Dudley Borough Interfaith Network

Most people will now be aware that the English Defence League (EDL) are coming to Dudley from across the country on the 3rd of April, the Saturday before Easter Sunday.  The EDL are reported to be run by organised football hooligan gangs who deliberately seek out violence, in conjunction with senior members of the BNP.  We join the Council and Police in asking local people to stay away from the protests, for reasons of safety, and to avoid inflaming the situation further.  We hope that you will encourage your young people to avoid Dudley town centre on this day.

Every protest the EDL have been involved in (Birmingham, Stoke, Bolton etc) has resulted in significant violence and injury, and damage to property.  There are suggestions that this violence is deliberately planned.  While the EDL claim their protest is against Islamic Extremism, they are overtly anti-Muslim, and their presence is marked by racist slurs and shouts from those present.   While there may be minor points of view on which some people agree with the EDL, these are not people you would wish to be identified with. The Unite against Fascism organisation will also be holding a national protest on the day.  At the most recent protest in Bolton, both protests were involved in violent situations.

The Leaders of the main political parties in Dudley (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and UKIP) have joined together in asking local people to stay away from the protest on the day, for reasons of safety, and to avoid inflaming the situation further.  See the statement here.

The EDL are also known for using faith to promote their agenda, with a clear anti-Muslim stance, and when pressed bring the church and other faiths into the debate to justify their position.  Although the EDL leadership recently recruited a Sikh member to speak at a Rally, he was prevented from speaking by the crowd with repeated chants of ‘Who are ya’ likely referring to his ethnicity.  With the protest taking place over Easter, there will no doubt be an attempt to use faith, particularly the Christian faith to justify extremist views and violence.

This will be a significant police operation, with over 1,000 police on duty at any one time.  Please do all you can to ensure that those you work with stay away on the day.  If you would like more information, please call Steve at the Interfaith Network.