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EDL march in Bristol: Muslim community statement

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Friday, July 13, 2012
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This is Bristol

THE Muslim community in Bristol today said its members will not be taking part in a counter protest against the English Defence League.

Zaheer Shabir, Chair for Building the Bridge on behalf of the Muslim Community issued the following statement:

  1. Zaheer Shabir

    Zaheer Shabir

It has been made clear by many communities in Bristol that the English Defence League is not welcome here on the 14th July.

As a vibrant and diverse Muslim community in Bristol, we have met extensively in recent weeks maintaining a clear, concise and unanimous message that we will NOT be involved in any kind of counter protest.

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These meetings have allowed us with a further opportunity to demonstrate how the Bristol Muslim community meets any challenge with dignity and unity.

Despite there being a possibility, the Muslim community did not encourage anyone to sign the e-petition demanding a ban on EDL marching in our City of Bristol.

The number of meetings we have had with the Police and Bristol City Council clarify their position on the EDL march, the UAF counter protest and the Gay Pride family event.

We have decided to be a part of the positive attitude of Bristol in conducting ourselves in the usual manner.

We support Bristol City Council and the Police in ensuring that these events do not disrupt Bristol in its usual daily business and we are positively encouraged by that.

In a proactive manner, the Muslim community leadership have met with the EDL to create a pathway for future dialogue. This was the first of its kind in the UK and positive assurances were given by the EDL representatives.

We have also met with UAF and We are Bristol to clarify our position on the counter protest requesting them not to confuse and entice Muslim youth to join their counter protest. They have not proactively engaged with the Muslim community leadership so we are not assured on any matters whatsoever.

However, we have urged both these groups to reconsider their intentions to march on 14th July as it disturbs the fabric of our city’s goodwill. However, Muslims in Bristol clearly understands the freedom to exercise the right to protest and express oneself.

We have requested that anyone wishing to join the counter protest should do so to express themselves in a peaceful and meaningful way.

I am sure you will join me in agreeing that the diverse Muslim community in Bristol is resilient and intends to conduct itself with our usual dignity despite the challenges being presented with these issues.

We refuse to be consumed in the rhetoric of hate and division which goes against the true meaning of Islam.

It would be more wrong to be involved in any clashes which lead to arrests and possible convictions. The Bristol Muslim Community will not support any act of aggression or a breach of the peace.

We hope this will not happen but it is an important message so the terms of engagement remain peaceful and do not get distorted or hijacked by a few that could bring shame to Bristol or tarnish the good name of our Bristol communities.

Bristol is proud to be productive on multiculturalism, diverse, understanding and cohesive. Bristol shines with the City of Sanctuary status and it has an excellent effective community cohesion strategy. Undoubtedly, it does hurt to have all these achievements smudged and marred whereas the event of 15th July will enable Bristol to reclaim and endorse our unity together.

In order to maintain the status quo of this city, there will be a peace walk on Sunday 15th July assembling at Queens Square at 2pm proceeding to Millennium Square. A series of messages have gone out inviting people of Bristol to celebrate the growing unity of all people in our city.

We trust the media to convey the Bristol Muslim community message of peace, acceptance and co-existance.

We hope Bristol enjoys itself at the Gay Pride family event. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you on Queens Square on the 15th July at 2pm.

Z

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Comments

  • Profile image for katachua

    by katachua

    Saturday, July 14 2012, 8:24PM

    “@bristolsariot

    You won't see much if you try looking through a mirror, even if it is cracked.”

  • Profile image for roly12345

    by roly12345

    Friday, July 13 2012, 9:34PM

    “Why does the media not run round to Torysrule and get a statement off him whenever something happens in Bristol.

    A. He neither represents or cares for anyone but himself.”

  • Profile image for TorysRule

    by TorysRule

    Friday, July 13 2012, 7:58PM

    “Well done @bristolsariot, you just proved, through wonderfully persuasive prose, how much of a complete tossbag you are.

    Ding dong, case closed, go home everyone.”

  • Profile image for bristolsariot

    by bristolsariot

    Friday, July 13 2012, 7:48PM

    “AnotherOther,


    Patriot are you?


    Really?

    If people like you and the EDL really are that serious about representing us [the ENGLISH] then here's some literature I recommend you read and learn from:


    'The Death of the West, Patrick J. Buchanan.'

    'The Last Days of Britain, Lindsay Jenkins.'

    'The Rotten Heart of Europe, Bernard Connolly.'


    Consider that we've become weakened by our own contradictions - fighting the symptoms rather than the roots. We've become reactionary since we want to preserve the status quo, thus we blame and scapegoat Muslims... you're deluded!


    Required reading:

    'Life At The Bottom: the Worldview That Makes The Underclass', Theodore Dalrymple aka Dr Anthony Daniels, a doctor and psychiatrist who worked within the British penal system. His other book worthy of note is 'Our Culture: What's Left Of It.' His portrayal of the British working-class in both books is truly shocking.

    Finally... it's got nothing to do with MUSLIMS! Do you understand? Get your head out of the flippin sand. If you really think so, then it's an absolutely frivolous activity and an utter waste of time- [time is ticking away].

    This is nothing more than a simple distraction which the current government is too happy for you to focus all your anger & frustrations because you prefer looking at your problems through a cracked mirror; creating a retrospective distortion - 'reality' seems clearer and more organised in your mind and especially because you're trying to asses matters only after a fact, than in empirical reality.

    ...”

  • Profile image for bristolsariot

    by bristolsariot

    Friday, July 13 2012, 7:20PM

    “AnotherOther,

    Further, in the spirit of academic enquiry, I'd like you to provide some sources for your 'critique,' and perhaps demonstrate to us some of your 'educational methods' in concluding with such a hypothesis. I'd like to know how you've gained yourself the position of a Scholar of the highest eminence or, more accurately- The Master of Terror as you seem to capture EVERYTHING [positive?] that happens in the Muslim world. Suppose you are one of those people who specialise in retrieval of such material. It is said that such people who don't have lives spend all their days searching for such dark material- their minds must be immensely grotesque, disturbed, neurotic, infected- ISLAM-OBSESSIVE.


    Besides having shamelessly resorted to repeating like an automaton the usual tastless and frivolous cyclical, repetitive and monotonous - boring to say the least, "look! look! moslamics murdering! looting! raping!" mantras- researched and approved by the university of AnotherOther; ironically, always at odds with most popular academic institutions where original and independent thinking is encouraged... you've failed to convince anybody except for the idiotic and retarded! Not a jot of concrete evidence for your vilification which, unsurprisingly, has been made in a rather vain attempt to pour even more scorn over Muslims.

    This is YOUR world view - 'reality,' is one glossed over and covered as it were, by a veil of fear and ignorance.


    Are you REALLY AN ENGLISH PATRIOT?

    Your distorted view of reality may arise the question of if fiction is as real or more real than reality then why isn't reality fiction, and fiction reality? [Get it?]

    I bet you're sitting in some squalid concrete ghetto in your dingy little Estate chomping away at greasy KFC [oh! Halal! btw] and wonder why you're wearing restraining shackles and why your head has been shaved? You may think...?! Last thing you know is that you're left on your own a lot and passing insects start providing your only form of conversation... like a bloodhound with the scent, you keep looking at Islam and Muslims, Obsessively, neurotic and paranoid, the minority you like to blame for all of your problems! The next stage is that your spouse is ******** your best mate and then decides to leaves you, your drinking like there's no tommorow, your friends disown you, your children voluntarily go into care. You've never been to Church in your short life, hence closing at a rate of dozens every week. You can't get it up anymore and you blame Muslims? Lol...”

  • Profile image for THEIRONS

    by THEIRONS

    Friday, July 13 2012, 7:03PM

    “If only those on the anti-fascist , EDL , were as reasonable as this chap, the march would pass off peacefully,but they are not,and it wont . why because the anti fascist live to be offended by the EDL presents,and EDL march as to offend as many people as possible.If you bashed the two sides head together ,there is no danger of causing brain damage.”

  • Profile image for bristolsariot

    by bristolsariot

    Friday, July 13 2012, 6:54PM

    “@AnotherOther,

    I think it requires morethan just a long string of links to make a comment... don't you agree? ...all you need now is a bit of gasoline and an effigy. You're only creating a vicious circle that meets the Taliban at each and every end of their own bent arguments.

    Have you not noticed? about your contributions? They are so, so pitiful.
    As pitiful as as all the other mortal men and women who aren't like you,[thank goodness] but are according to you, nothing more than creatures that crawl on the ground.

    Do you know how pathetic you look? from all the previous numberless finespun trifles on this site you contradict yourself one after the other ... I'd like to find out if there's anyone who behaves in a more puerile manner than you, who treats every single person from the Muslim faith with so much disrespect and expects every answer to be in line with YOUR own warped and bent propaganda? attempting to enforce your own retractions of anything that does not square with your own BENT ideas.

    What's all that got to do with Muslims in the U-K? Where do you live? On planet Ur****? What on earth are you expecting? That the people in the U-K are ALL [intellectually] poor, impoverished and generally ignorant like the YOU?

    Most folks here would agree that your long prefabs are merely a mask for the fact that you can't make a cogent argument in your own words.

    If you want to talk rationally about something like Muslims & Islam, you have to start a rational and informed dialogue on the kind of 'Islam' your actually talking about, so that you can build opinions of your own; pre-empting that empty space into which your personal intellect should be expanding like anyone elses who researches and studies a subject.


    So, according to your answers on Islam- all Muslims advocate the same rule and principle in defining what's what? Is there anything you know about 'Ijtihad' for example? Islamic jurisprudence? Or do you simply repeat everything like a SICK PARROT???”

  • Profile image for BCFCfinker

    by BCFCfinker

    Friday, July 13 2012, 5:14PM

    “It certainly appears that members of the EDL are afraid of the dark and all those imagined bogey men out there. Even when people try to tell them where the light switch is, they run further into the dark. It just goes to show, there is no cure for stupidity.”

  • Profile image for BedmoMark

    by BedmoMark

    Friday, July 13 2012, 4:51PM

    “@AnotherOther

    Just ask a Catholic bishop what their views on homosexuality, contraception and abortion are. Likewise, ask a Church of England Bishop what their views on female Bishops are.

    As a non-believer I am very skeptical of all the major mono-theistic Abrahamic religions from an institutional point of view, but to cite Muslims in Iran as an example of the faith is just as intelectually duplicitous as to cite examples of child abusing catholic priests being representative of all Christians.

    There are homphobes and mysogynists in all religions, but the vast majority of those with faith are reasonable tolerant people and the EDL stirring up trouble and implying that Muslims in the UK want to impose some sort of Caliphate based upon Sharia law is ridiculous.

    I think the statement by Building The Bridge is a brilliant one and that those of faith as well as non-believers can come together to stand for peace, unity and against bigotry and intolerance.”

  • Profile image for PROPSreal

    by PROPSreal

    Friday, July 13 2012, 4:40PM

    “Good move, dont get sucked into all this patriotic / nationalistic / politically motivated bullsh*t.

    (between me and you, britain is cr*p anyway, first chance im off)”

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