In the wake of the butchering to death of a soldier in London, supporters of the English Defense League organised a demonstration outside a York Mosque. The group nailed a St George’s flag to the wooden fence in front of the building.
Reports indicate that the death of Lee Rigby has unleashed a lot of anger, fear and frustration and generated great tension. People are focusing on their differences. A protester Leanne Staven said “We need a voice”. “I think white British who have any concerns feel we can’t speak freely….In light of what happened to that soldier in Woolwich there have to be restrictions on people learning extremist behaviour and it has to stop.”
Mohammed el-Gomati, a member of the Mosque said: “There is the possibility of having dialogue. Even the EDL who were having a shouting match started talking and we found out that we share and are prepared to agree that violent extremism is wrong.
The potentially volatile situation was dealt with calmly by the members of the Mosque who invited the protesters in to talk about it over tea and biscuits.
And after the group accepted the invitation, tensions were rapidly defused and there followed an impromptu game of football.