The 25 October demonstration against UKIP in East London is a crucial moment for everyone who opposes fascism argues Shabbir Lakha

On Saturday 25 October, fascists are planning to gather in Whitechapel and march through Tower Hamlets. The demonstration has been called by UKIP whose leader, Nick Tenconi, also heads up far-right Turning Point UK and was recently caught on camera performing a Nazi salute.

Tenconi and his supporters are extremely clear and open about the purpose of their march: to attack Muslims in the heart of multicultural East London. The march is billed as a “crusade” to “reclaim Whitechapel from the Islamists”, and as part of a “mass deportations tour”.

Tenconi has appealed to every ‘big name patriot’ to join in a ‘holy war’ against ‘Islamist occupation’. He says that any Muslim that doesn’t join him is on the side of Islamic extremism and against the British people. His calls for ‘self-defence’ and ‘all’s fair in love and war’ are barely-veiled threats of violence against Muslims in Whitechapel.

Incredibly, the Met Police have had nothing to say on this so far and are reportedly looking at route options for UKIP to march through Tower Hamlets – the current planned route going past East London Mosque. This is the same Met Police that won’t allow a Palestine demonstration to go in the vicinity of a synagogue despite there being zero evidence of any threat to Jewish people.

But when far-right protests have directly resulted in the rape of a Sikh woman, the stabbing of a Muslim boy, the shooting of a Muslim girl in the head, arson attacks on mosques, hotels and Asian restaurants, a march openly calling for violence against Muslims falls under the remit of free speech. Protesting against genocide is “un-British”, being violent against Muslims is fine. Talk about two-tier policing.

The fascists are feeling confident. There have been protests outside the Britannia Hotel on the Isle of Dogs through the summer, bringing fascists and far-right agitators from far and wide. Recently when a fire alarm went off in the hotel, they were heard chanting ‘you’re burnt to toast’ at the asylum seekers inside. They have often outnumbered the anti-racist counter-protests and on 14 October they picketed and successfully disrupted an anti-racist meeting in the area.

The raising of St George’s Crosses around the borough has been a signal of pockets of support. And, most significantly, Tommy Robinson’s 200,000-strong demonstration last month has put far-right and fascist organisation on rocket boosters.

UKIP knows precisely what it is doing with a provocation like this. Tenconi is hoping to strike fear in Muslim communities which would resonate beyond Whitechapel, and is seeking to overturn the history of working people in the borough successfully kicking the fascists out. Oswald Moseley’s Blackshirts were famously stopped at Cable Street in 1936 and the National Front and the EDL have all been driven off the streets of Tower Hamlets by united anti-fascist movements.

Next Saturday, we must draw on that history to turn the fascists’ confidence into their biggest mistake. Muslim organisations in the borough have spearheaded the calling of a unity demonstration together with dozens of faith groups, anti-racist organisations and unions.

Next Saturday, we have to make Whitechapel our Cable Street. We need the biggest possible mobilisation to take Whitechapel high street and ensure the fascists shall not pass.