Tommy Robinson Speaks to Sky News.
Tommy Robinson is a man you either love or hate. He is a man regarded as a civil rights campaigner or he is regarded as a hate figure take your pick. Robinson openly campaigns against what he sees as Islamic extremism and an imagined or real Islamic take over of the UK. In his mind, he feels he represents a portion of the populace who have concerns (genuine or otherwise) about Islam in the UK today.
In an interview with Sky, Robinson said: "I don't care if I incite fear of Muslims" and "If I believe I am morally right then I'm not bothered what your law says". Robinson served time in prison for contempt of court for speaking about Muslim paedophiles and broadcasting videos on the subject on Facebook. The case concerned alleged grooming of young people by Muslim men in Canterbury. When it was pointed out to him that his actions on Facebook might prejudice the case he replied he wasn't aware of that at the time. Robinson has stated that since his Facebook antics he has a better understanding of court cases because of legal training he undertook.
Robinson told Sky that his motives for doing what he did on Facebook were to warn people about potential sexual groomers in the Muslim community. "Better to be forwarned and forearmed" was his mantra about such matters in the interview.
Yesterday another contempt of court case was adjourned at The Old Bailey and Robinson emerged to cheering supporters. However, if a judge decides he did commit contempt of court in his original court case which saw him serve the time he could return to prison for two years.
In the Sky interview, Robinson said his wife could not believe what had befallen her husband. Robinson stated that he missed two birthdays of his children because of his recent prison sentence.
During his imprisonment, Robinson said he was deliberately held in a wing where there were many Muslim prisoners. Every morning he says he was awoken by the call to prayer from the prison mosque right outside his cell.
During Robinsons time in jail, Gerard Batten current leader of UKIP has stated that Tommy Robinson was like Nelson Mandela. In the sense that Mandela was regarded as a troublemaker and terrorist by some and served time in prison. In the end, Mandela triumphed and Apartheid ended in South Africa. Batten said in an interview on 'BBC Newsnight' that in the end Robinson will also be proved correct and triumph. The comparison to Mandela was a comparison too far by some but stranger things have happened.
Is Tommy Robinson a voice for the voiceless on the subject of Islam in the UK or just an overblown hater? That dear reader if a matter for your conscience.
British Muslims: Some Info.
1) One in twenty of the British population is Muslim.
2) Many non-Muslims believe 1 in 6 of the British population is Muslim.
3) If this were the case that would mean there are 10 million Muslims in the UK.
4) The actual figure is about 2.8 million or possibly 3 million.
5) The non-Muslim population think the Muslim population in the UK is growing faster than it actually is.
6) In 2001 in London there were approximately 607,083 Muslims in London. By the time of the 2011 census, the population had risen to 12.4 % (21% of Englands Muslims).
7) Largest Muslim populations in England can be found in Bradford, Luton, Blackburn, Birmingham, London and Dewsbury.
8) Current Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is Muslim.
9) There thought to be about 1,750 mosques in the UK.
10) Many Muslims in the UK come from Pakistan and India. Others come from Somalia, Turkey, Eastern Europe, the Arab world, many other places from around the globe and some are Native Converts.