Combat 18

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Please, PLEASE, check out a recent post from Searchlight Magazine showing the ties between Anders Behring Breivik… and our very own English Defence League. Its something highly important to consider given the protest by the EDL today in Tower Hamlets. Ive previously posted my views on that…

Breivik, the recent murderer of 77 people in Norway, many under 18, in a vicious far-right attack on the organs of the left in Norway, has drawn much attention to the burgeoning anti-islamic movement in Europe. It has been previous shown that he drew at least some inspiration from the EDL, and referenced them in his manifesto, and now we can see evidence of direct contact, and some form of verbal support.

This must be a sign to the British government and people that the EDL is a highly-dangerous organisation.

Even if not directly influential to Breivik’s acts, and publicly condemning of them, this does show that the EDL and Breivik come from similar platforms. They share a view of the world, a paradigm, where extreme Islam is dangerous, an alien, invading force, which needs to be met and defeated. They act in militaristic terms. They, all-too-often, conflate extreme Sharia with Islam.

They verbally supported him – and even if they did not encourage him to commit horrendous acts of murder, they validated his world-view.

We must, must, fight such worldviews in all its forms, all stages of development. It is true that the EDL are not as far down the path to violent extremism as Breivik is (I use present tense. I doubt he regrets his actions). But, either certain individuals (following validation of their views in lesser forms by the EDL) or the organisation itself, may very well develop to such a point in the future. All who start down this path, if they go far enough, will fall into the belief in the need for violence.

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I have just come back from living for a year in Prague, Czech Republic.  I met a many interesting people there. When a man openly denied the holocaust in front of me…. it scared me.

I am not saying that it cannot be debated (we can debate numbers, techniques, who was involved…). All topics must be available for debate.

But to deny the Nazi’s intent to wipe out the Jewish population, and many other groups, is ignoring such basic facts of history of decent society’s social construction of the world, that I find it impossible to understand, condone, and I truly do fear its spread.

I cannot, I cannot, bear to see that happening in this country, to see a British future where Holocaust Denial and other forms of racism is, at any level, acceptable, let alone institutionalised in party-politics.

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I fear the spread of the EDL is the first sign of this.

While they may not actively claim to adhere to this viewpoint, a paradigm of utter racism, and violence, they’re opening the door. Through that door walks the BNP, with the National Front hot on its coat-tails… eventually Combat 18, Blood and Honour and worse. At what point do we draw the line?

When do we close the door? When do we say “enough! We cannot allow this. This is not us. This is not Britain”?

When do we tell those on this path that this? When do we tell them we can’t have this in our nation any longer?

When do we stand up for British values against those who falsely claim to stand for them?

When do we stop the shift of the British centre further right, when do we close the door to extremists, when do we say “enough”?

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What do you think? Comment below, and I’ll get back to you. Feel free to pick up the RSS feed while you’re here.

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