Hat’s off to the makers of Dispatches for exposing the Islamic Forum of Europe’s take over of the East London Mosque, Tower Hamlets Council and the Respect/Labour Parties. We recommend watching the programme still up on 4OnDemand and also checking out anarchist writer Paul Stott’s blog who has maintained a voice of clarity on these issues over the past few years against a bombardment of mud slinging from “The Left”.
The programme exposed the extent of entryism achieved by the IFE and the corrupt nature of Tower Hamlets council. The inherent folly of the left, particulary the SWP and Respect, who jumped into bed with these insidious bullies is no surprise, being played like puppets along with the Labour Party. For once the SWP got taught a lesson on entryism! Haha. No doubt “The Right” will be hailing the programme as an example of Muslims taking over Blighty and replacing the Sunday Roast with the blood of British soldiers. But both Left and Right, as always, remain out of the paradigm most of us know as reality and common sense.
The IFE is a group which draws it’s ideological lineage from Jamaat-e-Islami, an anti-liberation front opposed to Bangladeshi independence who joined with the Bangladeshi National Party (BNP – Not them again!!), and these kill joys are also against the brilliant Baishakhi Mela which happens once a year in Whitechapel. As locals we are delighted that the fight back against the hegemonic take over of the Mosque and Tower Hamlets Council by the IFE is being exposed by muslim and bangladeshi residents.
Many people (aka smart arses) might say: “But you’re anarchists, you’re against religion”. Yes, as anarchists we are against all forms of oppression – no gods no masters as the famous mantra goes – but we are also realists who don’t want to remain in “our ghetto”. For a revolution to successfully level the class system where an egalitarian and fair society can be maintained, we don’t want everyone to “convert” and call themselves “anarchists”, if you met half the people that do you wouldn’t want to either! Trust us. But for Anarchism to work as a social system devoid of a centralised State power where control is back in the hands of neighbourhoods and communities own direct control, then we must overcome our differences and be realistic that people will want to worship whatever god or gods they so choose, it is up to the individual. But we must always stand up against organised religion imposing on an individuals liberty. The IFE has targeted and tried to manipulate the working class locals, from a diversity of backgrounds who use the Mosque as a place of worship, using fear, intimidation and corruption to attempt a takeover. As Anarchists we stand shoulder to shoulder with our muslim neighbours who are standing up for their mosque and not tolerating this infringement of their liberties.
As east enders we must also stand up against the corrupt nature of Tower Hamlets Council which has continued to wage class war upon us. Our diverse and colourful community must remain as a strong cohesive force against religious and political oppression, we must say NO to all those groups that attempt to divide us whether it be the BNP, EDL, Islam4UK, Al-Muhajiroun, IFE, Respect, SWP, Labour, Tories etc etc, because all of them are out for their own gains!
Beneath our differences we have far more in common and everything to gain by ending this current political charade.
United we stand. Divided we fall.
Whitechapel Anarchist Group 
Some good background to this can be found in the newist Jewish Socialist magazine that’s for sale in Freedom – “Bengali Politics from Secularism to Sectarianism” is the article. Also check out Delwar Hussain’s
http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/bangladeshi_3715.jsp
A very good article. What’s happened to all the White British East Enders? Rarer than rocking horse shit…don’t want to live amongst backward fanatics and be -headers ….
@Barking Boy – Glad you liked the article but I think you might have missed something here by the fact you’ve linked to the BNP?
There are loads of white working class in the east end despite the scare stories of all those who live in Essex. Just come down to any pub any night of the week and see for yourself – that’s if you’re not too frightened by “the foreigners”!?
BNP are exactly the same as the IFE. A bunch of power hungry manipulators who don’t give two shits about the working class – no matter what colour, religion etc etc.
Fuck the BNP. Fuck the IFE.
White, Black, Brown and all those inbetween need to unite cause it’s all of us getting fucked over by the rich.
WORKING CLASS AND PROUD.
Barking boy? The name says it all.
Good luck with the local fight back against these idiots!
Barking Boy… I duz pass through the east end regular, so if you want to get beheaded, just look me up, you racist cunt. Burn in hell.
Whitechapel Anarchists, good article! Pure common sense dat, respect.
Good article. The last paragraph reminded me that I have no clue who to vote for at the forthcoming election.
Having done a bit of a wiki and google on the weekend, there is no candidate for any party for who I would readily vote. This is a real shame as Bethnal Green & Bow is an important area, simply because it is not controlled by Labour/Tories and therefore not under the party whip.
My main concern at the moment is keeping a third party in the seat, but not just anyone regardless of policies. It looks likely that I will vote for the Greens, but I doubt they will win.
Hopefully, there will be some interesting developments in the next month or so and someone worthwhile will emerge as a surprise candidate.
@Craig – with regards to having no-one to vote for, i think alot of people are in the same position. Whilst im not going to tell you not to vote as its up to you (and certainly not going to tell who to vote for!) you should try talking to friends, family, workmates and neighbours who share your grievances and common frustrations and see if you can get organised on a grassroots level.
youre also more than welcome to come to our next public meeting, details up on the blog soon.
@craig – why do you think its neccesary to vote? All you end up is rubber stamping a new set of political careerist and manipulators out for their own ends.
Democracy is about the rule of the many, voting for representation in my mind is counter to this.
Because, like it or not, politics matter.
Not all politicians are the same. Do you think the 1980s would have been the same if instead of Thatcher we had, say, Tony Benn in charge? Of course not. Even if Benn were to dismantle the manufacturing industry in this country, there is a high probability that he would have done it in a less aggressive, and less damaging fashion.
It is true that on 95% of things there is little/no discernible difference, but the remaining 5% can have a serious impact on the lives of others, particularly the poor and the vulnerable.
There is also the argument that a successful third party candidate weakens the power of the government, at least minimising it’s ability to ram through legislation. And sometimes less is more.
For these reasons and more, I feel it is my duty as concerned member of the human race to utilise every tool (voting is just one aspect, of course) to reduce suffering and promote the greater good.
Instead of writing off politics, the aim (in my opinion) is to build a platform for genuine mass-based political participation and reform, similar to what has been happening in Latin America over the past few years.
Yes, the ideal goal is to break down the political institutions and have genuine day-to-day democracy, but people can’t feed their children on ideals and not getting involved isn’t taking a stand, it’s standing on the sidelines.
The fewer people who vote, the smaller the group that politicians have to design policies for. Poor people are less likely to vote than the middle classes. Therefore, they are pretty much just ignored as there is no reason for politicians to try and gain their vote. It’s much easier (and cheaper) to get a regular voter to vote for them, than to tap into the potential democratic well of poor, non-voters.
In short, if you don’t vote, someone else will and you will be ignored.
@Craig – All political parties during the election cycle are looking at marginal seats, thats where all the money and activists are going to and pretty much all the policies are geared towards winning over these areas.
This idea that we have only a choice between one leader or one which is least worst is part of the whole contrick. More people died under a Labour Government in Iraq than a Tory one. Benn supported the troops going in to Northen Ireland and no doubt when push came to shove he would have capitulated to the rule of capital if a revolutionary situation was emmerging.
this is a no brainer, we can’t cherry pick history or assume that one leader would have been better than another – they are both different levels of shitness heaped on us. I’m sure 12 years after Labour got into power, some people will be saying “give the Tories a chance”…etc.
This cycle of delegating our power between the parties has to stopped and it means that we disengage completely from this notion that voting once every four years is part of a democractic culture. Its not, its part of sham.
Indeed, that there is such a thing as a marginal seat indicates the pathetic nature of the current system (i.e. they should all be marginal seats which could be won or lost by any number of parties).
Indeed, marginal seats are where the money is. What is also there is the opportunity to have an influence, however minor. If a seat can be kept off Labour/Tories, then in my opinion that is a win.
Whether you like it or not, you do have a choice between one leader or another. However, in Bethnal Green & Bow, you have the opportunity to deny one of the major parties an MP.
There is no doubt that both parties are rubbish, but there are differences and these differences do matter. They affect people’s lives. If you are in the safe seat of a party, then I don’t see the need to vote. You may want to support a third party candidate if they have a chance of winning, for purely tactical reasons.
Voting in general elections is not democratic, it is damage control.
To be clear, are you saying you would not vote under any circumstances, even to defeat say, an outright fascist with overt racist policies?
One thing to add to this story is the absolutely staggering sums of money Ken Livingstone provided, when Mayor to East London mosque (£1.5 million) and the resultant rise in his vote in certain areas:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/7386900/Islamists-got-voters-out-for-Livingstone.html
Oh for the days when religious groups that needed money had to go out and do a jumble sale or get their own members to cough up. Now we all cough up for them, whether we use their services or not!
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I find it interesting that you at WAG are content to bracket groups as diametrically opposed as BNP/IslamforUk and Respect as in it together to divide the working class.
Real Islamist fanatics know that Respect acts as an alternative to those who might otherwise be influenced by their anti-imperilaist rhetoric.
‘Three Muslim extremists charged after attack on Galloway
Saturday 10th April 2010
George Galloway was set upon by a group of Muslim extremists while campaigning in East London this afternoon. Three men, believed to belong to the extreme sect Islam4UK, the latest name for Al-Muhajiroun, were arrested and subsequently charged with public order offences.
Galloway, who is standing in the Poplar and Limehouse constituency, was with a party of supporters in Watney Market around 3pm when he and his colleagues were first abused and then attacked by the group.
“They called me a filthy Kaffir” said Galloway, “and shouted that no one should shake the ‘filthy Kaffir’s hand’. This lot are the latest incarnation of the banned group Al-Muhajiroun. They don’t want Muslims to vote, they don’t believe in democracy, and because I encourage Muslims to vote and take a full part in our society they hate me. My party, Respect, is the antidote to these despicable extremists.”
Galloway’s assistant Kevin Ovenden had his phone smashed in the incident and other supporters were abused and jostled.
Galloway was also attacked, held hostage and received death threats from Al-Muhajiroun, then called Al-Gourabaa, in the 2005 General Election.’
I know you probably take the line: Don’t vote it only encourages them.
Does it matter if Tim the Tory gets in at Poplar or Fitzpatrick gets re-elected ? Would life for working class people be better or worse?
Of course it would be worse but maybe that doesn’t matter as it would serve to heighten class tension.
If only it were true that the more we get battered the more we resist.
Voting for candidates to the left of Labour won’t make life any better for working class people but it certainly sends a message to those who think Capitalism is the only game in town.
I notice you didn’t answer Craig’s question.
I swear to god, all Anarchists moan about is this myth ‘class war’
Stfu – Envying people on the fact they maybe successful, and punishing people for earning more money than yourself.
There’s plenty of ‘middle-class’ people who care about everyone, and not just their ‘class.
Religious fundamentalism, fascism, communism and anarchism are all backwards, and will not help anything.
Anarchism is the dumbest of them all, what do you intend to do when people start going around murdering people and employing their own oppressive laws on people?
Fight them? That’s civil war – which is inevitible in a country as multi-cultural as the UK since there’s conflicting communities.
Fuck Anarchism, Fuck fundamentalism, fuck it all.
@Ross
I don’t think Class War is a myth. It is still alive and well. I don’t think it’s necessarily about making money that feeds the class status like it does in the US. I think in the UK it is quite socially ingrained. Note the upper class tramps you may see or Mike Ashley (?) the working class owner of Newcastle United. Maybe some other contributors can offer more solid examples? Jade Goody?
I agree that fundamentalism is a major issue in all belief systems. I’ve found that out myself. But there are certainly individuals that really shine out and I think it’s folly to judge a person on their belief system instead of how they are as a person. This is arguably invalid for systems that are fascistic in nature, however.
As opposed to some anarchists, I do not see the anarchist solution of immediate state deconstruction as viable. Your statements offer insight into the potential consequences. But anarchism, for me, is a more liberating idea of thinking for yourself (not necessarily about yourself as that is simply hedonistic) and looking out for yourself and those around you. It’s always nice to swap ideas and to receive advice, but when it comes down to it, only you knows what is best for you. But you must also be prepared to challenge yourself on your own ideas. You have to scrutinise yourself and your integrity – if you have none of the latter, then how can one properly judge the world external to you.
This is a personal view and I feel a better one than being told to read an FAQ. That’s just another set of rules written by someone who probably doesn’t care if you live or die.
Why not find out what anarchism actually *IS* before starting an ill-informed rant about it?
Google “anarchism FAQ”. Also there is an excellent documentary on the history of spanish anarchism that you can watch on youtube. Just for a start.