Anti-muslim protests across US cities
UNITED STATES: Anti-muslim activists hoisted American flags and delivered fiery speeches in rallies across the country, facing off against crowds of counterdemonstrators in several cities and exposing the visceral rage that has come to define America’s political extremes.
ACT for America, a lobbyist organisation with close ties to the Trump administration, organised nationwide marches to oppose Islamic law, which the group believes is a threat to American society.
The turnout was relatively small, with rally crowds of a few dozen in many cities outnumbered almost 10 to one by counterdemonstrators who tried to drown out their voices with drums, bullhorns and cowbells.
ACT, which has drawn condemnation from civil rights groups for its frequent criticism of Islam and its efforts to pass state-level bills targeting Islamic law and refugees, organised the protests as a nationwide ‘‘March Against Sharia’’ and a defence of human rights.
ACT for America, which the Southern Poverty Law Centre recognises as a hate group, was founded in 2007. Its leaders, who claim a 500,000-strong membership nationally, have labelled Islam a ‘‘cancer’’, propagated theories of a secret plot by Muslims, Democrats, communists and the media to destroy America from within, and sponsored lectures on how to monitor and oppose American mosques.
‘‘We understand what Islam is, and we say ‘no’,’’ Pawl Bazile, a member of the Right-wing Proud Boys group, told a cheering crowd of a few dozen people in downtown Manhattan. ‘‘You’re in the land of Budweiser and bikinis, for God’s sake.’’
Anyone who didn’t like it could move to Saudi Arabia or Syria, he said.
Organised in part to memorialise the anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, the multi-city demonstrations aimed to raise awareness of what ACT sees as the negative effects of Muslim immigration to the US. The rallies were laden with many false and exaggerated claims.
‘‘There’s rampant rape happening because of Syrian immigrants, and we have to stop that from coming to America,’’ said Joseph Weidknecht, a 25-yearold construction worker who attended a march in Austin.
In rallies in San Bernardino, California, New York and Seattle, columns of police moved in multiple times to separate rival protest groups.
‘‘F--- off, this is America!’’ ACT protesters in San Bernardino yelled as they rushed a group of counter-protesters shortly before fists began to fly. That rally had a few hundred supporters in a city affected by a 2015 terror attack that left 14 dead. – Washington Post