Why are there riots in the UK ?
Politicians and journalists who have aligned themselves with fascists to discuss the perceived threat of Muslims in Britain have had a difficult month.
Nigel Farage, without providing any proof, claimed that 75% of Muslims do not pose a security risk to the United Kingdom, implying that 25% do.
Suella Braverman, in her role as home secretary, contributed significantly more to the promotion of Islamophobia than any other individual. She was dismissed from her position for raising concerns about the fairness and neutrality of the police force, which was under her ministerial jurisdiction.
Douglas Murray, who is often regarded as a tolerable representative of the far right, stated that Britain should adopt a“toolbox approach to dealing with the enemy of Islamist extremism”, and that this would require engaging with “people who you and I don’t like” but who must be addressed in order to tackle this issue effectively.
In 2018, Murray advocated for the release of Tommy Robinson, the founder of the English Defence League (EDL), and characterized the group as “a street-protest movement in Britain whose aims could probably best be summarized as ‘anti-Islamization’”.
In addition, it is worth mentioning Robinson himself, who happened to be on vacation in Cyprus when the revolution eventually reached the streets of Southport, Hartlepool, and Manchester. Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), disseminated false information claiming that convicted rioters would be incarcerated in detention facilities.
This was the week when, as Murray put it, the people “you and I don’t like”, but need to deal with, wrongly accused the murderer of 3 children as being a Muslim asylum seeker.
During this period, Britain had a severe fascist uprising, comparable to the one that occurred during the Battle of Cable Street. Mobs made attempts to set fire to hotels where migrants were residing, assaulted police officers using bricks as weapons, and are now confronting long sentences in jail.
Things were going to become worse for people like Braverman, Murray, and Farage. The Muslim neighborhoods that the fascists had long demonized as "no-go areas" finally rose up on Wednesday night and drove them off the streets. Among these heroes, Palestinian flags stood out.
Contrary to the desire of Braverman and Murray to criticize this use of force as "vigilantism", Metropolitan Police head Mark Rowley commended the demonstrators. He stated that concerns about disturbance were alleviated thanks to the efforts of the police and “a show of unity from communities”.
If the rioting has indeed ceased temporarily, and contrary to the claims of the far right, it does not mark the beginning of a prolonged and intense summer, this period significantly highlights the connections between the extremists and those who have built their careers by spreading racist and Islamophobic ideas in the public sphere of Britain for many years.
Getting rid of these bedfellows won't be a picnic.
Robinson receives financial backing from several far-right international organizations, which are an integral component of the US right-wing apparatus that backs Israel.
The Middle East Forum, a think-tank based in Philadelphia, has stated that it allocated approximately $60,000 towards organizing three demonstrations in support of Robinson. Daniel Pipes, the president of the organization, provided this information to the Times of Israel. Robinson has served four prison terms between 2005 to 2019.
Another advocate is the David Horowitz Freedom Center. In an email to The Guardian, Horowitz provided a description of Robinson as follows:
‘’Tommy Robinson is a courageous Englishman who has risked his life to expose the rape epidemic of young girls conducted by Muslim gangs and covered up by your shameful government.’’
During an interview with Israel's Channel 13, Robinson ascribed the violence to the presence of Hamas supporters on the streets of London.
He said:
“Right now we have had jihad attacks every year for 15 years. What we’ve seen since October the 7th is the takeover of our capital city every single week by pro-Hamas, pro-jihadi groups who are encouraging hatred on our streets, and … they’re unchallenged by the police”.
Tommy Robinson is seen with a firearm while standing on an Israeli tank.
Prior to the events of 7 October, the fascist far right and neoliberal Zionists had many similarities, including their utilization of falsehoods to defame their adversaries.
The individual responsible for the heinous knife assault in Southport was born in Wales to Rwandan Christian parents. However, this did not deter far-right demonstrators from targeting a nearby mosque.
Despite the disclosure of the attacker's details, Andrew Tate, a prominent figure on social media, persisted in his assertion to broadcaster Piers Morgan that the perpetrator of the Southport killings was an immigrant, as stated in his widely circulated video.
Likewise, the Trojan Horse affair, which claimed that Islamist extremists had taken control of multiple primary schools in Birmingham, was entirely false. Despite the reality, Michael Gove, who was a government minister at the time, and The Times continued their campaign on the matter.
MP Robert Jenrick, who advocated for legislation opposing the boycott, divestment, and sanctions movement, persistently disseminated racial falsehoods that are subsequently adopted and echoed by far-right extremists.
The ex-Tory immigration minister advocated for the rapid arrest of individuals who chant "Allahu akbar," drawing a parallel between this statement and extremist chants. Muslim believers recite it daily.
Pro-Palestinian supporters in Britain have been collectively portrayed as rapists by the fascists and staunch advocates of pro-Israel lobbying groups, following the Hamas retaliatory attack.
In 2017, Murray expressed disapproval of Germany's former Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision to allow Syrian migrants into the country, stating that it had led to “a bit more gang rape and beheadings than we used to have”.
Both groups have remained silent and refrained from expressing any disapproval on the systematic campaign of rape taking place in Israeli jail facilities against Palestinian hostages.
This unholy coalition shares many other similarities.
Their ideology asserts that Israel is effectively preventing a large influx of migrants from Muslim countries into Europe, perceiving Islam as a menace to the Judeo-Christian cultural values, and regarding Israel as a paradigmatic ethno-nationalist state that has successfully removed Muslims from its territory.
Murray, who has advocated for the deportation of Muslim migrants, received commendation from Israeli President Isaac Herzog for being a “compelling voice of moral clarity” in his backing of Israel genocidal war on Gaza.
Amichai Chikli, the Israeli minister of diaspora affairs who expressed his preference for the removal of the residents in northern Gaza, praised Murray as a courageous individual who fearlessly speaks the truth “amidst a symphony of lies … who understands that the war we fight is not limited to the future of Israel. It is a war for the future of humanity.”
Murray and Musk were seated next to each other at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent speech to the US Congress, which was met with multiple standing ovations.
Prior to 7 October, community leaders purporting to represent British Jews expressed support for the individuals responsible for implementing policies that vilified Muslims in the Prevent program, or efforts to redefine radicalism in order to suppress pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
The Gaza war merely intensified their infatuation with fascism. Despite the presence of Jews at Palestine solidarity marches both individually and collectively, they mythologized London as a "no-go area" for Jews.
Despite this, the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism, along with the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, persisted in demanding that the marches be stopped or restricted claiming that Jews did not feel safe.
Sayeeda Warsi, a former junior foreign office minister in David Cameron's government, stated that there was a specific rationale for her former boss's decision to exclude Murray and others like him from involvement in policymaking. On X, she said:
“They could see what he was.”
Warsi stated:
“Braverman quoted and supported Murray at the dispatch box as Home Secretary. This is why I call out some of my colleagues because they are not Conservatives, they are far right populists who have allowed the ‘fruitcakes’, ‘loonies’ & ‘closet racists’ to poison our politics (words in quotes courtesy of David Cameron 2006).”
Today, Murray and Farage are attributing the fire they intentionally started to the delayed arrival of the fire brigade, as if they were innocent.
Keir Starmer, who is facing his first significant challenge as prime minister with the riots, would likely be pleased with his successful strategy of emphasizing strict law enforcement and appearing to come out on top.
However, Starmer has concerns about publicly expressing admiration for the Muslim community, and he continues to decline meetings with their leaders, specifically the Muslim Council of Britain.
A battle occurring in Finchley, located in north London, exposes the deep division that exists among the core of the Labour party.
It all began in May, when pro-Palestinian supporters organized a demonstration outside the Phoenix Cinema, where a film about the Nova music festival, which was attacked by Hamas on October 7th, was being screened.
A counter-protest in support of the film promptly emerged, but this time it had a novel and aggressive component: the EDL, flying English and Israeli flags while vociferating racist insults.
The EDL's presence in Finchley, an area with a significant Jewish population, was deliberate and not coincidental.
However, when a group identifying as Finchley Against Fascism distributed a digital flyer urging for a protest, it stated:
“Get fascists, racists, Nazis, Zionists and Islamophobes out of Finchley!”
Local MP Sarah Sackman, who is also Jewish, became aware of the presence of Zionists on the hit list and expressed her disapproval of the entire occurrence.
According to journalist Owen Jones, it would have been reasonable if Sackman had only criticized the flyer and not the protest. Sackman criticized the entire event as it currently stands.
It took one day for Labour to distance itself from the anti-fascist movement, which played a crucial role in suppressing the largest fascist uprising in recent history. This decision was influenced by the fact that the Labour Party has been actively marginalizing its Muslim supporters since the start of Israel's military campaign in Gaza.
Labour suffered a loss of five seats to Independent candidates due to their stance on supporting Israel's "right to defend itself" in Gaza and their refusal to support a quick and lasting ceasefire.
The losing MPs attributed their defeat not to their policies and votes on Gaza, but rather to a corrosive campaign of vilification. In response, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper initiated a probe.
Sackman is closely aligned with her leader, who has allegedly prohibited Labour's elected representatives from participating in the current anti-racist marches, mirroring his actions during the pro-Palestinian rallies.
“Many in the British Jewish Community are feeling trapped between the anvil of the hateful far right and the hammer of the conspiratorial extreme left.”
Mirvis stated:
“The speed with which some have expanded their attacks against fascists and racists, to include attacks on ‘Zionists’, betrays a complete ignorance of who Zionists are and indeed, who Jews are. The apparent ease with which some campaigners have attributed blame to ‘Zionist financiers abroad’, a lie which serves no purpose other than stirring antagonism and resentment, is deeply troubling.”
You cannot hug fascists that claim support for Israel as Israeli leaders themselves have done, allow fascists to participate in counter-demonstrations against Palestinian marches in London, and then express frustration when their true fascist beliefs are revealed. This is contradictory and problematic.
Support for a Jewish homeland in Palestine has displaced certain British Jews from their natural position, which is alongside Muslims as victims of fascism.
Nevertheless, not all. As members of the larger pro-Palestinian movement, many British Jews have stayed faithful to their principles while denouncing the slaughter in Gaza.
Mirvis, claiming to represent the Jewish community, should refrain from denouncing the anti-fascist campaign. He should endorse it because every Jewish individual understands that whenever fascists target one marginalized group, they will eventually target another. Every Jewish person is aware that the far-right is a dangerous and potentially deadly partner.
When the Israeli/Palestinian ‘’conflict’’ is removed, and the religious groups surrounding places of worship are free to attend to their own concerns, there is no tension. Mutual assistance in the community is facilitated by them.
Peace and mutual respect are the inherent norms in the relationship between Jews and Muslims. The contentious history of Israel hampers any effort to reconcile ardent advocates of a Jewish homeland with the Muslim population.
Similar to the Middle East, there have been seismic events occurring in Britain in the past month, and nothing changes. There is a lack of remorse, and individuals are unwilling to apologize or acknowledge their accountability for the negative impact of their words.
It's time for a new generation of community leaders to empower individuals who are prepared to stand in solidarity with the marginalized. That is the only hope for Britain.