The Norwegian Defence League (NDL) has published a list of hundreds of Muslim companies and organizations on its website. The list had been compiled on the basis of listings in the Public Entity Registry. Lars Johnny Aardal, deputy leader of the NDL, said that it was published "to show the extent of Islam and Muslims in Norway".

Senior scientist at the Norwegian Center for Studies of Holocaust and Religious Minorities, Terje Emberland, told VG that such a list had only been made once before in Norway, when an anti-semite in the 1930s published a list of Jewish businesses in Norway. He also said that "In this way, the NDL clearly exposes its character, and aligns with the fascist and racist tradition to which it belongs."

Following the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July, it was revealed that the admitted terrorist Anders Behring Breivik had formerly been a member of the NDL. Breivik has been identified as a member of the NDL under the pseudonym "Sigurd Jorsalfar" (after the medieval Norwegian crusader-king Sigurd the Crusader).

The first documented initiative for establishing a Norwegian sister organization to the EDL had also originated in a forum post by Breivik on the Norwegian website Document.no on December 6, 2009. There Breivik proposes to establish a Norwegian version of the English Defence League.

The Nordic Page, 2 March 2013

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The newly-formed Berwick Unite Against Fascism group has been drumming up support ahead of a demo this weekend. The group, which came together in response to Scottish Defence League plans to march in the town this weekend, pledges to bring all platforms and all colours together to show that the town is united against fascism.

A spokesman for Berwick UAF said: "We had a very good day in Berwick on Saturday and garnered a lot of local support for opposition to the proposed SDL march in Berwick next Saturday. We distributed hundreds of leaflets explaining the situation and the reasons for opposing the SDL. The demonstration is open to all who oppose the SDL and other racist groups who threaten our town."

Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird is among those to pledge support for Berwick UAF. In a note to campaign organisers, she said:

"My thoughts and support are with you. I am proud to be Police and Crime Commissioner of a community that lives and works together – it's not where somebody has come from, but how they are going to reach their aspirations and dreams, regardless of where they were born, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.

"I hope that you are able to speak to as many local people as possible during your campaign. I was recently in Berwick, I know how warm and friendly the local residents are." She added: "Campaigners achieve much more by standing on reasoned arguments rather than bigoted views. I have no doubt you will be persuading local residents, encouraging them to support your campaign to show others that Berwick and surrounding areas will not tolerate small minded attitudes."

Posts on the SDL Border Division facebook page contain a series of anti-Islamic references and seek to drum up support for its Berwick demonstration.

Independent political writer and 'Chavs' author Owen Jones has also offered his solidarity to Berwick UAF. He said: "Racism and fascism cannot be debated with, it must simply be defeated."

Berwick Advertiser, 14 February 2013

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A protest by a handful of far-right demonstrators marking the first anniversary of the murder of a man by Asian youths threatened to bring chaos to a residential area of Glasgow.

Mounted police, helicopters and scores of officers yesterday were deployed on to the streets of the city's Pollokshields, home to Scotland's largest Asian community, despite a maximum of 10 members of the Scottish Defence League (SDL) turning up.

The group had wanted to lay a wreath near the spot where William McKeeney was murdered last January. It is understood Mr McKeeney's girlfriend, who witnessed the attack, and friends and relatives were horrified at attempts by the extremist group to associate themselves with their tragedy.

It had also protested outside the High Court in Edinburgh late last year when Asif Rehman and Adel Ishaq, both 20, were jailed for 16 years for the murder of the Donegal man.

The racial element of the charges against the pair was dropped during the trial.

Yesterday, a counter protest of between 50 and 100 members of United Against Fascism also gathered in Pollokshields and had to be kept apart from the SDL by lines of police.

At one stage, upwards of 20 officers were seen escorting three SDL members away from the flashpoint. Later, a group of counter-protesters broke away from the main group and charged towards the SDL but were kept apart by the police.

Locals also described how yesterday's episode led to Muslim women being escorted through the streets by police officers, while other people were denied entry to their homes as police attempted to keep the groups apart.

The Herald, 21 January 2013

Picture:  Mean Street Photos

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Well, that's the headline to an article in the Manchester Evening News reporting on the English Defence League's plans to hold a "huge rally" in the city on 2 March (under the slogan "IF YOU LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND HATE ISLAM JOIN US IN MANCHESTER").

Given that the EDL these days has difficulty mobilising more than a few hundred of its supporters to turn out for demonstrations, "huge" will almost certainly prove to be a gross exaggeration.

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About 40 people gathered for an anti-Islam demonstration in Oslo, and were met with jeers and chants of "no Nazis on our streets" from a larger group of counterdemonstrators.

The protest was staged by the Norwegian Defence League, a group inspired by the larger English Defence League, which has carried out rowdy anti-Islam protests in Britain. The defence leagues say they're not racists but "patriots" opposing a perceived Islamization of Europe.

Police spokesman Finn Belle said Saturday's demonstration was peaceful and police successfully kept the two sides apart. He said three counterdemonstrators were detained for disturbing the peace and were fined before being released.

Associated Press, 15 December 2012

The anti-racist website Vepsen reports that the NDL demonstration was addressed by Steve Simmons (Chris Redmond), head of the English Defence League's European operation. Vepsen counted 47 people at the rally. By contrast, the counter-protest drew several hundred participants.

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Two controversial anti-multicultural organisations warn they will hold a protest on 15 December near Grønland, eastern Oslo.

It is thought the arrangement will kick off at Klosterenga Sculpture Park, an area with five mosques and high immigrant concentration. Domestic and international individuals will reportedly be holding speeches.

The Norwegian Defence League(NDL) and Stop the Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) are joining forces for the event, according to leftist newspaper Klassekampen.

"We want to wake up Norwegians and so-called moderate Muslims to show the extremism in their own religion," NDL board member Kjetil Kjønli explained, refuting allegations by Norwegian Centre Against Racism leader Kari Helene Partapuoli the NDL deliberately picked the Grønland area out of contentiousness.

Ms Partapuoli's organisation will be holding a march on the same day. This is in cooperation with several LO (Confederation of Trade Unions) associations, Oslo SV (Socialist Left Party), SU (Socialist Youth League of Norway, and RU (Red Youth), amongst others, to "show everything that’s positive about the multicultural society," she declared.

The Centre has strongly distanced itself from planned counterdemonstrations by Ny SOS Rasisme allegedly aimed at stopping the NDL.

Klassekampen also reports some 114 NDL supporters have signed up for next weekend's demonstration.

The Foreigner, 3 December 2012

Acording to the Klassekampen report, the NDL demonstration has been called under the slogan "stop immigration and the Islamisation of Norway and Europe".

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The English Defence League had high expectations of their demonstration outside Wandworth prison in support of their jailed leader.

"We want to make it a big event," the EDL wrote last week, "we want the authorities to sit up and take note. We want them to know that we know that Tommy's arrest and remand is motivated not by a desire to uphold the law but for political reasons."

Alas, the troops failed to rally to the cause. Hope Not Hate and EDL News report that a mere 100 protestors turned out in the rain.

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The English Defence League (EDL) and its opposing "We Are Norwich" group are both staging marches on Saturday, November 10.

The counter protesters will gather at Chapelfield Gardens at 11am before marching at 12.30pm to City Hall via Theatre Street, Brigg Street and Hay Hill. They will have speeches at approximately 1pm before dispersing.

At 12.45pm the EDL group will gather at Castle Gardens before also marching to City Hall at 1pm, via Castle Meadow, Opie Street, Bedford Street, Exchange Street and Gaol Hill. There they will have speeches at approximately 1.30pm before dispersing.

Norwich District Commander, Supt Paul Sanford, said: "Norfolk Constabulary is continuing to liaise with both groups of protesters, businesses and the community ahead of the weekend. Our primary aims remain to facilitate peaceful, legal protests; to support business as usual for those not involved with the demonstrations; and to ensure the safety of everyone in Norwich city centre.

"The organisers of both protests have been sharing their plans with us so we can provide an appropriate level of policing on the day, and address any concerns raised to us by the community. Both groups have insisted they want to stage a peaceful event and have actively encouraged their members not to be provoked into criminal action.

"We will have an increased, visible policing presence in the city centre on Saturday to offer information and reassurance and deal with any incidents of disorder or anti-social behaviour should they occur."

Norwich Evening News, 8 November 2012

See also "We are Norwich host family friendly celebration of multiculturalism", UAF news report, 7 November 2012

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Labour's Black and Asian Assembly Members have written to the head of the Metropolitan Police to urge him to revise the Met's view about the English Defence League (EDL) not being viewed as an extremist group. Last week the Government banned the EDL from marching in Waltham Forest, Islington, Newham and Tower Hamlets for 30 days.

Assembly Members Murad Qureshi, Jennette Arnold OBE, Dr Onkar Sahota and Navin Shah signed a joint letter to Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe asking his to reconsider the EDL's status.

The Met applied to the Secretary of State Theresa May amid fears of public disorder as the EDL prepared to march in Walthamstow for the second time in one month. Members of the EDL have targeted London boroughs where there are a number of different faith groups and non-white communities.

Labour London-wide Assembly Member Murad Qureshi said:

"We call on Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe to brand the EDL as an extremist group. Members of the EDL are disrupting our communities and promoting violence and racist ideology. They are obviously a far-right group, bent on causing as much trouble in our diverse communities as possible.

"It is disgraceful that people such as the EDL who don't even live in London and have to travel from outside the city are allowed to come to our neighbourhood to promote their evil racist ideology. We must stand together and recognise the EDL for what they are, an extremist far-right group."

GLA press release, 5 November 2012

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A coalition of faith groups, trade unions and community organisations vowed today to do all it could to oppose a planned march by the English Defence League (EDL). The group, called We are Norwich, said it would do "all in its power" to peacefully oppose the EDL demonstration.

The EDL is organising a march through Norwich on November 10, to protest at the city council banning the Norwich Reformed Church from a stall in the city centre. Reverend Alan Clifford, who said he had no links to the right-wing group, was barred from the stall for publishing leaflets deemed to be anti-Islamic.

We are Norwich secretary Nick O’Brien said: "The EDL has held countless demonstrations across the country where they have rampaged through towns."

The anti-fascist group will hold a counter-demonstration on November 10, if the EDL march goes ahead, and a public meeting on Wednesday October 24 at 7.30pm in the Vauxhall Centre.

Members include trade unions, Norwich Green Party, Chapelfield Mosque, Ian Gibson, The Norwich Pride Collective, and Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Norwich South, Clive Lewis.

Norwich Evening News, 9 October 2012

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The Scottish Defence League (SDL) held a static protest outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, while Unite Against Fascism organised its own counter-protest. Police said that around 60 people attended the SDL event, which lasted for around 45 minutes. The majority arrived by coach.

Meanwhile Unite Against Fascism said its march from the City Chambers on the Royal Mile to the Parliament attracted over 300 people. Police put the figure at around 250.

Lothian and Borders Police created a "sterile" area outside Holyrood, with the two groups separated by barriers and accompanied by police officers. Members of the public were kept away from the area.

Speaking after the event, Luke Henderson, co-ordinator for Unite Against Fascism, said: "The march was absolutely fantastic and we were very happy that we had a great turn out. Our march had representatives from the many diverse communities that make Edinburgh a vibrant and open city."

Press Association, 29 September 2012

Update:  See also "Scotland and Islam", Sunday Herald, 30 September 2012

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Today your Guardian teams up with Waltham Forest Council to stop the English Defence League (EDL) peddling its hatred and prejudice in our borough for the second time in two months.

Our joint campaign "Waltham Forest – United. Strong. Together." calls on the government to step in and ban the EDL from going ahead with its planned march through Walthamstow on October 27.

The move follows hot on the heels of the EDL's last parade through the town on September 1, when its route was blocked by opponents who outnumbered the marchers by 10 to one.

Waltham Forest Council leader Chris Robbins has written to Home Secretary Theresa May to demand a meeting on the subject of banning the EDL from its planned return.

The council is also hosting an online petition – which you can sign to show the EDL how unwelcome it is here.

Over the coming weeks, we'll bring you regular updates on the campaign and tell you how you can get involved in keeping these people away from Waltham Forest.

Cllr Robbins said: "Knowingly putting our borough's residents in harm's way is not an option and I will do everything in my power to ensure the EDL is not able to spout its words of hatred in this borough. While we agree everyone has the right to protest, this latest stand by people with no connection to our borough is an abuse of that right."

Why should this group of right-wing thugs be allowed to come here whenever they like, spreading venomous rhetoric and trying to stir up trouble in an area where thousands of people from different backgrounds live perfectly happily together? Why should we stand back and see our residents put at risk?

Get involved, sign the petition and help us keep this malevolent group of right wing hooligans away from our borough.

Waltham Forest Guardian, 21 September 2012

In his letter to Theresa May, Chris Robbins states: "We called for a ban on the last march, but also encouraged residents to stay away from any counter protest. We refuse to do this again and will instead be calling on our whole community to come out and show everything that is great about the tolerant and diverse community who live here."

We understand that Chris Robbins also sent a copy of this letter to London mayor Boris Johnson asking for his support. It would be interesting to know what Johnson's response was.

[Illustration from EDL News]

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Stephen Lennon's claim that he is already sorting out a venue to screen The Innocence of Muslims is probably just a wind-up, as it is unlikely that he's even arranged to get a copy of the film yet. That isn't going to stop him doing so in future, however. He is clearly desperate to find a means of reviving his demoralised and disintegrating organisation, so whipping up the troops into a self-righteous fury over the EDL's entitlement to show a film exposing the evils of Islam would be an obvious move.

Over at Hope Not Hate, Nick Lowles suggests that if Lennon does try to screen the film the EDL leader "should immediately be prosecuted for incitement".

But incitement to what? Not racial hatred, as Muslims are defined as a multi-ethnic faith community and, unlike Jews or Sikhs, are not covered by the racial hatred law. Perhaps incitement to religious hatred, then? But the religious hatred law requires that the language or images used should be "threatening" and, further, that the prosecution should prove intent. An attempted prosecution under the latter legislation would fall at the first hurdle, since judging by the YouTube trailer The Innocence of Muslims contains no actual threats. And how could it be proved that Lennon's intention was to incite hatred, as he would undoubtedly deny this, claiming instead that he merely intended to inform the public about the true nature of Islam?

Once again, we run up against the utter inadequacy of the existing religious hatred law. While we can hardly expect that the present Tory-led government will do anything to rectify this situation, it is an issue that a future Labour government will have to urgently address.

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Under the slogan "march of the patriots" the EDL's sister organisation, the German Defence League, organised a procession and rally in Cologne yesterday.

Sebastian Nobile, leader of the GDL's Cologne Division, had issued a call to "representatives of all liberal, conservative, patriotic parties and organisations" to join the GDL's demonstration, appealing to right-wingers to put aside their differences "for the sake of our country and our future". In the event, according to a report in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, only 50 marchers rallied to the GDL's cause, while an anti-fascist counter-demonstation drew 150 participants.

One observer calculated that a mere 16 members of the GDL's Cologne, Hanover and Rhein-Main divisions turned out for their own demonstration. The remainder of the "march of the patriots" consisted of small numbers of supporters of other far-right Islamophobic groups – 18 Pro-NRW, 10 from Die Freiheit and 6 from Politically Incorrect and Pax Europa.

So, not an astounding success for the GDL, I think it would be fair to say.

Two of the GDL's sixteen members on the march

Counter-demonstrators offer their view of the German Defence League and its allies

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Protesters gathered in Keighley for a demonstration by far-right campaign group the English Defence League (EDL) this afternoon. About 100 members of the organisation arrived at Church Green off North Street and were shouting and chanting.

Dozens of police officers were at the scene. Mounted police were positioned at one side of the green and officers positioned at other points in the town centre.

Members of the EDL were trying to surge through police barriers, and someone let off a firework. Demonstrators jostled officers, and more police, including mounted officers, attended the site to keep the action contained within Church Green.

Telegraph & Argus, 4 August 2012

Update:  See "Town centre demo passes without serious incident", Keighley News, 4 August 2012

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'We Are Bristol' march against EDLLabour's Bristol mayor candidate Marvin Rees has been accused by a rival politician of being "naïve and weak" in his handling of the run-up to Saturday's EDL march and counter-protests.

Mr Rees was also branded as "easily led" in the statement released today on behalf of Lib Dem councillor Gary Hopkins. But the mayoral candidate has hit back – saying he is "disappointed" by the move.

Mr Hopkins' statement notes that Mr Rees and other Bristol Labour politicians appeared on Unite Against Fascism (UAF) leaflets before the counter-protests on Saturday, and that violent clashes had broken out between counter-EDL protesters and the police.

The councillor, who is in charge of community safety in his council role, said: "The Labour Party were well aware that there was likely to be street violence but still persisted in supporting direct counter-demonstration and, it is reported, speaking at the rally.

"Labour councillor Mike Wollacott faces calls to step down from his position of responsibility on the council after he tried to put pressure on the council leader to speak on behalf of UAF and then ignored police attempts to bring order by encouraging a potentially dangerous assembly in a provocative place. Does Mr Rees support Councillor Wollacott or not?

"This was totally irresponsible. Marvin Rees has shown himself to be weak, easily led and – if he didn't realise violent disturbances might follow – naïve, as well."

Mr Wollacott told ThisisBristol that the calls for his resignation after he had asked the council leader to speak at the demonstration made it a "disappointing day for democracy" .

Mr Rees reacted to Mr Hopkins by saying it was "simply not good enough to abdicate responsibility" when it came to the issue of the EDL march, and that Bristol needed "change and leadership".

He said: "Let's remember the most important thing here is standing up against the dangerous and divisive politics the EDL represent. At the same time, it goes without saying that under no circumstances would I support violent protest.

"I'm disappointed in Gary and the Liberal Democrat press office. The challenges thrown up by the EDL march are just too important to Bristol's future to be used for Party posturing, yet that is what the Liberal Democrats are doing with them. Their press release lacks insight, understanding and accuracy."

Mr Hopkins also criticised Bristol Labour MP Kerry McCarthy for letting herself be reported calling for a ban of the EDL march, which he said was “wholly irresponsible”.

“She has some explaining to do,” he said. “Was she deliberately stirring up passion and anger for political gain or was she genuinely so ignorant of the facts that she thought a ban was possible?”

Kerry McCarthy replied: "Yet again Cllr Hopkins and the Liberal Democrats have taken a cowardly and unprincipled position which has been characteristic of their time in office.

"I am, of course, opposed to all violence and that is why Cllr Wollacott and I were in frequent contact with Pride, UAF and the police to ensure these groups were talking to each other and working together.

"It is a disgrace that the Lib Dems failed to take leadership. They have focused all their energy on attacking those standing against division and violence, while failing to speak out against the disruption the EDL brought to Bristol."

Bristol Post, 19 July 2012

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Bristol24-7 has posted its promised interview with an English Defence League spokesperson, one "Terrence Witter", responding to condemnation by three local Labour politicians of tomorrow's EDL march in Bristol.

Witter accuses the Labour Party of organising "rent-a-mobs" to confront the EDL, apparently oblivious to the fact that the Labour politicians who condemned the EDL march couldn't even bring themselves to back the peaceful non-confrontational "We Are Bristol" counter-demonstration. He states: "We encourage our supporters to not rise to the silly chants of 'waycist' from idiotic communist types."

Meanwhile EDL News has posted a screenshot of a comment from the Facebook page of a Bristol EDL member rejoicing in the name of "Chris Rasher Bacon" which does rather undermine the claim that the EDL are non-racist. Not that this will bother the EDL's regional organiser, Mickey Bayliss, who is not averse to the odd "Paki" joke himself. However, EDL News reports that Bayliss is apparently a bit worried about the turnout for tomorrow's protest – numbers at EDL demonstrations have been in decline for some time now – and he has posted an appeal on the "EDL & BNP United we stand divided we will fall" Facebook page urging his fellow fascists to support tomorrow's march.

An additional worry for the EDL is that their supporters will get drunk and attack the police (who, as Terrence Witter told Bristol 24-7, have been "very accommodating" to the EDL). So the organisers have issued instructions that the Bristol march will be a "dry event". This decision has been endorsed by East Midlands EDL organiser Tony Curtis, who complains that "there are people who think that demo day is just a big piss up and who continue to drag decent EDL supporters through the gutter with their pissed up actions".

It is difficult to see how this will help to boost numbers on tomorrow's march. As Hope Not Hate points out, the alcohol ban "will no doubt be a huge hammer blow to most of the EDL members as the vast majority appear to have had a skinful when the demo finally starts". Indeed, for many EDL protestors getting paralytically drunk is one of the main reasons for attending demonstrations, second only to inciting hatred against Muslims.

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Police say about 40 far-right radicals have held a peaceful rally to protest what they call the "Islamization of Norway and Europe".

The demonstration in the southwestern city of Stavanger was held Saturday by the Norwegian Defence League, an anti-Islam organization closely associated with the English Defence League.

Saturday's demonstration opposed a recent parliamentary decision to amend the country's constitution to separate the state from the church. That means Norway no longer has a state religion and that all religions will be treated equally.

Police spokesman Henning Andersen says there were no arrests during the two-hour rally but that some counter protesters were fined for disobeying officers' orders to leave the area.

Associated Press, 23 June 2012

According to the NDL the purpose of the demonstration was "to protest against the norwegian government changing the constitution to make Islam equal to christianity in Norway and to protest against islamization of Norway and Europe".

The event was given a boost by sympathetic press coverage. Aftenbladet carried a very soft interview with the NDL's new leader Rune Hauge (Leo Baardsen), who explained that he had organised the demonstration because "I want my descendants to grow up where we still have a democracy, with freedom of expression, and can escape being forcibly converted to Islam to avoid being persecuted – and ultimately killed – due to the fact that Muslims have become a majority". (Muslims currently make up 2.1% of the population of Norway.) And the Stavanger newpaper Rogalands Avis provided a platform for a spokesperson from Stop Islamisation of Norway, which jointly sponsored the protest, to claim that they were expecting as many as 600 people to attend, including supporters from Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

However, a report by NRK estimates that as few as 20-30 people turned out. By contrast, between 800 and 1,000 counter-protestors including local Socialist Left Party politician Hallgeir Langeland joined a Festival Against Racism in the town square, while another smaller counter-demonstration organised by New SOS Racism was held at the same location as the NDL rally.

Norwegian Defence League rally in Stavanger – if this is the best the 'counterjihadist' forces can do, it can't be long before Norway succumbs to the Muslim hordes

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This weekend saw the English Defence League pouring into Rochdale to protest against what they believe was underlying cultural issues which saw nine men convicted last month for grooming under-age girls for sex.

EDL visited last year too in March, voicing concern over the same issue. But this time it was different. The arguments were more refined and directed. It wasn't the usual rants that have been echoed by EDL members at national rallies: "extremist Islam is the problem", or "Muslims want Shariah law".

Outside Rochdale town centre, EDL leader, Tommy Robinson held the Quran and said, "This book legitimises the rape, prostitution and abuse of our daughters". Crowds cheered him on as he continued to deplore what he referred to as a "7th century text".

"The reason why these men rape these children, it could be because they're perverted criminals, but it could be they're following this manual. When will the police and politicians realise the link between this and them men raping our kids.... This is the link. Be brave enough to identify it", said Tommy Robinson.

In front of a packed crowd of around 200 people he said publicly "What is stopping me from burning it (the Quran)?" Protestors in the crowd began jeering, whilst some said "Let me burn it Tommy" offering lighters.

Asian Image, 13 June 2012

See also Majed's Blog, 11 June 2012

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