I received this email today from Peter Flack:
As a supporter of One Law for all – a colleague and I attended the first demonstration and Maryam attended our union branch in Leicester – I was concerned at a picture circulating on Facebook showing what are clearly EDL supporters standing with One Law for All Placards.
I have attached the picture. It appeared on the page of the local UAF Secretary, making no distinction between OLFA and EDL. Given the readiness of the SWP to join with Muslims against Crusades on the grounds they are ‘victims of Islamophobia’ i think it is important to get a clear repudiation of EDL out, while making it clear that opposition to Sharia Law, Female Genital Mutilation etc is neither racist nor Islamophobic but about the rights of women to be treated equally before the law.
The page it appeared on was that of Tom Mycock, from Leicester.
Here is my response:
We can’t stop people from downloading our materials and using them; we have posters and resources available for download from our website. But have a very clear position on the EDL and the far-Right – see our recent report entitled Enemies not Allies: the Far Right. We attack the far-Right every chance we get. After all, Islamism is our far-Right and we see no fundamental difference between the EDL, Stop Islamisation of Europe and America or the BNP on the one hand and the Islamists on the other.
Islamists also carry UAF placards. I saw it myself when they joined Al-Muhajiroun’s and Muslims against Crusades’ counter-demonstration against us at our rally against Sharia and religious laws and for secularism in June 2010 whilst shouting Allah-o-Akbar.
The difference though is that whilst we have a zero tolerance for the EDL and its likes, the UAF actively supports Islamic fascists against ordinary Muslims and others.
The UAF secretary may make no distinction between One Law for All and the EDL but that is due to political dishonesty. The reality is that the UAF is anti-fascist in name only.
We are today’s real anti-fascists – against the European far-Right and also its Islamist version.
Tom Mycock:
"…far right Islamophobic bigots…"
The word "Islamophobic" shouldn't exist. Criticism of a belief system is not some kind of mental disorder.
It's interesting that the UAF has never responded to our letters asking for clarification on their joining the fascist 'Muslims against Crusades' counter-demo against our One Law for All rally and now write to give us the actual position of an activist. Irrelevant details. UAF: answer me this: can you explain why you work with fascists and not with their victims, survivors and resistors. You have much more to account for than this ridiculous email about activist roles and ‘security.’
Dear Sir/Madam,
The following blog post on your website has been brought to our attention.
Regardless of any differences we may have with your campaign, in this article it states:
"As a supporter of One Law for all – a colleague and I attended the first demonstration and Maryam attended our union branch in Leicester
– I was concerned at a picture circulating on Facebook showing what are clearly EDL supporters standing with One Law for All Placards.
I have attached the picture. It appeared on the page of the local UAF Secretary, making no distinction between OLFA and EDL. Given the readiness of the SWP to join with Muslims against Crusades on the grounds they are 'victims of Islamophobia' i think it is important to get a clear repudiation of EDL out, while making it clear that opposition to Sharia Law, Female Genital Mutilation etc is neither racist nor Islamophobic but about the rights of women to be treated equally before the law.
The page it appeared on was that of Tom Mycock, from Leicester."
We would like to inform you that Mr Mycock is NOT the secretary of UAF in Leicester as stated by this article, he is, however, a UAF activist. Furthermore, your decision to publish his name presents a direct security risk to Mr Mycock and his family. We therefore ask kindly and without prejudice that you remove any direct references to Mr Mycock from the article.
Regards
Committee
Leicester Unite Against Fascism
Leicester Unite Against Fascism
http://www.leicesteruaf.org
http://twitter.com/leicesteruaf
Tom, your comment was in the spam inbox, which is why it did not show automatically. Anyway I marked both of them 'not spam' and they are now available here.
To address your comments: we have issued a detailed report on the far-Right and we address the far-Right in all our work. In my opinion, it is impossible to oppose sharia law in the west without also opposing the far-Right. After all Islamism is a far-Right movement too. That is how I have led the campaign from the start.
However, One Law for All is also preparing a report on the pro-Islamist Left, such as the UAF and SWP. Much of our condemnation is targetted to this grouping, which should not be surprising to you.
Whilst I expect nothing from the far-Right, I find UAF's support of Islamism (our fascism) as an outrageous betrayal of the Left and progressive movements, women's rights movements, gay rights movements, that of apostates and dissidents and freethinkers. How shameful.
I am sorry if your intentions were misunderstood when reported to us, however, irrespective of your intentions, groups like the UAF side with our fascsists against us. And you still think the UAF does not deserve our denunciation.
It's not rocket science. We are opposed to Islamism and also the far-Right. The UAF is only opposed to its far-Right whilst collaborating with Islamist fascists. That is why the UAF is anti-fascist in name only. In name only.
Hi Maryam, Tom Mycock here. For some reason my comment did not appear so I am reposting.
I'm not our local UAF secretary, I'm just an active member of our local group. I suggested to Peter in commenting upon the Facebook post that OLFA contact its lawyers about the EDL using unauthorised artwork and logos, because clearly OLFA would want to distance itself from far right Islamophobic bigots – but in no way did I post the picture with the aim of discrediting OLFA. I posted the picture because here were three stereotypical fascist bonehead males ostensibly on an "EDL Angels" demonstration. "Angels" is what the EDL calls its female members. Whilst I accept that people without their glasses on might mistake these three characters for cherubs from a distance, these were not "Angels" by any stretch of the imagination. The aim of the post was humorous.
The farce that was the "EDL Angels" demonstration, countered by a female-led UAF demonstration, is reported here: http://uaf.org.uk/2011/10/nazi-salutes-amid-fiasco-for-edl-angels-womens-division/
Aside from his side-swipe at the SWP, I took Peter's message to you to be intended to alert you to the EDL continuing to steal OLFA slogans, artwork and logos, and that in response you would launch a robust denunciation of the EDL and everything they stand for.
That you spent the bulk of the post fulminating about UAF speaks volumes.
Hi Maryam, Tom Mycock here. I'm not our local UAF secretary, I'm just an active member of our local group. I suggested to Peter in commenting upon the Facebook post that OLFA contact its lawyers about the EDL using unauthorised artwork and logos, because clearly you would want to distance yourself from far right Islamophobic bigots – but in no way did I post the picture with the aim of discrediting OLFA. I posted the picture because here were three stereotypical fascist bonehead males ostensibly on an "EDL Angels" demonstration. "Angels" is what the EDL calls its female members. Whilst I accept that people without their glasses on might mistake these three characters for cherubs from a distance, these were not "Angels" by any stretch of the imagination. The aim of the post was humorous.
The farce that was the "EDL Angels" demonstration, countered by a female-led UAF demonstration, is reported here: http://uaf.org.uk/2011/10/nazi-salutes-amid-fiasco-for-edl-angels-womens-division/