English Defence League
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| Abbreviation | EDL |
|---|---|
| Motto | In hoc signo vinces (in this sign you will conquer) |
| Formation | 27 June 2009 |
| Type | Far-right |
| Purpose | Anti-Muslim, anti-Islamism, anti-sharia law |
| Location |
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Key people
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Tim Ablitt, Chairman (since October 2013),Alan Lake |
| Website | englishdefenceleague |
The English Defence League (EDL) is a far-rightstreet protest movement which focuses on opposition to what it considers to be a spread of Islamism and Sharia in the United Kingdom. It describes itself as an anti-racist and human rights organisation. The ideology in forming the EDL was the belief that the religion of Islam "challenges an English, Christian way of life". The EDL has been described as Islamophobic, and was until 2013 "the most significant counter-jihad movement in Europe" and considered by some academics to be "one of the more intriguing developments on the far right". The group has faced confrontations with various groups, including Unite Against Fascism (UAF).
In October 2013 the group's co-founders, Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll, left the group, with Robinson citing concerns over the "dangers of far-right extremism". He was replaced as leader by Tim Ablitt.
The EDL originated from a group known as the "United Peoples of Luton" (UPL). The UPL had been formed in response to a demonstration organised by the extremist Islamist organisation, Al-Muhajiroun, against the war in Afghanistan, held in March 2009 as the Royal Anglian Regiment marched through Luton after a tour of duty in the Helmand province campaign. When the Luton counter-demonstration led to arrests, local football supporters, according to a BBC News report, "decided something should be done" and "found common cause with other 'soccer casuals' and 'firms' associated with major clubs. The chatter concluded that [Islamic extremism] was a national problem and they had to put aside club rivalries." EDL's original leader, Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known as 'Tommy Robinson' (taking his assumed name from the author of two books about the Luton Town MIGs football hooligan firm), recalled that he had been prompted to found the organisation after he had read in a newspaper about a group of local Islamists attempting to recruit men outside a local bakery in Luton to fight for the Taliban in Afghanistan: "I was like, they can't do that! In working class communities, we all know somebody in the armed forces. I've got a mate who lost his legs. And these lot were sending people to kill our boys."
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