How British Sikhs are Fighting the EDL Recruitment Drive
WHEN the English Defence League burst onto the scene in the autumn of 2009 at a violence-fuelled demonstration in Birmingham it was clear their agenda was purely directed at the British Muslim community.
A quick scan on the group’s website says it all. In and around pictures of supporters draped in the Union Jack flag are articles titled ‘What is Sharia Law’, ‘The Great British Pub In Muslim Occupied England’, ‘England and France: Common Ground in the Struggle against Islamisation’ and ‘A Consideration of Muslim Crime in the UK.’
Since that early demonstration in Birmingham, British Muslims have worked alongside anti-fascist campaigners to counter the groups hate message.
But last month in Luton the campaign against the EDL took another turn.
As EDL supporters filled the streets of Luton, so did another group.
British Sikhs, eager to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Muslim community, proudly displayed a banner which read ‘Sikhs Against the English Defence League – Fighting Intolerance since 1699’, a reference to the establishment of martial Sikhism by the 10th Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh Ji
It was significant moment, particularly so because Guramit Singh – EDL spokesman is a British Sikh.
He has in the past been accused of creating a ‘divide and rule’ technique in recruiting young impressionable Sikhs to the EDL cause.
But it’s now clear the Sikh community are fighting back.
The Sikh turnout in Luton was organised by The Turban Campaign – a group who amongst other things are fighting the EDL’s recruitment of British Sikhs.
But the Sikh fight against the EDL began long before last month’s demonstration in Luton.
Balwinder Singh Rana from Unite Against Fascism became aware of the EDL’s Sikh recruitment tactics last year and set about a campaign of awareness amongst leading British Sikh organisations and religious establishments.
A resident of Southall, Balwinder has spent all his life fighting oganisations like the EDL.
In 1969 he became founding president of the Indian Youth Federation of Gravesend – the country’s very first Asian youth organisation.
“We were forced to get organised after a wave of racists attacks, disgustingly termed by the media, ‘Paki bashing’, had spread through the country following the infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech by Enoch Powell,” he recounts.
Ten years later and he found himself as chief steward at the infamous 1979 Southall demonstration against the National Front.
While the day will forever be associated with the tragic death of far-left activist Blair Peach, for Balwinder there was another added significance.
“On that day in Southall the whole community was united,” he says. “Young and old, men and women, black and white, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jews, people of others faith and people of no faith, we were one.
“On that day we broke the back of the National Front from which they were unable recover and thus withered away.”
Fast forward to 2011 and Balwinder hopes the spirit of that united front can resurface to battle the EDL.
Having witnessed the groups early protest marches, Balwinder admits he had hoped the EDL would eventually “burn themselves out”.
But when he heard they were beginning to recruit Sikh youths he decided to act.
“I started to hear that some Sikh youth were beginning to support them and the name of Guramit Singh started to appear in the media. I was very shocked by that and when they came to Harrow in September, 2009, I was there to protest against them,” he says.
“Soon a lot more was beginning to appear in the media, especially on the internet, about their so-called Sikh supporters, to a lesser extent, Hindu supporters, and it was clear that the EDL were cynically exploiting them.
“Then, when in Bolton, at the EDL rally, I saw them carrying the Sikh flag it really made my blood boil. That is when I decided that something had to be done and some of these miss-guided Sikh youth had to be directly challenged and people had to know that they do not represent the Sikh community.”
Balwinder believes the EDL’s targeting of the Sikh community lies not in the need to increase numbers, but in a deliberate attempt to “exploit divisions between the Sikh and Muslim communities.”
“Long before the EDL, and ever since 9/11, the BNP had been looking for any opportunities where they could try to use any gullible Sikhs against the Muslims,” Balwinder says.
“Although they still had the racist policy on recruitment they began to put up on their websites and into printed material some stories about the ‘brave Sikh soldiers’ who fought in the world wars while totally ignoring the contribution made by the Muslim and Hindu soldiers. And above all, completely ignoring the irony that those ‘brave Sikh soldiers’ had actually fought against the racists and fascists whose policies the BNP would like to follow.
“In a similar vein the EDL decided on the same agenda. “However, while not many Sikhs fell into the trap of the BNP, unfortunately the EDL had more success and seems to have bagged some ‘useful idiots’.”
As a Sikh himself, Balwinder is as a loss to explain why one Guramit Singh chooses to front the EDL.
“It’s his ignorance of the facts that astonishes me most,” Balwinder says.
“He claimed in the BBC program ‘Who’s Afraid of the EDL?’, that Sikhs have been trying to “protect the world from Islam” for “300-400 years.” However, anyone with the rudimentary knowledge of the Sikh religion would know that the Sikhs actually never fought against Islam. They only fought against the oppression and intolerance from some Mogul rulers.”
“The truth is that Guru Nanak Dev Ji, founder of Sikhism, sought nothing but to create peace and harmony between Hindus, Muslims and all other people. And thus Guru Granth Sahib Ji, the Sikh holy book, contains some passages written by some Muslim saints as well. Furthermore, the foundation stone of the holiest shrine of the Sikhs, Sri Harmandir Sahib Ji, in Amritsar, Punjab, was laid by a Muslim saint, and the city was built on the land granted by Akbar, a Mogul emperor, who was very tolerant towards other religions.”
In his drive against the EDL, Balwinder has brought together some of the country’s leading British Sikh organisations and religious establishments through a joint statement condemning the EDL.
A number of Gurdwaras and Mandirs in London have readily put their name to the statement, as well as Sikh Student Societies, and members of parliament.
Naturally when approached, all were eager to get on board.
The plan now for Balwinder is to spread his message across the UK.
“In the past wherever the EDL have tried to march, in places such as Leicester and Peterborough, the local Gurdwaras and Mandirs have always come out against the EDL and have made statements to the local media. Now we would like to bring them all together and urge them all to sign the ‘Joint Statement’ alongside any other prominent organisations and individuals from the community,” Balwinder says.
To end Balwinder has a final message to British Sikhs and why they should avoid the EDL.
“Please do not make this mistake, do not side with the racists and fascists. This path will only lead to divisions and destruction and create disharmony within our communities. The EDL only want to use you in the well-trodden path of ‘divide & rule’. But, once you have served their purpose, they will spit you out and you will have nowhere to go. Please follow the true principles of Sikhism, and not the deceiving politics of the EDL.
“Most people in the Sikh and Hindu communities are now waking up to the dangers posed by the EDL. They understand that these racists have a very sinister agenda. Thus they want to unite with all anti-racists and anti-fascists and their Muslim brethren. So, please come and join us so that together we can turn this tide of hatred.”
For more information about the campaign log onto www.turbancampaign.com
Correction: This article also appears in the March print issue (148) of The Asian Today. In that article Blair Peach is described as a ‘far-right activist’. The Asian Today acknowledges that Blair Peach was never a far-right activist and we apologise for any offence caused. We are happy to set the record straight.
