This article is about the English Defence League, or EDL. This is an organization of hooligans who are spreading hate. This group has far right ideas and are anti-Islamic. They call themselves patriots and as you can see they are wearing masks and shirts with a red cross. This cross was the sign of the Knights Templar, which was a Western Christian military order in the Middle Ages.
One of the key figures behind this organization is Jeff Marsh. He is a notorious hooligan but insists he is not a racist. He just likes violence, he is happy to stab anyone, black or white, and he did that very often while he was a football hooligan. He has served three jail terms for violence, but he is free now. Marsh is one of the key figures in the organization and he has invited American and anti-Muslim preacher Terry Jones for a demonstration to burn copies of the Koran at this year’s anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It is unlikely though that he will be allowed to enter Britain.
I think he should be allowed to enter Britain, but not allowed to make such a fuss by burning the Koran. There are so many other ways to show discontent. I think that provocating in such a way only makes life worse. It creates an high tension between people with different believes. It is not good to fight violence with violence in this case, because it is against the wrong group. There is a small group of Muslims who are terrorists and that were those who attacked America.
The EDL is growing very quickly. The organization has no formal membership, but on its Facebook page there were 1500 members a year ago. That number has grown to 40,000 now. Should such an organization be banned? I think not, because those people will exist and group together with their ideas. If you ban the organization, it only encourages them to go underground or illegal.
