The peaceful majority have their say
What went on at the anti-cartoon rally at Trafalgar Square last Saturday
On Saturday around 5000 people met in Trafalgar square to express their disgust at the cartoons printed in Denmark portraying the prophet Mohammed (pbuh) as a terrorist. The protesters, who included Imperial Islamic Society and RESPECT students, were almost universally Muslim although some vague attempts were clearly made by the organisers to include everyone. Most placards read "United Against Incitement" or "United Against Islamophobia"; with little leaflets and papers about the real meaning of Islam were handed out to anyone who looked a bit, shall we say, out of place.
Before the rally, Arabic music was played and prayer mats were laid out in one corner giving the chilly, overcast square a kind of pervasive, almost surreal peacefulness. Speaker after speaker praised the peaceful and tolerant nature of the Muslim community. Apart from the appearance of a couple of gatecrashers with anti political-correctness badges, no-one made any attempt to disrupt the proceedings and the 500 strong police presence reported no "incidents" or arrests, "not for lack of trying" said Anindya Bhattacharyya, a reporter for Socialist Worker.
After the first few speeches many demonstrators seemed impatient to do some shouting, supporting the call for a mass boycott of the papers in question and a campaign for an official apology made by Dr Azam Tamimi of the institute of Islamic political thought. He pointed out the power inherent to a group of people that make up one fifth of the world's population. When the next speaker expressed her concern at this and asked for moderation, not militancy (i.e. not really doing anything) she was greeted with boos and "get off "s from all over the square.
Big name speakers included Yvonne Ridley [who is interviewed on the opposite page, as if you haven't spotted it yet - Ed.] who recently spoke at Imperial, making a case for free speech as a journalist but pointing out that the real issue in question was one of racism and deliberate scapegoating of Muslims. Lindsey German, convenor of stop the war coalition, and George Galloway added a much needed political edge to the rally by condemning the imperialist "war on terror" that made it possible for the cartoons to be printed in the first place. George was reported by the BBC to have received a frosty, post Big Brother reception although from where I was standing that didn't seem to be the case.
One protester had spent three hours on the train to see speakers usually only available in London. His verdict: "Well worth it".
