Extracts from two speeches – Dr Abdullah Faliq (left) and Dr Wajid Akhtar (right)
Dr Abdullah Faliq, Together Alliance organiser
“[. . .] London has over 1 million Muslims. This is our home, whether you like it or not: this is our home. Britain is our home. We are part and parcel of this society and this coalition, the Together Alliance, has been supported by many major organisations in the UK. Let me just list a few.: the Muslim Council of Britain, which represents over 500 affiliates nation-wide, one of the largest in the UK; the Muslim Association of Britain; the Muslim Community Association[cheers from crowd];we have MEND, that works against Islamophobia and reports Islamophobia; we have the Federation of Students Islamic Societies FOSIS that works in the campuses [cheers from crowd]; we have Strive UK; we have the British Turkish Association; we have the Palestinian Forum in Britain. We have i-narrative . . . I can go on, but we have the endorsement and the support of the British Muslim community. And the person who’s leading the British Muslim community is none other than Dr. Mohammed Wajid Akhtar, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Dr. Wajid.”
Dr Wajid Akhtar, Secretary General MCB
“Assalaamu ‘Alaikum. He who does not thank the people, does not thank God, so I want to start off by thanking the organizers, the Together Alliance Coalition for putting together such an amazing march. Well done to all of them working so hard behind the scenes.
I want to thank all of you for coming out on such a cold day. I don’t actually feel the cold because my anger against the Far Right keeps me warm at night. But thank you all for coming out today to march in solidarity.
And thank you to all of those who stood side by side with the Muslim community during the worst Islamophobia that we have seen in generations.
You make us feel that there is hope for a better future.
Hatred has caused many problems in this country, but it has not solved any single one of them. Hatred will not fix your pot holes; hatred will not fix this economy; racism will not reduce waiting times in the NHS; racism will not reduce unemployment, and Islamophobia will never make Britain great again.
But unity will. Not love, not peace: Unity. Unity means sacrifice. Unity means learning from the people of Gaza when they amplified their voices on social media to change the narrative about themselves. Unity means we need to learn from the French when they decided to work together against the Far Fight in their local elections. Unity means learning from New York when they turned mass protest into mass political power at the ballot box. Unity means we need to teach the people in power, that the power is with the people. And until they listen to us, we will not stop. We will not rest.
Behind us is the monument to the fallen soldiers. This country stood alone against fascism. This country sent its children to die across the world to destroy the evil of fascism. We will not let that legacy down today. Thank you.”