Muslim women protest in UK
Photo: AFP
UK warns of rise in far-right violence against Muslims
Communities Secretary Denham says acts of right-wing anti-Islamist militancy redolent of 1930s attempts to spread fear in London's Jewish areas
A British government minister said a recent rise in right-wing anti-Islamist militancy bore echoes of 1930s attempts by fascists to spread fear in Jewish areas of east London.
Israeli Government
Demonstrators in Tel Aviv slam State's plan to deport children of foreign workers; 'our behavior reminds me of how the British treated the Jews before Israel's inception,' protestor says
Communities Secretary John Denham said far right groups were deliberately trying to provoke ethnic minority groups into conflict in a bid to cause divisions within communities.
His comments came after members of the Stop Islamization of Europe group were confronted by about 1,000 opponents outside a mosque in north London on Friday. Ten arrests were made, including nine for possession of offensive weapons, and bricks and bottles were thrown at police.
The incident comes after trouble in recent weeks between nationalist supporters and counter demonstrators in the central English city of Birmingham, resulting in dozens of arrests.
"You could go back to the 1930s if you wanted to," he told the Guardian newspaper. "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."
The black-shirted British Union of Fascists stirred fear in largely Jewish areas of London's east end in the 1930s.
'We haven't finished the job'
When they rallied for a march through the Stepney district in October, 1936, tens of thousands of east enders blocked the approaches. Police attempts to clear their way resulted in fierce clashes and the BUF was eventually forced to abandon its plans in what became known as the Battle of Cable Street.
One senior counter-terrorism officer warned in July that right-wing extremists were plotting a "spectacular" incident to fuel racial hatred.
The government has been trying to improve integration of ethnic minorities since race riots across northern England in 2001, and efforts were stepped up after the 2005 London suicide bombings carried out by four young British Islamists.
Denham said far-right groups were again trying to take advantage of white, working-class people although he added modern extremist groups lacked the potency and organization of those of the 1930s.
"What we're seeing is small but we do need to take it seriously enough to say there are obviously people who would like to be provocative," he told BBC radio.
Support for the far-right British National Party has been growing, fuelled by anger at the main parties and suspicion that immigration was impacting on jobs and services. It won two seats in European Parliament elections in June.
Groups such as the anti-Islamist English Defense League have become more prominent since a small number of Muslim protesters heckled and jeered a homecoming parade by British soldiers earlier this year.
"We haven't finished the job yet and we know there are communities who feel that their questions are not being answered," Denham said.
