Stop Islamisation of Europe
 | |
| Abbreviation | SIOE |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2007 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Website | Stop Islamisation of Europe |
Stop Islamisation of Europe(SIOE) is a pan-Europeancounter-jihad[1]organisation with the stated goal of "preventingIslamfrom becoming a dominant political force inEurope".[2]It is a political interest group which has been active inDenmarkand has conducted anti-Islamic protests in theUnited Kingdom.[3]The group originated out of the joining of the Danish groupStop Islamisation of Denmarkwith English anti-Islam activists.[4]
The group says that its aim is to opposeIslamic extremism;[5]they have the motto "Racism is the lowest form of human stupidity, butIslamophobiais the height of common sense ".[6]
Ideology[edit]
| Part ofa serieson |
| Islamophobia |
|---|
 |
The group describes itself as an alliance "with the single aim of preventing Islam becoming a dominant political force in Europe."[2]The organisation calls for the total boycott of Muslim countries.[7]The group advises boycotts of companies includingFisher-Price,Asda,Kentucky Fried Chickenand TheRadisson Hotel chainbecause of their marketing of products to Muslims.[7][dead link]
History[edit]
Stop the Islamisation of Europe was inspired by a Danish group of the same name who have held protests outside Danish mosques since theJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[8]The group has 6,600 supporters on its Facebook page.[8]Social networking sites have been used to plan protests.[8]
Affiliate organisations have been created in eleven European countries including Denmark, Russia, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden, as well as the United States of America.[9]
Leaders[edit]
Stephen Gash[edit]
Stephen Gash (born 1953) is the spokesman of SIOE in the UK, and stood in the2007 Sedgefield by-election(triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister Tony Blair) for theEnglish Democrats Party.Gash gained 177 votes (this represented 0.6% of the votes cast at the election).[10]According to his election literature the main themes of his campaign were support for anEnglish Parliament,resolving theWest Lothian questionand immigration control.[11]Gash has also contested local elections forCarlisle City Council.[11]
Anders Gravers Pedersen[edit]
Anders Gravers Pedersenwas born in Denmark and lives in the small town ofStorvorde.[12]He contested municipal elections inAalborgin 2005 and gained 383 votes and the groupStop the Islamisation of Denmarkreceived a total of 1,172 votes. This represented less than 1% of the votes cast in the election.[13]At the2007 Danish parliamentary election,Pedersen stood inJutlandand won 73 votes.[14]
England[edit]
Central London[edit]
In October 2007, the group staged a demonstration incentral London.[15]
Harrow Central Mosque protest[edit]
On 11 September 2009, SIOE co-sponsored a demonstration with theEnglish Defence League(EDL) inHarrowwhich generated national and international media attention. The purpose of the demonstration was to campaign against the building of a five-storeymosque,Harrow Central Mosque,which was under construction.[16]The group had pledged to hold a peaceful protest after the EDL cancelled a planned protest on 29 August 2009.[17][18]
In response to the protest, several Jewish community leaders condemned the group, after SIOE openly appealed to the Jewish community in an effort to encourage 1,000 Jews to carry the Israeli flag and support the protest. Rabbis Kathleen Middleton, Frank Smith, Aaron Goldstein, Hillel Robles and Mike Hilton sent a letter supporting the Harrow Mosque, saying SIOE use "outrageous lies" to try to divide Harrow's community, adding "As leaders of the Jewish community in Harrow, we are writing to express our support for our Muslim friends and neighbours, especially those at Harrow Central Mosque, who are under attack from those whose only purpose is to spread hatred and fear."[19]The protests were also condemned by CouncillorSusan Halland Tory councillors Anjana Patel and Jeremy Zeid (who are Hindu and Jewish respectively),[17]byThe Jewish Chroniclenewspaper, and theCommunity Security Trust(CST), which monitors discrimination on behalf of the Jewish community in the UK. The CST asserted that SIOE "...provides the fuel for terrorism. British Jews should have no part of it."[20]Unite Against Fascismwas present to oppose the demo, as well as Muslims there to defend the mosque.[21][22][23][24]In all, over 1,000 people gathered outside themosque.[5]Counterdemonstrators clashed with the police, throwing bricks, bottles and firecrackers.[21][25]Ten arrests were made during the protests, including the organiser of the protest Stephen Gash.[5]
Denmark[edit]
SIOE was originally a Danish anti-Islamist group which originated out of theJyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[26]The group was founded in 2007 by Anders Gravers Pedersen, the leader of a small Danish party called the Stop the Islamisation of Denmark (Danish:Stop Islamiseringen af Danmark).[4]On 11 September 2007, the group staged a demonstration inBrussels,Belgium.
Norway[edit]
SIOE established a branch in Norway in 2008, from a group that had originally been formed in 2000. The Norwegian branch, SIAN, however broke its ties to SIOE in 2012.
Germany[edit]
There has been a branch of SIOE in Germany that has been led byMichael Stürzenberger.[27]Udo Ulfkotte's former Pax Europa organisation was part of SIOE in the mid-late 2000s.[28]
Poland[edit]
A branch SIOE was established in 2007 in Poland.[29]
Bulgaria[edit]
There was a branch of SIOE in Bulgaria that was formerly led byPavel Chernev.[27]
Criticism[edit]
In September 2009,John Denham,Labour'sCommunities Secretary,criticised the group and stated that it was "trying to provoke violence on Britain's streets" and called it "right-wing".[5]Unite Against Fascismhave opposed the group.[5][21]TheBritish National Partyhas consistently denied any links with SIOE.[30]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Mulhall, Joe (2021).Drums In The Distance: Journeys Into the Global Far Right.Icon.ISBN9781785787522.
- ^ab"8 arrested at protest outside mosque in London".CNN. 11 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^"London police arrest 10 after anti-Islam protest turns ugly".Deutsche Welle. 11 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^ab"About SIOE".Stop Islamisation of Europe. Archived fromthe originalon 19 May 2007.Retrieved14 September2009.
- ^abcde"Denham condemns right-wing groups".BBC News.12 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^(AFP) – 1 day ago."AFP: Riot police quell clashes at anti-Islam demo in London".Archived fromthe originalon 18 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ab"Boycotts".Stop Islamisation of Europe. 19 August 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 25 August 2010.Retrieved15 September2010.
- ^abcTaylor, Jerome (11 September 2009)."Riot police called in as demonstrators clash at anti-Muslim protest".The Independent.London.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^"SIOE Stop Islamisation of Europe".Stop Islamisation of Europe. Archived fromthe originalon 13 October 2009.Retrieved14 September2009.
- ^"Sedgefield 2007".By-elections.co.uk. 19 July 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 21 August 2009.Retrieved15 September2010.
- ^ab"English Democrats".By-elections.co.uk. 19 July 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 14 March 2012.Retrieved15 September2010.
- ^"Siad.dk - Si Ad - Stop Islamiseringen af Danmark".Whois.domaintools.com.Retrieved15 September2010.
- ^"Google Translate".Retrieved15 September2010..Summer Editors: Radical Right hooligan mobilization without success.
- ^"Google Translate".Retrieved15 September2010..Right-wing independents defeated, It was less than 100 personal votes to two independents who are known from immigrant-hostile associations. By Elisabeth Arnsdorf Haslund, [email protected]
- ^"15 Lonely Fascists Protest in Central London".Indymedia. 26 October 2007.Retrieved14 September2009.
- ^Hamilton, Fiona (12 September 2009)."Street fights erupt as Muslims try to defend North London mosque".The Times.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^abRoyston, Jack (21 August 2009)."Harrow Council backs Harrow Mosque over 9/11 protest".Harrow Times.Retrieved26 June2011.
- ^"Arrests at anti-Islam demo".ITN. Archived fromthe originalon 14 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^Kirk, Tristan (7 December 2009)."Jewish community hits out at 'divisive' anti-Muslim protesters".Harrow Times.Retrieved25 June2011.
- ^Elgot, Jessica (30 November 2009)."CST warns Jews against joining anti-Muslim demo".Retrieved26 June2011.
- ^abc"Ten arrested over mosque protest".BBC News.11 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^"Rally turns violent at London mosque".ABC News.Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 September 2009.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^(UKPA) – 22 hours ago."The Press Association: 10 arrests at mosque demonstration".Retrieved12 September2009.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[dead link] - ^Jones, Aidan (11 September 2009)."Rightwing and anti-fascist protesters riot in London".The Guardian.Retrieved12 September2009.
- ^"Anti-Islam group wants to protest again in Harrow (From Harrow Times)".Harrowtimes.co.uk. 2 October 2009.Retrieved15 September2010.
- ^Taylor, Jerome (11 September 2009)."Riot police called in as demonstrators clash at anti-Muslim protest".The Independent.London.Retrieved14 September2009.
- ^ab"International counter-jihad organisations".Hope not hate.11 January 2018.
- ^Aked, H.; Jones, M.; Miller, D. (2019)."Islamophobia in Europe: How governments are enabling the far-right 'counter-jihad' movement"(PDF).Public Interest Investigations.University of Bristol: 36.
- ^"The Extreme Right's Relationship with Islam and Islamism in East-Central Europe: From Allies to Enemies - Miroslav Mareš, 2014".doi:10.1177/0888325413502073.S2CID144155708.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^"UAF Violent Thugs Attack Police in Pro-Islamification Riot".British National Party. Archived fromthe originalon 29 September 2009.Retrieved13 September2009.