From anti-Israel protesters to pub thugs, the Palestine flag has become a symbol of Muslim ‘kinship’

Extremism experts warn its use risks inflaming tensions further and playing into the hands of the far-Right

When a crowd of masked men gathered in Birmingham yesterday following false reports that far-Right protesters were preparing to target a local mosque, the scene might have looked at first glance like an offshoot of a pro-Palestinian protest that had turned violent. 
Large Palestine flags were brandished by men gathered in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham, while others wore the traditional keffiyeh scarf.
During the evening a number of vehicles and the Clumsy Swan pub in Yardley were attacked by youths carrying weapons and wearing masks and balaclavas who had reportedly broken away from the main group, which had initially gathered outside a mosque and the Village Islamic Centre. 
Sky News presenter Becky Johnson was interrupted during a live broadcast at the site by a masked protester on a motorbike who shouted: “Yo, free Palestine, f— the EDL.” Others chanted “Allahu Akbar”.
Many of those gathered at the mosque appeared to be simply acting on what they felt was an imperative to defend their community against attacks by far-Right thugs spouting hate towards Muslims and allegedly seeking to target further places of worship following an attack on Southport Mosque last week. 
To many observers, the Palestine flag may have seemed a surprising accessory in this context. 
But, some individuals appear to be using the flag to demonstrate a sense of Muslim “kinship”. Extremism experts are now concerned that the wearing of masks and flying of Palestinian flags by Muslim protesters against the far-Right, risks further inflaming tensions – playing into the hands of those keen to perpetuate a narrative around the failure of multiculturalism. 
“By bringing the Palestinian flag along, those who took to streets risked being perceived not just as protecting the mosque but as protecting a sense of a global Muslim kinship,” says Charlotte Littlewood, a former counter-extremism coordinator for the UK Government and now researcher at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. 
“While defending Islam in the UK right now is understandable, there’s a danger that the current violence gets framed as a battle between Islam and the West being fought on the streets of Britain, which is radicalising and an invitation to wider violence. It’s the last thing we need.”
Littlewood adds: “Parts of the pro-Palestine movement [are] based on a rhetoric driven by the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran that has found purchase in the UK. Talk to Palestinians in Ramallah and you will find a diversity of opinion. Many will tell you the war in Gaza is a territorial dispute. Muslims in the West are particularly vulnerable to adopting simplistic frames like: Muslim versus Jews or East versus West.”
“The general problem is that we need everyone working towards defusing problems rather than heightening them,” says Sunder Katwala, the director of British Future, a think tank focussed on public attitudes to immigration, integration and national identity. “People clearly shouldn’t be going out tooled up and in masks even if the ostensible motivation is defensive.”
The scenes unfolded amid a wave of disturbance across the UK following the fatal stabbing of three children in Southport a week ago. The riots appear to have been fuelled in part by false claims the suspect was Muslim and a refugee.
Sky’s van in Yardley was later attacked by a man with a knife as the TV crew left the area after being told they were not welcome, according to the reporter. The West Midlands police force confirmed there had been three cases of damage, one alleged incident of carrying an offensive weapon and a separate alleged assault.
Jess Phillips, the local MP, said on X/Twitter that rumours of the far-Right gathering had been deliberately spread in a bid to cause trouble. However, James Cleverly, one of the Conservative party leadership candidates, accused her of “making excuses for masked men shouting, abusing and intimidating members of the media”.
In one video of the masked men storming the Clumsy Swan pub, at least five large Palestinian flags are seen either wrapped around members of the group, or being waved by individuals who enter the property.
“It’s clear that identity politics has been a feature of the protests around the country in the last few days, so it’s no surprise to see these kinds of symbols at what appears to have been a communal response to a perception of threat,” says Prof Ian Acheson, a former director of community safety at the Home Office and an expert on Islamist and Right-wing radicalisation.
For some, the Palestinian flag and the black-and-white keffiyeh head scarf are provocations that signify support for Hamas; for others, it is an expression of solidarity with suffering Gazans and the wider ummah – the global Muslim community.
Palestine holds a particular importance for Muslims, regardless from which part of their world their families hail, as, according to their faith, it is the holy land and the home of many of their prophets. Younger Muslims across the West also say their affinity with the Palestinian people is in part a reaction to the incidents of Islamophobia they’ve experienced in their home countries.
Many argue that, viewed in this context, it is perfectly natural for Muslims going out on the streets to protect their local community from the potential threat posed by a far-Right demonstration to fly the flag of a country with which they may have no familial links. 
However, amid the polarised passions and viral slogans circulating through social media’s echo chambers, such symbols have been pounced on by those seeking to establish an “us and them” narrative. 
“In many parts of the country, especially those marked by extreme deprivation and demographic pressures, the social glue that ensures community cohesion is thin and disintegrating,” says Acheson. “The introduction of race politics into such areas by bad actors is bound to radicalise and inflame tensions.”
Katwala points out that Luton became a hotbed for radicalisation because Anjem Choudary and Tommy Robinson, who was then known as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, were constantly holding protests and counter-protests against each other in what became a form of “mutual dependency”.
Choudary, who was eventually sent to prison for supporting Isis, organised demonstrations at which soldiers returning from Iraq were called “terrorists”. Robinson organised counter-protests against the Islamists that eventually resulted in the formation of a group called the United People of Luton, which later morphed into the English Defence League.
“The issue is that if fringes within a minority group adopt an aggressive posture, it can further inflame tensions and exacerbate the problem,” says Katwala. “Nothing would delight the far-Right more than for Muslim communities to start contributing to some imaginary civil war or the narrative about a supposed clash of civilisations.
“There are other, better ways for communities to protect themselves, show solidarity with others and help the police do their job without escalating tension.”
The flying of the Palestinian flag has also been taken as evidence that those gathered in Birmingham were demonstrating rather than counter-protesting. The lack of a police presence, especially during the earlier part of the day, has therefore fed claims that forces are engaged in “two-tier policing” and dealing with some protestors more harshly than others. 
In response to the storming of the pub, Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and Tesla, tweeted: “Why aren’t all communities protected in Britain?” He labelled Sir Keir Starmer #TwoTierKeir, prompting Lord Watson of Wyre Forest, the former West Midlands MP, to label him “ignorant” and “divisive”.
Policing experts say the claims of two tiers of policing are based on fundamental misunderstandings. “The tenets of policing protests are universal and commanding officers will follow the manual regardless of who it is out on the streets,” insists Owen West, a former Chief Superintendent in the West Yorkshire Police force.