England: Anti-Muslim violence

Religious leaders in England’s second largest city of Birmingham said anti-Islamic demonstrators intentionally caused a Sept. 5 violent clash between some 250 people. Police arrested more than 90 people after a far-right youth group, the English Defence League, carried signs reading “No more mosques” and clashed with counter-demonstrators from Unite Against Fascism. Nearly one-third of Birmingham is non-white. Spokesperson Inayat Bunglawala said the Muslim Council of Great Britain encourages membership in anti-Facism groups, but doesn’t “want to see Muslims taking to the streets and becoming violent.”