several thousand british muslims turned up outside the danish embassy around midday on saturday 4 feb to protest peacefully about the publication of cartoons by a danish newspaper some months ago, following their republication in a number of other newspapers around europe and on the internet. although i understand their outrage, and support their right to protest, the world-wide reactions have seemed excessive, with violence and injuries as well as lurid threats of death and atrocities presenting a very negative image of islam.
to the credit of british muslims, this demonstration was peaceful and restrained, with official placards provided by organisers hizb ut-tahrir, britain saying things such as 'we do not fear debate or criticism - but no one likes abuse', 'islam says - don't insult other peoples religions' and 'europe lacks respect for others', or simply praising the prophet, although some of the speeches sounded rather more inflammatory. stewards (and of course the police) generally kept everyone well under order, as well as making sensible photography virtually impossible.
the problem is i think not that "europe lacks respect"
but that our tradition is a secular liberal one which respects and upholds
freedom of speech and opinion (our blasphemy laws, which should have been
repealed long ago, are seldom invoked.) there are many things said and written
that i find offensive (including several of the cartoons at issue) and you
and i have the right to state our objections, to debate or criticize and
even to stop eating danish butter - but not to stir up hatred or issue death
threats. despite some press reports, this demonstration was generally well-ordered,
and i saw none of the placards which have led to calls for people to be
prosecuted.
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meanwhile, a short distance away, a demonstration that perhaps should have attracted rather more support from the muslim community was taking place opposite the iranian embassy. perhaps 50 people had gathered there to protest against human rights abuses in the islamic republic of iran, and to support workers there who have no right to strike or organise under iran's draconian labour law.
in jan 2004 workers staging a sit-in at the khatoon abad copper plant were attacked by riot police, with four killed and many more injured. recently, bus workers in tehran have been arrested for planning and carrying out strike action. according to amnesty international, around 500 are still in jail, without charges being made or access to lawyers. some of them have been beaten in prison, and their wives and children also beaten in raids on their homes.
there are many more abuses of human rights being committed under the name
of law in iran including torture, murder and public executions (even of
minors) for offences including 'un-islamic behaviour'. given the amount
of news coverage on iran at the moment over uranium enrichment, it is perhaps
surprising that other stories from iran - such as these - have not attracted
more attention. and since most of those who are suffering are muslim, i'm
suprised at the apparent lack of solidarity from the community in britain.
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i left for a late lunch, then went on to canary wharf,
where i had things to do. although it was a very dull day i took a few pictures
before catching the docklands light railway to bank and walking through
the empty city to the museum of london on london wall.
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at the museum of london was an event i had a personal interest in, the opening of a foyer display 'queer is here'. i'd provided the dozen images used on the front of the large display panel along with the general text on the show, and there is also a screen beside it showing more of my images taken at london gay pride parades from 1993-2002. in ten years of pride i took perhaps 5,000 images, and the display shows around 40 of the best of them. There are a few on this site already (and some from later years) but i've put the rest here for anyone who can't get to see the show.
the exhibition was opened by peter tatchell, who i've
photographed a few times over the years, and was enlivened by a spirited
performance from the london gay mens chorus. after the
month at the museum of london the display will tour to libraries etc in
London and possibly elsewhere around the country.
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on ashura day, the 10th day of the first month (muharram) of the islamic calendar, shi'ite muslims take part in a procession to commemorate the martyrdom of hussain, grandson of the prophet, at kerbala in 680 (61 AH). hussain, along with seventy two men and their women and children were surrounded by an army of around thirty thousand. rather than surrender they fought for several hours until their inevitable death.
hussain and his followers stood for freedom, justice and equality as embodied
in the message of the prophet, and against the powerful who wanted to take
power from the family of the prophet. one of the banners in the procession
quooted his words "a faithful person has not alternative but
accept death. Death to me is nothing but salvation and living with the tyrant
is but humiliation."
a leaflet distributed at the procession reminded us of hussain's example
and the need to stand for the justice and freedom for which he died. "we
are not to allow extremists to misuse religion and justify their crimes
in its name."
saturday i was up early on my way to a meeting at three mills, bromley-by-bow. these mills are almost all that will be left standing in this area of the lea valley by the development for the london olympics and a huge growth in housing. if you want to see the lower lea valley, you'd better get down there soon before it all disappears. the plans are not so much regeneration but more a total replacement.
i arrived early so i could take a short walk and a few pictures, and after lunch was able to take some pictures from the upper floors of the mill owners house. the whole area is one that played an important part in the development of many industries, and is littered with sites of interest to industrial archaeologists, while buried beneath these are doubtless important remains from medieval and earlier times. an important part of our heritage and all likely to be bulldozed with at most a token report being made.
i first visited the lea valley in the 1980s. you can see a few of my pictures
from it on my unfinished site river lee
- lee valley, although this covers a rather wider area than the olympic
site. there are also some pictures from the area elsewhere on this site
- use the search box.
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meanwhile, back in trafalgar square, around ten thousand people, mainly british muslims, had gathered in a rally organised by the muslim council of britain to demonstrate they were united against xenophobia. as well as showing their disapproval of those cartoons, they were also determined to disassociate themselves from more extreme muslim groups.
it was a gathering of decent people, behaving decently, listening to decent
speakers speaking decently, carrying only the approved decent placards,
overwhelmingly decent. somehow it hardly seemed a real demonstration.
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but i had a date with eros, and wandered along to picadilly circus where st valentine was being honoured with a gathering by o-i-l, operation infinite love. "in response to the growth of confusion and fear in the world... we have decided to send love and healing to all the beings in this world, many of whom are suffering today."
this is the third such annual event, and also carried the point that you
didn't need to buy expensive gifts, giving love was what mattered. after
some highly spirited samba from the spirits of resistance everyone present
made a large cirle to "send love out from the bottom of our hearts
to the whole world and all the beings upon her". then the sound system
started up and everyone was dancing.
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perhaps 15,000 muslims were in trafalgar square for the rally at the start of the demonstration called by the muslim action committee. as well as protesting against the publication of the cartoons, they were also publicising a 'proclamation of global civility'. its key points are the recognition of human dignity as a fundamental right, the need to good manners and etiquette in serious debate, a desire to avoid irresponsible behaviour and to underline the significance of mutual respect for a harmonious co-existence.
the first of these principles is of course included in the preamble to the universal declaration of human rights, adopted and proclaimed by the united nations general assembly resolution 217 of 10 december 1948. that declaration also contains a number of important safeguards such as 'the right to freedom of opinion and expression' and states 'in the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
it is a declaration that has played an important role in the development of the world that we know, although there are still many countries where a great deal still needs to be done to make these principles a reality.
few of the speeches were in english, but many were delivered with extreme fervour, and the many stewards led the crowd in much chanting and raising of arms to demonstrate their feelings. at times the stewards also remonstrated with some of the demonstrators who were in some way not behaving as they thought they should, and also moved photographers away from them and other people.
walking through the crowds, away from the stewards i got a much more welcoming
approach from many of those present, several times being asked if i would
photograph people. i left as the march was about to start, first photographing
some of the marchers at prayers.
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from there i took the tube and dlr out to pudding mill lane on stratford marsh. once a flourishing industrial area, it has suffered from the general decline of british industry and also the considerable inducements for new development in adjoining docklands. added to this in recent years is the impact of a new railway through the area and olympic blight, as the area is now faces a total remodelling for the london 2012 olympics. (see above)
it is still an intriguing area, where a few yards can take you from wilderness to industrial wasteland, from dereliction to busy workshops (though most were closed on a saturday afternoon.) parts are visibly closing down, with compulsory purchase orders hanging on lamposts, some footpaths closed and factories demolished.
there was one small sign of a kind of regeneration. the unusual lock between
the bow back river and waterworks river at blaker road, for many years derelict,
at last seems to have been replaced. the pictures from this are on my river
lea site.
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around ten thousand british shia and sunni muslims marched together through london on saturday 25th in an unusual gesture of solidarity following the bombing of the mosque at sammara in iraq, one of the holiest of muslim shrines, containing the tombs of the 8th and 9th gradsons of muhammed.
the march was led by women and children, with the men following behind. placards and chanting called for an end to violence, denouncing the wahhabis and al-qaeda. many also carried the iraqi flag in its pan-arab colors of black, white, red, and green
starting from hyde park, the march went down park lane and picadilly to end in a rally in trafalgar square. both the plinth and the square below were crowded with demonstrators.
despite the seriousness of the outrage at samarra, the people on the march
were peaceful and good-natured, protesting against violence and against
the muslim fundamentalism that aims to create a "taliban-like extremist
state in iraq."
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we got to trafalgar square well ahead of the march so as to be sure to get near the platform. when we arrived, there was a group of people forming a circle around the column, apparently a live event for some kind of alternate reality game called perplex city, a kind of "story/game/puzzle hybrid" that involves you in a global treasure hunt and buying puzzles cards from london-based company mind candy. should you chance upon the receda cube, there are people who would like to know. or you could just hide it somewhere else!
i wonder why these people can't find anything more useful to do with their lives, but as i'm there i take a few pictures.
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some of my work gets put into nice organised websites.
this isn't meant to be like that, but you can see some of the rest at
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