After reports that the mosque was to be the focus of an EDL street protest, members of the mosque decided to offer them cuppas and plates of custard creams to defuse any tension. These were accepted by the protesters, and the afternoon ended with an impromptu game of football, reports The Guardian.
Leanne Staven, who had come for the protest, said “We need a voice. I think white British who have any concerns feel we can’t speak freely.Change has been coming for a long time and in light of what happened to that soldier in Woolwich there have to be restrictions on people learning extremist behaviour and it has to stop.”
Mohammed el-Gomati, a lecturer at the University of York, said: “There is the possibility of having dialogue. Even the EDL who were having a shouting match started talking and we found out that we share and are prepared to agree that violent extremism is wrong. We have to start there. Who knows, perhaps the EDL will invite us to an event and the Muslim community will be generous in accepting that invitation?”
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