Anti-Muslim Backlash in Britain After Woolwich Soldier Murder
Anti-Muslim protesters confront police at a demonstration by the ‘English Defence League ‘ in central London on Monday. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)
The murder of an off-duty British soldier on the streets of London last week has led to an increase in community tensions in the UK.
The perpetrators made no secret of their Muslim extremist views during and after the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby.
Since then, hate crimes have spiked around Britain.
Muslims have been assaulted; several mosques have been vandalized, and one was firebombed.
Anti-muslim protests have been staged in several cities, including London where 1,000 people demonstrated outside the Prime Minister’s residence at 10 Downing Street on Monday.
Those protests have been organized by a group called the English Defence League, or EDL.
Daniel Trilling is the author of ‘Bloody Nasty People,’ a study of Britain’s far-right subcultures.
He says there is come concern about this surge in support for he EDL, but Trilling is confident it will subside again.
He says extremists on both sides are in no way representative of the communities they’re drawn from.