Masked Muslim protesters took to the streets of Tower Hamlets in East London on Saturday, vowing to “defend” their community after police had banned an anti-Islamist march in the borough.
The multicultural Whitechapel area of Tower Hamlets was flooded with Muslim demonstrators, many of whom were wearing black clothing, masks and balaclavas. They were joined by members of the far-left Stand Up to Racism group, four of whom were reportedly arrested.
The demonstrators were seen waving Palestinian and Bangladeshi flags as they celebrated the fact that the Metropolitan Police had prohibited the populist United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) party, whose leader Nick Marcel Tenconi described as the start of a “crusade” against Islamists and Communists in Britain.
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 25: Members of the Bangladeshi community stop for prayers outside the East London Mosque on October 25, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Guy Smallman/Getty Images)
London’s Evening Standard newspaper quoted one of the demonstrators as saying: “They came specifically targeting Islam. They said we are coming on a crusade, they said we need to take back our streets.
“We stand firm to let them know that if you come then we will stand firm and we will be ready to defend our elders, to defend our women and to defend our community.
“We have never once said we were going on crusades or going into your areas to cause you problems. You are coming into our homes and you want to cause us problems. What is wrong with us standing up?”
The Muslim protesters were also filmed performing an Islamic prayer in the middle of the road, with adherents bowing to their knees to the chants of “Allahu Akbar”.
Earlier this week, the Met announced the ban against UKIP holding a protest in Tower Hamlets, essentially admitting that the police force could not prevent “serious disorder” from breaking out in the heavily Islamic area of the British capital city.
Justifying the decision, Commander Nick John said in a statement: “Tower Hamlets has the largest percentage of Muslim residents anywhere in the UK and the prospect of this protest taking place in the heart of the borough has been the cause of significant concern locally.
“It is our assessment that there is a realistic prospect of serious disorder if it was to go ahead in the proposed location. This is in addition to the disruption that two large protests taking place on a key arterial route through east London would cause.”
Commentators on social media said that by allowing a Muslim rally while banning a nationalist demonstration represented another example of “two-tier policing” in Britain.
LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 25: Supporters of UKIP march to Hyde Park during the rally with leader Nick Tenconi at their head on October 25, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Martin Pope/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the left-wing Guardian newspaper hailed it as being comparable to the so-called Battle of Cable Street in 1936 when communists, socialists, Jewish groups, and trade unions clashed with Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists.
Due to the police ban, UKIP was forced to relocate their demonstration to central London on Saturday, marching from the Oratory building to Marble Arch. The UKIP supporters held signs reading “Islamist invaders not welcome in Britain” and “take our country back” while waving British and English flags.
UKIP leader Tenconi is quoted as telling the demonstrators: “We want the illegals gone, we want the communists gone.”
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