The second day of emergency demonstrations outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington was about the same size as the day before, even though it was a working day. Again, young people of a Muslim background were the most radical and pushed through the police barriers early on, and blocked Kensington High St again for about three hours.
This demonstration was formally called by the Palestine Solidarity campaign, the Stop the War Coalition and the British Muslim Initiative. The presence of socialist activists was smaller than in previous years’ mobilizations about Palestine and the Middle East; there are probably several reasons for this.
Most socialists seemed to observe passively on the side-lines as demonstrators adopted their own slogans. This is a long way from the Respect / Stop the War hey day a few years ago, when the Socialist Workers’ Party thought they had some control over such events. Instead George Galloway, apologist and ally of the Saddam regime and other reactionary forces in the Middle East, took centre stage again, and the overwhelming politics of the demonstration was on the basis of Muslim unity against Israel.
We do not support such politics, and will try and communicate our own view of the situation in Palestine and our own solutions over the coming days and weeks, especially to the young people, who seem to have been mobilised mostly by Islamic networks, locally and on campus. This will be difficult, because our starting points are so fundamentally different, and opposed, but we shall see.
After the ‘organisers’ tried to call the protest to an orderly end, as is their way, about 200 mainly young people were not ready to go and leave behind the people that had been arrested. Three Workers’ Liberty members and two other young socialists stayed in solidarity. Repeatedly dodging and rushing past the attempts of the police to pen the protest in - even with quite aggressive pushing and the bringing in of police riot horses - we managed to march on as far as the Earl’s court turning off the high street. It was a good feeling, and good co-operation and solidarity among the young people there. People passing in buses banged on windows to show support.
While it is good to see some militancy and determination, you have to ask the question, what is our serious strategy in real solidarity with the Palestinians? What power can young British Muslims have? The police will happily play a game of wearing down the more energetic young people on the streets, arresting some, gathering information, photos, details, identifying leaders, harassing people, discouraging newer people, and inciting others to more militant postures. It is good to see spontaneous resistance to police action, and a sense that we need to do more than stage set piece demos for a couple of hours a day while the killing carries on anyhow in Palestine, but we have to ask where this is going?
Is there an alternative to the mosque, belief in Allah and support for repressive regimes in the Middle East. We think there is, and also have some understanding of how it has happened that a generation of young people from a Muslim background have drawn fatalistic and religious conclusions, rather than scientific socialist ones, despite the capitalist system’s open crisis. It our job to try and change this, through solidarity, discussion and working together on shared issues that face us all as working-class people in the world today.
What is interesting, from discussions with different young people, is the lack of education they have received about the history of the region and the different periods of struggle, the different political objectives of much of their parents’ generation in the Middle East. There seems to be little understanding of the social and political space in which we have seen the growth of radical Islam. If there is a sense of history, it is mainly in the feeling of an unfolding of events as laid down in the end-times writings in the Quran, including a renewal of Islamic faith.
My impression is that for lots of young Muslims living in Britain, who have grown up in the wake of the war on Afghanistan, Iraq, and the continuing suffering of the Palestinians, it can seem that the battle being fought in the world is between Muslims and ‘the West’. This view of things is certainly promoted by both the US and various Islamic groups around the world, to mobilise support for their own political agendas. This polarization, distorts reality, and leaves young people with a sense that if they want to do something about US Imperialism, then they must strengthen their Muslim identity and push for increased fighting unity of Muslims against their enemies.
I don’t think many people have quite as simple a view as this. Everyone coming to the demonstration will have a slightly different perspective, have come across different arguments, different interpretations of the Quran. Many people will have an understanding of the economic motivations for the war for example, will understand something of how capitalism works, and know at least something of the history of the countries they come from, and have lots of problems with the movements and regimes that they are expected to support.
Lots of young Muslim people will have been involved in hours of debates about Sharia law, and the relevance of Islam to today’s situation. Among the most educated, this culture of learning and debate is some of the strongest you can find anywhere among young people in this country. Being in the spotlight, feeling part of an oppressed group around to world, at least leaves a lot of young Muslim people with a sense of active engagement with world politics. For a lot of people on the demonstration, they must feel that there is a direct link between them who care for the Palestinians and Iraqis - and their commitment to religion. This conclusion is probably supported by the fact that many of their friends, who are not Muslim or less religious Muslims seem to have fallen away from these kinds of solidarity demonstrations over the years, if they were ever involved. (And this will probably be to distance themselves as targets for widespread Islamophobia by keeping their heads down and playing the system like everyone else). There is also little sign of the left-wing socialists and trade unionists at the moment. So in a sense they are right that the main fighters for Muslims at the moment… are Muslims.
So, as a socialist, what do I think is the way forward. I would encourage young Muslim people to set aside time to study some more history, study different political ideas and analyses. Workers’ Liberty members are Marxists. For most young people, they may have just about learnt a unit at school about the Russian revolution, and associate Russia, China, Cuba and North Korea with socialism/communism.
We can’t overstate the importance of correcting this view, and explaining what independent working-class internationalist socialism means.
By talking to us, reading our publications and website, coming to our meetings and taking part in our actions and initiatives, holding up your own analysis against those of real Marxist activists, we’re sure that lots of people will be convinced.
As a small group within the British socialist movement, we think our actions and writings over the last years will demonstrate to young Muslim people that there is a socialist alternative to globalised capitalism worth fighting for, that stands in real, meaningful solidarity with the oppressed peoples of the Middle East – workers, women, students, gay people, religious and ethnic minorities - against both US Imperialism and radical Islam.
Police Stop and Search – our rights
Under section 60 they can search you for weapons ONLY. You do NOT have to give your name and address. They can only search bags and outer garments. They might ask to see inside your wallet (e.g. for razor blades) but you do NOT have to show them your I.D. They have no right to read anything you may be carrying. If they ask for your identity, refuse. You can tell them you have a right to privacy under Article 8, UK Human Rights Act 1998.
You have the right to be given a receipt announcing that you were searched by the police - if they don't give you one then they are breaking the law
(from the Indymedia website)
