UK Far-Right Trains Anti-Muslim Fighters
“They have been booking mixed martial arts gyms so they can fight among themselves, training for confrontations with Muslims,” Mathew Collins of Hope Not Hate told the Daily Record on Monday, June 23.
The far-right organization, Britain First, has been reportedly recruiting boys to train them on street fighting against Muslims in sinister “fight clubs”.
The free of charge fighting sessions, which are being led by the notorious Scots rabble-rouser Jim Dowson of ‘Britain First’, have sparked anger among anti-racism activists who vehemently rejected it.
“Britain First’s brand of racism and prejudice simply is not welcome here,” Vicky Burns of Show Racism the Red Card Scotland said.
News about street fighters’ training gyms has appeared after a series of attacks on several mosques across the UK over the past weeks.
The attacks, part of what members of far-right Britain First call “Christian crusades”, have been reported in mosque in London, Glasgow, Bradford and other British cities.
According to representatives of Britain First, an offshoot of the British National party which is contesting this month's local and European elections, mosque visits were part of a "Christian crusade" campaign against Islam.
The attacks have raised Muslim concerns over their safety if those “Christian patrols” continued.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Muslim community have demanded an urgent action against these invasions, warning that the inflammatory tactics could provoke young Muslim youth into confrontations.
Climate of Fear
Warning against the fight clubs and the recent anti-Muslims activities, Collins called Britain First as “the most dangerous group to emerge on the far right for years”, and urged the authorities to take proper action against them.
The activist warned that Dowson’s men were “generating a climate of fear” and said their actions “could lead to a violent backlash”.
Promoting street fighting sessions at its Facebook page, the far-right group said: "Things are bad and will only get worse. Don’t you think it’s time to learn how to protect the ones you love – and yourself?”
Named after Brad Pitt’s 1999 film, ads of the extremist fight clubs stated that: “We feel this is a vital part of building a real movement for the future struggle to take back our country.”
Britain is home to an estimated Muslim minority of nearly two million.
A Financial Times opinion poll showed that Britain is the most suspicious nation about Muslims.
A poll of the Evening Standard found that a sizable section of London residents harbor negative opinions about Muslims.
The attacks are not the first to raise controversy surrounding Britain First.
Recently, the group stirred ire after using "Remember Lee Rigby" as their party slogan, an act which saw the Electoral Commission change the rules on how political parties describe themselves on ballot papers.
Source: On Islam
