Police stood between hundreds of anti-Islam protesters and anti-racist counter-demonstrators in the English city of Manchester on Saturday, arresting 48 people in a bid to keep the peace. A group called the English Defense League, which says it opposes militant Islam, squared off against a larger group of counter-demonstrators from the group Unite Against Fascism.
Troubles also have occurred in Luton, Birmingham and London in the last few months involving a loose collection of far-right groups, including the little known English Defense League. The league rejects the fascist label, arguing that it only opposes militant Islam. But several of its supporters made Nazi salutes during Saturday’s protest.
