be a member, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said plans for the march were "disgusting".