There has been strong condemnation of the Muslims Against Crusades group which had asked to protest on the day of the Royal Wedding.
A statement from Lancashire based organisation ‘One Voice’ said, “Muslims Against crusades represents a tiny number of people whose sole aim is to misrepresent Islam and divide our society.
"The vast majority of Muslims in the UK find the actions of these individuals abhorrent and an insult to Muslims. Under the guise of freedom to protest they are trying to divide and destroy our multicultural country.
"They seek publicity and deliberately choose specific occasions to pedal their hatred. Their aim is clear, to provoke and incite people in the same manner as other extremist groups like the English Defence League (EDL).
‘One Voice’ encourages all people to respect and understand each other’s traditions which make this country a model for others. Every effort should be made by all good and decent people from all communities to oppose those who encourage intolerance and prejudice.”
It has also been revealed that the far-right ‘English Defence League’ have also planned to hold protests in response to the Muslims Against Crusades.
Ghaffar Hussain, The Quilliam’s group’s Head of Training and Outreach, said, ‘It is deeply disappointing – but also entirely predictable - that these two extremist groups have announced plans to disrupt the Royal Wedding.
“The Royal Wedding celebrations now risk being hijacked by a few publicity-hungry fanatics whose only aim is to divide our society and to sow suspicions and hatred between Britain’s different peoples.
“We urge the media to ensure that these groups are portrayed, if at all, as the fringe elements they are.’ ‘These protests show the urgent need for government strategy to move-ahead on tackling systematically all forms of extremism across society – and to recognise that Islamist extremism is currently fuelling right-wing extremism and vice-versa. For too long such extremism has been left to fester in Britain unchecked.’
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