Rival marchers clash as tensions rise over Woolwich killing
May 25, 2013 -- Updated 1403 GMT (2203 HKT)
A man pictured with floral tributes to a British soldier killed by suspected Islamists in London.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Far-right EDL marchers clash with protesters on a counter-demonstration in Newcastle
- Tensions are high following the slaying of a British soldier in London on Wednesday
- A friend of one of the murder suspects was arrested Friday night on terrorism charges
- "We cannot allow this soldier's death to be in vain," EDL leader says to marchers
Glass bottles were thrown
as an estimated 500 protesters on the English Defence League march in
Newcastle skirmished with people taking part in a counter-demonstration
organized by Newcastle Unites.
EDL marchers told CNN
that the soldier's killing in Woolwich, southeast London, had "opened
our eyes" to what the United Kingdom has become. They called for Muslims
to leave.
Addressing the crowd, EDL leader Tommy Robinson said: "We cannot allow this soldier's death to be in vain.
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"We are the only ones who dare say it. When did the truth become hate speech?"
The march comes amid
concern over growing anti-Muslim sentiment as evidence emerges of
apparent links between one of the two suspected attackers and radical
Islamist groups..
Friends, acquaintances
and British media have identified 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo, a
British national of Nigerian descent, as the suspect seen in a gory
video from the scene of the Woolwich killing. He is said to be a Muslim
convert.
A self-proclaimed friend of the suspect was arrested Friday night at BBC Broadcasting House after
giving an interview in which he said Michael Adebolajo had been
approached by Britain's domestic security service, MI5. Police said the
arrest was made under the Terrorism Act and was not connected to the
Woolwich inquiry.
Politicians and community
leaders have been trying to tamp down tensions in the wake of the
murder of the soldier, Drummer Lee Rigby, while police numbers have been
boosted in vulnerable areas.
Northumbria Police said
its officers had arrested three people in northern England on suspicion
of posting racist tweets Saturday, ahead of the EDL march.
"The policing operation
will allow people the right to peaceful protest, protect the safety of
everyone in the city and prevent serious disorder and damage," a police
statement said.
Members of the EDL clashed with police near the scene of the killing late Wednesday. A tweet from its official account proclaimed then that "it's fair to say that finally the country is waking up!:-) NO SURRENDER!"
A message posted on the EDL Facebook page Saturday urged members to abide by the law or risk arrest.
"NO swearing, NO
incitement to violence, No racist remarks, No threats. Please be very
aware that the authorities can, do & will monitor these pages &
it seems from information we are getting are visiting and arresting
people. Keep it safe please," it said.
'Abused in the street, online'
But a group which
monitors incidents of anti-Muslim abuse, the Tell Mama project, said
Saturday morning it had seen a huge increase in the number of reported
incidents.
Fiyaz Mughal, a
coordinator of Tell Mama, told CNN Saturday morning that 162 incidents
had been reported in the past 48 hours -- compared with four to six
incidents a day on average before the Woolwich attack.
The latest include
street-based incidents like name calling, assaults and materials being
thrown at individuals, Mughal said, as well as online incidents, where
targeted hate is directed at individuals through the Internet and social
media.
Eight incidents of attacks against mosques across Britain are also included in the figure.
Mughal, also director of
an interfaith national hate crime reporting project, Faith Matters,
said he had observed that people are scared, particularly female Muslims
who wear headscarves and have told Tell Mama that they are afraid to go
out. "It's quite endemic," he said.
Tell Mama recorded 632
incidents of anti-Muslim abuse in the year from March 2012, it said,
about three-quarters of which occurred online. More than half were
directed at women.
Imams sign letter condemning attack
The apparent increase in abuse comes as Muslim leaders, as well as their Christian counterparts, seek to keep communities calm.
Shaykh Shams Adduha,
founder and director of Ebrahim College, which teaches Islamic studies
in London, is one of nearly 100 imams and Muslim groups to have signed a
letter Friday condemning the "outrageous attack" on Rigby and offering
their condolences to his family.
"We share the absolute
horror felt by the rest of British society at the sick and barbaric
crime that was committed in the name of our religion. We condemn this
heinous atrocity in the strongest possible terms. It is a senseless act
of pure depravity worthy of nothing but contempt," it read.
Shams Adduha told CNN Saturday that the Muslim community had reacted promptly and was working hard to defuse tensions.
"First of all we've been
very open in our condemnation and very open about the fact that there
is no place ... in Islam for this kind of act," the imam said.
"At the same time we've
been calling for calm, we've constantly been talking to our communities
to make sure that their fears are allayed. But of course the reactions
are happening -- and they will happen."
These types of attacks
are also a reaction, he said, to problems and grievances among "angry
young people out there in the world."
With regards to the
Woolwich attack, he said, Muslim leaders must make clear that what
happened is "un-Islamic" and seek to educate young people so they are
not susceptible to "fringe voices."
Prime Minister David
Cameron stressed Thursday that "the fault lies solely with sickening
individuals who carried out this attack," adding that "nothing in Islam
... justifies this truly dreadful act."
'Eye for an eye'
One of the attack
suspects apparently approached a man filming the gory scene in the
Woolwich neighborhood and suggested that Rigby had been targeted only
"because Muslims are dying daily" at the hands of British troops like
him.
"We must fight them as
they fight us. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," he said in
the video aired by CNN affiliate ITN.
Britain's armed forces
have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. All its combat troops are due to
leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014.
The identity of a second
man, aged 22, seized at the scene by armed police has not been
released. Both suspects were shot and remain in hospital.
A third man, aged 29, who was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder on Thursday is also still in custody.
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It is understood that
the two individuals suspected of carrying out the knife and cleaver
attack were known to Britain's domestic security service. They had
featured in previous investigations into other individuals, but were not
themselves under surveillance.
CNN understands that one
line of inquiry being examined in the Woolwich terror investigation is
that suspect Adebolajo might have attempted -- but failed -- to travel
to Somalia some time last year.
The brutal slaying of
Rigby near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, a working-class,
multicultural neighborhood, shocked people across the United Kingdom.
The 25-year-old, who was
married and had a 2-year-old son, was a machine gunner who became a
recruiter. He was also a ceremonial military drummer.
His family spoke Friday
of their sorrow at losing a son, husband and brother who was dedicated
to his job and devoted to his family.
Help for Heroes, a
charity which helps injured military veterans and servicemen and women,
said Saturday that nearly £600,000 ($907,590) in public donations had
poured in since the news of Rigby's murder -- with more still coming in.
"The nation has rallied behind our Armed Forces in an extraordinary and wonderful display of support," the charity said.
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