Ideology of the English Defence League
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The Ideology of the English Defence League comprises the beliefs of the English Defence League, a far-right, Islamophobic organisation in the United Kingdom.
Political scientists identified the EDL as existing on the far-right of the left–right political spectrum.[1] Some academics used the terms "right-wing extremism",[2] and "extreme right" to characterise it,[3] while the sociologist Kevin Braouezec described it as one of the "new far-right extremist movements".[4] In various respects, it resembled other far-right groups,[5] particularly those that emerged across Europe in the early 21st century.[6] As noted by Chris Allen, the EDL is nevertheless "not a direct product of the traditional far-right milieu" in Britain,[7] differing from other groups in its willingness to reach out to communities that the far-right historically discriminates against, namely Jewish people, people of colour, and LGBT people.[5] The criminologists James Treadwell and Jon Garland suggested that the EDL reflected "both a continuation of and a departure from traditional far-right activity",[8] while Paul Jackson—a historian of the far-right—referred to it as part of the "new far right", a movement that presents itself as being more moderate than older far-right groups.[9]
[D]espite its claims to the contrary, there is much prima face evidence to place the EDL on the more radical fringes of the political right. This ranges from its populist, nationalist agenda; to its condemnation of leftwing figures on its various blogs and websites; to its strong associations with the US Tea Party movement; to its support for international far right figures, such as Geert Wilders. Moreover[…], key EDL figures, such as Steven Yaxley‐Lennon and Kevin Carroll, have historic links with the British National Party (BNP). Finally[…], extreme right‐wing movements, such as the Aryan Strike Force, have found the EDL a useful host organisation.
Ideologically, the EDL was not wholly clear; it had no specific policies, goals, or manifesto, and no intellectual vanguard to lead it.[11]The political scientist Julian Richards suggested that one of the reasons that the EDL should be categorised as far-right was because of how many of its members acted, in contrast to what the group officially stated in its public pronouncements.[12] He observed that "There is no doubt that a considerable number of people with basic Far Right sentiments, including a general dislike of foreigners and ethnic minorities and a sympathy for Nazi movements and ideas can be found in and around the EDL."[12] From its early days, members of far-right political parties like the NF and BNP attended the EDL's demonstrations,[13] while a 2011 survey found that more EDL members intended to vote BNP than for any other party.[14] Although concurring that the EDL was ideologically far-right, the political scientists George Kassimeris and Leonie Jackson cautioned against blurring "the official ideology" of the EDL with the views of its supporters.[15]
The EDL disavows the label "far-right",[16] as do many other groups within the "counter-jihad" movement.[17] On its website, the EDL described itself as "non-political, taking no position on right-wing vs. left-wing. We welcome members from all over the political spectrum, and with varying views on foreign policy, united against Islamic extremism and its influence on British life."[18] Its online material nevertheless often condemns left-wingers,[10] and members regularly complain about "stupid lefties" who disagree with the EDL's views.[19] When examining the EDL's public statements, Jackson cautioned against automatically taking them at face value; as he noted, far-right groups typically present "front stage" messages for public consumption which conceal more aggressive views that are expressed in private.[20]
The EDL has also been characterised as being populist in ideology because of its claims to represent "ordinary people" against the liberal elites which it accuses of controlling the country.[21] Research suggests that many EDL supporters bore more hatred for mainstream politicians than for Muslims.[22] After her fieldwork with the group, the ethnographer Hilary Pilkington suggested that rather than referring to them as "far right", the EDL would be better classified as being part of the "populist radical right", a term earlier developed by the political scientist Cas Mudde.[23] Based on their research among EDL members, Simon Winlow, Steve Hall and James Treadwell argued that the EDL should also be seen "unequivocally, [as] a working-class political movement" due to the makeup of its membership.[24] In addition, they observed that it was "a fringe political group cut adrift from mainstream politics".[25]
Islamophobia and cultural racism
Despite its fragile and sporadic existence, [the EDL] maintains core principles founded on a dissatisfaction with immigration policies and a desire to mobilise against the spread of what it sees as the hostile alien culture of radical Islamism. It hopes to defend the interests of the native population from the perceived threats posed by immigrants, multiculturalism and what it imagines to be the growing power and paramilitary forms of the Muslim faith in England.
The EDL is part of a broader self-described international "counter-jihad" movement.[27] The political scientist Hilary Aked defined counter-jihadism as "a section of the far-right distinguished by its hostility to migrants, Muslims and Islam."[28] Another political scientist, Matthew Goodwin, noted that the counter-jihad movement was "united by their belief that Islam and Muslims are posing a fundamental threat to the resources, identities and even survival of Western states", and that counter-jihad groups were "more confrontational, chaotic and unpredictable than traditional anti-immigrant and ethnic nationalist movements in Western democracies".[29]
Pilkington characterised the EDL as an "anti-Islamist movement",[30] although noted that "there is slippage at movement level, and among individual supporters, into a broader anti-Islam or anti-Muslim position".[31] Officially, the EDL stated it only opposed certain types of Islam and certain types of Muslim,[32] being against the "Islamic extremist" but not the "ordinary Muslim",[33] a distinction also drawn by many of its activists.[34] However, the EDL's rhetoric regularly failed to make this distinction.[35] On its website, the two are often conflated: a 2011 article stated that "The sheer number of cases of Islamic extremism should suggest... that the problem should not be seen as being with a sub-sect of Islam that no one can really define... but as a problem with Islam itself."[36] It is likely that many who encountered the EDL's rhetoric were not able to appreciate a distinction between different interpretations of Islam,[32] and research among the group's grassroots found that many did not do so.[37]
The EDL's discourse constructed a binary division between Western culture and Islamic culture, the former presented as tolerant and progressive and the latter as intolerant and backward.[38] Islam is perceived as being anachronistic, having failed to adapt to the modern world;[39] EDL members regularly referred to it as an "ideology" or a "cult" rather than a "religion."[40] Like other right-wing populists across Europe, the EDL present Muslims as being intrinsically culturally incompatible, and threatening, to European societies, [3] evoking Samuel P. Huntington's notion of the Clash of Civilizations,[41] as well as the idea of Salafi Islamist militant groups such as Al Qaeda that the Western and Islamic worlds are fundamentally at conflict.[41] Although the EDL promotes a multi-racial concept of the English nation, its rhetoric explicitly distinguishes Muslims as being apart from this national group.[42] For the EDL, a Muslim cannot be truly English,[43] and the idea of an English Muslim or a British Muslim identity is not considered acceptable.[44]
Islam is not just a religious system, but a political and social ideology that seeks to dominate all non‐believers and impose a harsh legal system that rejects democratic accountability and human rights. It runs counter to all that we hold dear within our British liberal democracy.
EDL members characterised Islam as a threat to Western culture, presenting it as a misogynistic, homophobic, and dangerous force,[45] one which is discriminatory, intolerant, and hateful towards non-Muslims.[46] Muslims are associated in EDL discourse not just with the oppression of women, Jews, and gay people, but also with terrorism, rape, paedophilia, and incest.[38] The caricature of the Muslim in the EDL's discourse was similar to the anti-Semitic caricature of the Jew promoted in Nazi Germany.[47] The EDL consistently associated Muslims with negative behaviour and blamed this upon Islam itself, selectively identifying passages from the Qur'an which it claimed Muslims use to justify their anti-social and criminal behaviour.[48] The EDL's Facebook page shared news stories which depicted Muslims negatively,[49] while EDL members often engaged in confirmation bias, believing any negative claims about Muslims they encounter—whether true or not—that fit within their pre-accepted worldview in which Muslims are seen as inherently immoral and dangerous.[47]
EDL members believed that Muslims always protected their own while viewing non-Muslims as fair game for abuse and exploitation.[50] EDL supporters thought Muslims failed to respect non-Muslims, regarding them only as "infidels";[51] in turn, various EDL figures referred to themselves as "infidels" and the term was emblazoned on some EDL merchandise.[52] Various EDL members recalled incidents in which Muslims had been disrespectful towards them or to British and English culture. For instance, members cited instances in which Islamists burned remembrance poppies in protest at British military activities abroad; for the EDL, this was incredibly disrespectful toward the British people.[51] Other EDL members described more personal encounters; one woman described painting St George's flag on her face in preparation for an England football match, but being barred from boarding a bus by its Muslim driver who claimed that her display of the flag offended him. For her, this event was a catalyst for joining the EDL.[53]
The English Defence League employed a culturally racist discourse of Islamophobia. Racist discourse construction involves the demarcation of an in-group and an out-group, where the in-group considers itself superior and claims the right to decide who can belong, and the out-group is represented as threatening its privileges and position. EDL discourse performed this function by racialising Muslim culture as the source of Muslim behaviour and conferring the role of arbiters of acceptability to culturally superior non-Muslims.
Although there is little consensus as to how Islamophobia should be defined,[55] a range of scholars who have studied the EDL have characterised it as an Islamophobic organisation.[56] Allen noted that "The EDL is creating and perpetuating meanings about Muslims and Islam, whether real or imaginary, accurate or inaccurate, representative or misrepresentative, that are clearly ideologically Islamophobic."[32] As he noted, the EDL's presentation of all Muslims without distinction as the "irrefutable Other" was "clearly Islamophobic".[5] Similarly, Kassimeris and Jackson stated that in presenting non-Muslims as the "in-group" and Muslims as the "out-group" and then trying to "exclude Muslims from the national community" in Britain, the EDL were Islamophobic.[57]
The EDL rejected the idea that it is Islamophobic.[58] In a statement it declared that "the English Defence League do not 'fear' Islam, we do not have a 'phobia' about Islam, we just realise the very serious threat it poses".[59] In defining Islamophobia as a phobia or an affected prejudice—a definition rejected by the majority of academics and activists employing the term—the EDL sought to dismiss the concept as nonsense.[60] On its website, it stated that the biggest threat to Muslims is not "Islamophobia" but the "extremism that thrives in the Muslim community" itself, including "the embrace of violent and anti-democratic means, the intolerance, the separatism, the attacks on homosexuals and Jews, the hatred of 'the West', and the continued hosting of radical preachers."[61]
Various political scientists and other academic observers describe the EDL's Islamophobia as a form of cultural racism,[62] or the "new racism" described by Martin Baker in the early 1980s.[63] This emphasis on cultural racism—which entails stereotyping a group on the basis of cultural (as opposed to biological) features and presenting them as having a "culturally 'fixed' set of values" which are dangerous, inferior, and diametrically opposed to the cultural values of "the national community"—was a recurring trait among many of the "new far right" groups active in Europe, and differentiated them from earlier far right groups which tended to adopt biological racism.[64] The EDL rejected the idea that its stance on Muslims could be racist, stating that "Islam is not a race".[65] Conversely, EDL members have referred to Muslims as racist; one member was quoted as saying: "people say we're racist but, when you think about it, they're [i.e. Muslims] the ones that's racist. They're killing white people just because they're white. They're killing Christians because they're Christian. It's them that's declared a holy war. We are just reacting."[66]
Hatred of Muslims
Following their fieldwork among EDL supporters, Winlow, Hall and Treadwell noted that all those whom they had encountered expressed hatred of Muslims.[22] Many placed this hatred in relation to local issues and personal experiences; for instance, EDL members regarded being poorly treated by an Asian shopkeeper as evidence that Muslims intrinsically hate the white working-class.[67] Instances when Muslims have been friendly toward them are treated as evidence that Muslims are conniving, appearing friendly to white non-Muslims so as to catch them off guard.[50] EDL members expressed anger at what they perceived as Muslims' wealth—contrasting it to their own strained economic situation—and the fact that Muslim migrants received council housing and benefits which EDL members believed they had not earned;[68] EDL members commonly believed that the welfare system should only be available for native Britons and not migrants.[69] EDL supporters criticised the perceived ruthless entrepreneurship of Muslims, including the way that they profited off of the white working-class through charging high prices in their shops, also alleging that Muslims regularly avoided paying tax and helped other Muslims advance over white Britons.[70] EDL members expressed anger at perceived Muslim involvement in drug dealing and other crimes impacting their communities;[71] for many, the intimidating presence of Muslim gangs in their local area was seen as a more direct issue than Islamic terrorism.[72]
A topic of particular anger was the role of men from Muslim backgrounds in grooming gangs largely targeting underage white girls.[73] For instance, in highlighting that men from Islamic backgrounds were disproportionately represented in the Rochdale and West Midlands child sex grooming scandals, the EDL claimed these men found justification for their actions in Qur'anic references to non-Muslims being inferior and thus acceptable targets.[74] They also believed that Muslims legitimated such actions by reference to the fact that Islam's founder, Muhammad, married one of his wives, Aisha, when she was a child.[75] Such claims were made despite the absence of evidence that these sex offenders claimed "Islamic supremacism" as justification for their actions; it also ignores the fact that according to Crown Prosecution Service figures, 85% of UK sex offenders are white men.[36] When white sex offenders were exposed, EDL members were still angry but regarded the perpetrator's ethnicity or religion as irrelevant, a firm contrast to their response when the perpetrators were of Muslim background.[76] Some EDL members believed that white sex offenders were treated more harshly than their Muslim counterparts; one contrasted how Jimmy Savile was publicly reviled while Muhammad—whom EDL members typically considered a paedophile due to his marriage to Aisha—was revered.[46]
Online, supporters expressed comments that were derogatory of Islam like "Islam is a sick vile evil primitive barbaric cult that needs wiping from the earth."[77] Fieldwork among EDL members found many derogatory comments about Muslims; one member was quoted as stating that "They can't live like us cos they are not evolved for it, they are simple, made for backward villages in the mountain where they can sit around eating stinking curries and raping chickens."[78] On the EDL's social media, many supporters incited violence against Muslims: "we need to kill", "time to get violent", "Kill any muslim u see [sic]", "Kill the curry munching bastards", and "Petrol bomb your nearest mosque".[45] Chants during rallies included "We hate all Muslims",[79] "Die, Muslim, die",[79] "Give me a gun and I'll shoot the Muzzie scum",[80] "I hate Pakis more than you",[57] and "Burn our poppies and we'll burn your mosques".[81] Such sentiments also came from its ethnic minority supporters; Guramit Singh, the head of the EDL's Sikh Division, stated that Muslims will end up "burning in fucking hell",[82] and expressed the opinion that "I fucking hate the Pakis. India needs to go to war with Pakistan."[83]
Views on terrorism, extremism, and shariah
The EDL claimed that Britain's Muslims fail to speak out against Islamic extremism and thus implicitly support it.[85] It also alleged that British Muslims spend more time complaining about discrimination and attacking critics of Islam than eliminating extremism within their own ranks.[85] Because of this, the EDL alleged that British Muslims' commitment to "British values" is questionable.[85] The perception that "moderate" Muslims do little or nothing to counter "extremism" was also widespread among the group's grassroots.[86] In making this accusation, the EDL ignored the many examples of Islamic groups speaking out and campaigning against extremism and terrorism,[87] and—according to Jackson—promoted "a major distortion of reality" by repeatedly presenting extremism as the "dominant characteristic" of Muslim communities.[43]
EDL discourse repeatedly referred to what it called "Islamic supremacism", the belief that Muslims express a superiority complex over non-Muslims.[88] It feared that Muslims had imperialistic designs, wanting to dominate Britain,[89] claiming that this was being facilitated through higher birth rates among Muslims than non-Muslims.[40] Robinson for instance stated that "20 years down the line we'll be overrun by Islam",[32] while EDL rhetoric referred to Muslims "spreading across our country" and besieging the "patriotic people" of England.[90] The EDL portrayed Muslim attempts to participate in political life as entryism, an attempt to expand Islamic influence in the Britain,[91] and also claimed that the building of mosques reflected a desire to dominate the country.[84]
The EDL claimed that the greater Islam's reach, the more that non-Muslims would be victimised and discriminated against.[88] Meadowcroft and Morrow attended a Wolverhampton EDL meet-and-greet event where the local division leader stated that he joined "for my children and grandchildren because I don't want them to be taken to mosques as part of their school excursions and I don't want to see my granddaughter wearing a burqa or being punished for wearing a short skirt."[92] Similarly, Richards quoted one young woman at a 2010 Dudley protest as saying that she attended because "I don't want my daughters to grow up having to wear the burqa."[93] EDL members perceive the burqa and niqab as being intimidating towards non-Muslims, degrading to women, and facilitating the concealment of criminals and terrorists.[94]
The EDL believed Muslims wanted to impose sharia law on Britain and Western society.[95] The group generalises sharia as a uniform set of rules, ignoring the fact that it represents a diverse and often contradictory range of approaches to Islamic jurisprudence.[20] In opposing sharia, which it regards as inherently misogynistic, the EDL positions itself as the defenders of women,[96] employing the slogan "EDL Angels [i.e. women] stand beside their men, not behind them".[97] In presenting female members as angels, the EDL contrasts the image of Western women with the stereotype of the burqa-clad Muslim woman.[98] Alternately, in rejecting traditional Islamic attitudes to womanhood, many EDL women embrace the image of the "slut" who engages in binge drinking and can be "one of the lads", engaging in raucous and violent behaviour alongside their male counterparts.[99] EDL members expressed support for the French ban on face covering introduced in 2010.[100] The EDL also emphasised the cruelty of halal slaughter techniques, presenting them as more cruel than kosher slaughter practices.[101] In its "Halal Campaign" launched in 2011, the EDL campaigned against stores and restaurants that sold halal meat without labelling it as such, citing this as evidence that Muslims were seeking to impose their practices on the rest of society.[101]
Nationalism and anti-immigration stance
The EDL is staunchly nationalist;[102] its members expressed a strong love of England and described themselves as patriots.[103] Jackson considered it ultra-nationalist,[104] while several academics argued that it embraced an ethnic conception of nationalism.[105] Copsey suggested that it was an identitarian form of English nationalism in which a "native English" identity was deployed as the main weapon against Islam.[106] In his view, the desire to protect "Englishness" as a form of "traditional ethno-national dominance" is strong among members.[107] Pilkington argued that although some members expressed nativist sentiment, for most members, pride in being English was not the same as the "white pride" expressed by fascist groups like the BNP.[108] The journalist Daniel Trilling nevertheless commented that the EDL's concept of "Englishness" was ambiguous;[109] similarly, Winlow, Hall and Treadwell observed that the EDL's conception of an "English way of life" was "poorly sketched out" — their EDL contacts could not agree on what it constituted, and the only thing that they agreed upon was that Muslims fundamentally rejected it.[110]
The EDL's attitude to nationhood is reflected in chants like "we want our country back";[111] the term Defence in its name presents English identity as something that is under threat.[112] The EDL's nationalist stance is also reflected in its nomenclature and choice of symbols, which regularly include the cross of St George;[102] its logo, for instance, features St George's cross on a shield.[18] Such imagery evokes the symbolism of the medieval Crusades, in which Christians battled Muslims for control of the Holy Land.[113] The motto featured on the logo is in Latin: "in hoc signo vinces", and was taken from that of the first Christian Roman Emperor, Constantine.[114] The name also reflects a militaristic stance, as did branded clothing with text like "Loyal Footsoldier",[92] while it also employs the martial slogan "NS", an abbreviation for "No Surrender", sometimes presented in the altered form of "Never Fucking Surrender Ever" (NFSE).[115] On the EDL discussion board, members regularly referred to a forthcoming war.[116]
Alessio and Meredith thought the EDL was anti-immigrant.[45] Although the EDL's founding mission statement did not mention migration,[117] in February 2014, the EDL stated its intention to include opposition to "mass immigration" in it.[118] In July 2014 an EDL demonstration was held in Hexthorpe, South Yorkshire to oppose the migration of Roma people to the area.[119] Anti-migrant sentiment was common among EDL members,[120] who often believed that official figures underestimated the number of immigrants in Britain.[121] Members often saw immigration as detrimental to the white British,[38] being socially divisive and fundamentally changing the nature of England.[122] EDL members saw migrants as economic competition, outcompeting white British workers for jobs by working for less than the legal minimum wage.[123] At the same time, they often expressed sympathy for migrants as individuals seeking a better life,[124] and typically distinguished between "good" migrants who worked hard and paid taxes and "bad" migrants who lived off the welfare state.[122] While accepting the multi-racial nature of England, EDL members almost uniformly rejected the ideology of multiculturalism,[125] portraying it as something mainstream politicians encouraged out of a desire to be seen as cosmopolitan and progressive and because of a fascination for the exoticism of other cultures.[126]
