A Birmingham-based mosque is currently countering an EDL demonstration by having a tea party.
BCM (Birmingham Central Mosque) is hoping to draw focus from the demo by including bunting, Union Jacks and positivity at their event.
This follows on from EDL's protest in London last week which was very poorly attended.
BCM's website states: 'While the English Defence League and counter demonstrators protest elsewhere in the city, the mosque will be open to all and serving tea, coffee and cakes while draped in bunting and Union Flags. The tea party will start at 11am and the general public are invited to attend and enjoy a cuppa and a chat with their neighbours.'
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The EDL protest in Birmingham doesn't seem to have attracted many attendees as of yet. Weird.
Chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque, Muhammed Afzal, said: "We would love the focus of Saturday to be our tea party rather than the protests going on elsewhere.
"Our mosque is open to all and we thought the best response to the demonstrations would be to invite our neighbours round for a cup of tea."
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Huffington Post reports that West Midlands Police aren't expecting many protesters, with them estimating 'less than 100'.
A statement issued by the city council on behalf of party group leaders John Clancy, Robert Alden and Jon Hunt said: "The English Defence League is not welcome in Birmingham. They will never be welcome in Birmingham.
"We would urge people to go about their normal everyday business.
"There is no place in our city for messages of hate. There is no place for intolerance and there is no place for violence or extremism of any kind."
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The march was originally planned to take place in Derby, but it was moved after they realised that the city was 'frequented' by Khalid Masood, the man behind the Westminster terror attack.
Khalid Masood. Credit: PA Images
Masood was killed by a single gunshot to his chest after driving into pedestrians at Westminster Bridge, killing three people and leaving dozens injured. He then attacked police officer, Keith Palmer, who was guarding parliament. He died as a result of his injuries.
A fourth victim died this week after plunging into the Thames. Andreea Cristea had been in hospital on life-support following the incident.
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A statement released by Andreea's family and partner said: "After fighting for her life for over two weeks, our beloved and irreplaceable Andreea - wonderful daughter, sister, partner, dedicated friend and the most unique and life loving person you can imagine - was cruelly and brutally ripped away from our lives in the most heartless and spiritless way.
Credit: Met Police
"She will always be remembered as our shining ray of light that will forever keep on shining in our hearts.
"Andreea is now unfortunately not able to have part of the money that was raised for her recovery, so we would like to donate it to charity. She would not have it any other way.
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"There are no words to even begin to describe the crushing pain and emptiness that is left in our hearts."
RIP to all the victims.
Featured Image Credit: BCM
