REPUBLIKA ONLINE
Senin, 14 September 2009 pukul 01:19:00
Kelompok Anti-Islam Picu Masalah
LONDON -- Pemerintah Inggris menyatakan kelompok anti-Islam menimbulkan
masalah. Aksi yang mereka lakukan kerap melahirkan bentrokan dengan kelompok
Islam. Dalam beberapa bulan terakhir, bentrokan terjadi di Luton, Birmingham ,
dan London .
Menteri Komunitas Inggris, John Denham, mengatakan kondisi seperti itu sangat
mengkhawatirkan dan memprihatinkan. Ia membandingkan gangguan itu sama seperti
gangguan oleh gerakan fasis yang marak pada 1930-an. Ia mengatakan kelompok
anti-Islam sering memancing keributan.
Mereka, jelas Denham, berasal dari kelompok ekstrem kanan seperti English
Defense League. ''Mereka kerap menggunakan taktik provokasi dan berharap
munculnya reaksi dari umat Islam hingga menyebabkan kekerasan yang meluas,''
katanya.
Dehman menyebutkan, taktik provokatif ini sering digunakan oleh kelompok sayap
ekstrem kanan dan kelompok ekstremis lainnya. Ia yang dikutip The Guardian,
Sabtu (12/9), menyatakan jika ini dibiarkan begitu saja, situasinya akan
seperti masa silam.
Pernyataan Denham mengacu pada peristiwa yang terjadi di Cable Street pada
1936. Saat itu, pemimpin fasis Oswald Mosley, menyulut kerusuhan dengan warga
Yahudi. Secara terpisah, English Defense League menolak label fasis.
Mereka menyatakan, dalam aksinya mereka hanya menentang kelompok Islam militan.
Bahkan, dalam situsnya, English Defense League mengklaim bahwa kekerasan pada
aksi-aksi massa yang mereka lakukan, diprovokasi oleh kelompok Islam dan
kelompok ekstrem kiri.
Namun, juru bicara Muslim Council of Britain, Inayat Bunglawala, mengatakan
klaim English Defense League, yang hanya menentang kelompok Islam militan hanya
sebuah kamuflase, untuk menyembunyikan misi mereka sebenarnya, anti-Islam.
''Mereka bukanlah orang-orang yang mendukung adanya pembauran komunitas,'' kata
Bunglawala. Ia menambahkan, dalam beberapa bulan terakhir, banyak terjadi
insiden anti-Islam termasuk penyerangan terhadap masjid-masjid.
Bunglawala berharap kejadian ini tak terus berkembang dan segera dihentikan.
''Ini merupakan perkembangan yang sangat mengkhawatirkan, '' katanya mewakili
seluruh organisasi Muslim yang ada di Inggris.
Pada Jumat (11/9) lalu, sebuah kelompok yang secara terbuka merupakan kelompok
Islamofobia, Stop Islamification of Europe, berjanji melakukan protes di depan
sebuah masjid di barat laut London, bersamaan dengan peringatan delapan tahun
peristiwa 11 September 2001.
Hampir terjadi bentrokan dengan Muslim yang berusaha menghalau unjuk rasa
tersebut. Mereka sempat tersulut emosinya. Polisi juga berusaha untuk
membubarkan pengunjuk rasa, agar tak terjadi kekacauan. ''Allahu Akbar,''
teriak para pemuda Islam.
Polisi menyatakan sebanyak 10 orang ditangkap dalam kejadian itu. Tony McNulty,
seorang anggota parlemen menyesalkan kejadian ini. Ia menyatakan umat Islam
terpancing. ''Mereka telah memberikan apa yang diinginkan kelompok ekstrem
kanan dan fasis,'' katanya.
Dan, tampaknya ketegangan antarkelompok tak akan akan segera berakhir. Sebab,
English Defense League berjanji akan kembali melakukan aksi unjuk rasa pada
beberapa pekan mendatang di London, Luton, Manchester, dan Leeds. ap/fer
(-)
UK troubled by anti-Islam rallies, counterprotests
By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter, Associated
Press Writer – Sat Sep 12, 2:39 pm ET
LONDON – Violent clashes between anti-Islam demonstrators and Muslim
counter-protesters in English cities are worrying the government, with one
British minister comparing the disturbances to 1930s-era fascist incitement.
The violence that has hit Luton, Birmingham and London in the last few months
has involved a loose collection of far-right groups — such as the previously
unknown English Defense League — on one side and anti-fascist organizations and
Muslim youth on the other.
In an interview published Saturday, Communities Minister John Denham accused
the anti-Islam protesters of deliberately stirring up trouble.
"The tactic of trying to provoke a response in the hope of causing wider
violence and mayhem is long established on the far-right and among extremist
groups," Denham was quoted as saying by The Guardian newspaper. "You could go
back to the 1930s if you wanted to — Cable Street ."
Denham was referring to a 1936 confrontation sparked by British fascist leader
Oswald Mosley's decision to march through the then-heavily Jewish East End of
London . Mosley's pro-Nazi followers were met at Cable Street by Jews,
communists and anarchists, and a pitched battle ensued.
The English Defense League rejects the fascist label, arguing that it only
opposes militant Islam. On its Web site, the group claims that the violence at
its rallies has been provoked by Muslims and far-left groups.
The group did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.
Muslim Council of Britain spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said the League's stated
opposition to militant Islam was just "a fig leaf" to hide the group's true
anti-Muslim mission.
"These are not people who support community cohesion," he said.
Bunglawala added that Muslim Council, an umbrella group for British Muslim
organizations, had seen a spike in anti-Muslim incidents — including arson
attacks on mosques — in the past few months.
"These are extremely worrying developments, " he told The Associated Press on
Saturday.
British media have traced the origins of the League to Luton, an ethnically
mixed town north of London which in March was the site of a small but widely
covered protest against the British Army. Bearded Islamists picketed a
homecoming parade for British soldiers returning from Iraq , holding up signs
accusing the men of being "butchers" and "baby-killers. "
Tensions boiled over in May, when a demonstration by a far-right group calling
itself United People of Luton led to South Asian businesses being attacked and
cars being smashed.
In August the group's successor, the English Defense League, tried to mount a
protest in Birmingham , where they clashed with anti-fascist demonstrators.
This month, the League's second attempt at a Birmingham protest quickly
descended into violence, with some 200 people — many of them of South Asian
descent — seen fighting, throwing projectiles and running from riot police.
Police made 90 arrests.
On Friday, an openly Islamophobic group, Stop Islamification of Europe,
promised an evening protest outside a northwest London mosque to coincide with
the eighth anniversary of Sept. 11 and with Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
Only a handful of demonstrators showed up — and they were vastly outnumbered by
Muslims coming to defend the mosque.
Police hustled the protesters away from the angry crowd. But television footage
showed Muslim youths racing through the streets shouting "Allahu Akbar!",
waving Islamic banners and throwing projectiles at riot police. Scotland Yard
reported 10 arrests.
"They gave the fascists and far-right what they wanted, and I think that's a
shame," lawmaker Tony McNulty told Sky News television.
The far-right League, meanwhile, has promised more protests in London , Luton,
Manchester and Leeds over the next few weeks.
Rightwing and anti-fascist protesters riot in London
Police hit by bricks and bottles as they try to keep apart 1,000 rival
demonstrators near Harrow mosque
Aidan Jones
guardian.co. uk, Friday 11 September 2009 19.42 BST
Residents watch as police deal with rightwing activists in Harrow, north London
during clashes with anti-fascists. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA
Riot police were struggling to contain protests by anti-fascist demonstrators
and rightwing organisations outside a mosque in north-west London tonight.
Officers were hit by bricks and bottles as they tried to keep about 1,000 rival
demonstrators apart outside the partially completed mosque near the tube
station in Harrow .
Seven people had been arrested and weapons, including bottles of bleach, a
hammer and a chisel, were seized, a Metropolitan police spokeswoman said.
Police were braced for trouble after the rightwing English Defence League (EDL)
and a group called Stop the Islamisation of Europe (SIOE) said they would
converge on the area at 5pm for a rally to mark the eighth anniversary of the
September 11 terrorist attacks.
Unite Against Facism called on its supporters to meet for a counter-demonstrati
on.
At around 5pm demonstrators, some armed with weapons, broke through police
ranks and ran through the streets.
The stand-off was still going at around 7pm, with groups of youths seperated by
riot police.
The police spokeswoman said: "There have been a number of further movements by
the crowd in large groups attempting to reach small numbers of other people.
"Throughout the afternoon police have identified and stopped a number of people
believe to be heading to the original SIOE demonstration from getting to the
protest area."
Witnesses said anti-fascist demonstrators outside the mosque burst through
police lines in an attempt to reach groups of EDL supporters who were gathering
in the surrounding streets.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "It's terrifying. This group
of men came running down the street towards us and we had to hide with a couple
of young Muslim boys in a shop.
"It's really tense and we can still hear the police helicopters overhead. I've
never felt this kind of tension in Harrow , it's horrific."
Before today's protests, Muslim community leaders had expressed frustration
that their mosque had become the focal point for the rally and had urged
demonstrators to protest peacefully.
The EDL has held several similar rallies throughout the summer. More than 30
people were arrested last weekend at a similar portest in Birmingham .
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