LONDON // When footage emerged last month of Muslim youths in East London accosting passers-by near a mosque for not upholding Islamic norms, the reaction was swift, predictable and almost universally outraged.
But the actions of the self-styled "Muslim Patrols" are more than just an attempt to impose Sharia in Muslim areas of London: they are part of a battle for Muslim opinion in Britain.
"This is more about the Muslim community than non-Muslims. These people think they are making what they do attractive to young people," said Salman Farsi, a spokesman for the East London Mosque in Whitechapel, which caters to one of the city's biggest Muslim communities.
It was outside this mosque in the London borough of Tower Hamlets that the Muslim Patrols operated for a few nights in January.
Footage shot with a mobile phone and posted on YouTube showed the youths aggressively approaching various people after dark, telling one man to get rid of a can of alcohol and chasing a couple away from the area for, as one member of the patrols is heard telling another, "exposing themselves in front of the mosque".
In one clip, they approached a man who appeared to be wearing make-up, telling him: "You are walking through a Muslim area dressed like a fag, mate. You better get out of here."
Mainstream Muslim leaders were quick to condemn the patrols. The Muslim Council of Britain said the vast majority of British Muslims were committed to tolerance for others and did not share their "hateful views". And it was officials at the East London Mosque who first alerted the authorities.
"We knew it would cause a reaction," said Mr Farsi. "People are scared of vigilante types running around trying to impose their version of morality. And there has long been a certain amount of hysteria when it comes to Muslim stories."
The mosque said they lamented the "unwelcome patrols" that were "clearly designed to stoke tensions and sow discord". Officials also alerted YouTube, which cancelled the Muslim Patrol account, though not before the videos emerged on other sites and in the mainstream media.
The Daily Mail described the patrols as the "Tower Hamlets Taliban". A commentator in the Daily Telegraph linked them to a "global threat of jihadi militancy".
"They wanted to provoke a reaction," said Mr Farsi, who suggested this was partly in order to create a siege mentality among Muslims. The East London Mosque has seen a rise in hate mail since the patrols, he said, including one from the United States, which in effect invited the Muslim Patrols to come to Atlanta, Georgia, where, "we'd put you guys in your place real quick".
Mr Farsi said the youths did not deserve the attention. These were the actions of the few, he said. Now, "the majority of Muslims have to deal with the consequences of the actions of this fringe element."
But others say that they cannot be dismissed as a fringe. The Muslim Patrols are only the latest instance of a phenomenon that is growing more widespread in Europe and is being mirrored by anti-Muslim groups, said Maajid Nawaz, head of the Quilliam Foundation, an anti-extremism think tank in London.
Both sets of right-wing extremists are "attempting to claim the streets", said Mr Nawaz.
In Britain, the first Muslim group to translate their beliefs into direct action on the streets was Al Muhajiroun, an organisation that has since been outlawed under Britain's anti-terrorism laws and whose founder, Omar Bakri Mohammad, now lives in exile in Lebanon.
Al Muhajiroun began by protesting at the return of British soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, wars it denounced as crusades. It also set up signs designating some areas as "Muslims only".
Its actions spawned the far-right English Defence League, EDL, which was explicitly set up to counter the "religiously-inspired intolerance and barbarity" among Muslims in Britain, according to its statement. The EDL in turn set up signs designating areas as "Muslim free".
With such groups, which "fall somewhere between street gangs and ideological groups", proliferating, these street enforcement tactics are likely to become more common, Mr Nawaz said.
The result is likely to be growing friction between communities, but to some that is as it should be. The Muslim Patrols may have been heavy-handed, but they were only doing their religious duty, said Anjem Choudary, a British lawyer and former leader of Al Muhajiroun who wants to see Sharia enforced in Britain, starting in predominantly Muslim areas.
"You should not be surprised that when we live among non-Muslims and we call them to Islam, and command good and forbid evil, that there will be rejection within society," Mr Choudary said in a recent interview in London.
He acknowledged that it was only a minority of Muslims who felt this way. But the rest, he contended, "through defeatism and being apologetic" have tried to accommodate their religion with secular democracy.
"Islam is distinct from every other way of life," Mr Choudary said. "We cannot mould it into secularism or democracy."
Rather than condemn the youths of the Muslim Patrols, all of whom he said he knew, Mr Choudary said they should be "commended and advised". Unlike mainstream mosques, at least they "go out in the street, out to society, to deal with issues like alcoholism and prostitution".
It is an argument rejected outright in the East London Mosque, where Mr Farsi called the Muslim Patrol actions "juvenile". Among worshippers outside on a recent afternoon, there was little support.
"This is a multi-cultural country," said Mohammed Farouq, 43, an immigration lawyer in the area. "You can't force religion onto people."
But it is an argument that will be revived soon. Six men were arrested for participating in the Muslim Patrols, five under public order offences and one for physical assault. Their trial is next month.
okarmi@thenational.ae
