I revel in my ability
To talk to anybody
Thinking I’d got lucky
Train caught, minute to spare,
Girls vacate the table chair
I sit and see, they did well
Opposite a guy from the EDL
With T-shirt, badges, can of K
On his way to MK
It’s half an hour to that stop
He helps me undo the knot
In the plastic of my lunch
I gulp the water, calm the burn
If I’d missed this train
I’ld have missed my turn,
Trains take every cause
Talk begins as it often does
Where in Scotland are you from
Are you Catholic or Protestant?
Comes slightly quicker
Than the average inquirer
Atheist is my religion
Catholic or Protestant atheism?
Everyone should have equality
EDL man agrees with me
He tells me proudly
He’s read and burnt the Koran.
Down in London at US Embassy
I’d heard about the killing
In reaction to an anti-Islam film
He says it like Life of Brian
Why is it ok to poke fun at the Christian?
But Monty Python were Oxbridge lads
This film was not made by Mohammads
But a Koran burning preacher
Make fun of your own culture
But not that of another
Freedom of speech is essential
But doing it with respect is fundamental
He cuts metal, for Formula one
He’s an ex football hooligan
He likes the buzz, the clam
Fighting the policeman
I know protesters who like the same
The cause, the lock on
The crowd, the direct action
The clash, the baton
The we’re right, you’re wrong
What made him join?
The daughter of his mate
Was a victim of rape
By a group of Muslims
There was no prosecutions
Then why not fight for rape convictions
Rapists aren’t just Muslims
They’re fathers, brothers, lovers,
The gang of Asian groomers,
Are the few and far betweeners.
He says he’s a feminist
And Islam disrespects women
He’s got a mate called Abdul
Another one called Singh
And now he wants my number
Yeah he’s a toker
And wants to hang in my squat
Sorry, not with that top
I wear my African print
He wears a fuck Islam badge
We’re both versed in the Haji
He’s got a Burka in his bag,
Now he’s moving to Birmingham
I’m thinking, God love them
We’re all on the tain to see out tribe
I’ve a gig in Bangor,
My next table companions
Are headed to races in Chester
We all want to get together
— Catherine Brogan
Poem about the EDL man Catherine Brogan met on the train. Video recorded in empty train on Crewe change over.
It is not the EDL man Catherine met on the train that breed intolerance (as no one takes them seriously), cause religious strife and hatred. It is Islamist extremists spewing hate.
When the Danish cartoons were published, there was no reaction, they were even published in an Egyptian newspaper. The hatred was stirred up many months later by Islamist extremists.
We are seeing exactly the same today with a video published on youtube, a reaction stirred up many months later.
In Pakistan, a girl who may or may not have burnt pages of the Koran, facing charges of blasphemy, at risk of being killed by mobs.
In the Middle East, Christians being slaughtered simply for being Christian.
Were the fundamentalists to read the Koran (assuming they can read), they would find they are acting contrary to the Koran.
