Just before noon on Saturday, outside the (closed) Woodman pub on the corner of Curzon and New Canal Streets in Birmingham, a group of a dozen or so middle-aged men were gathered around a table draped in the flag of St George, drinking cans of lager, as the crowds for the Football Lads Alliance march grew steadily nearby. “Ali’s tuck shop!” one of the men shouted, repeatedly, much to the amusement of his friends, drawling out the first of those three words to affect the Islamic phrase, “Allahu Akbar”, meaning God is greater. While it would be unfair, perhaps, to suggest that this group of men were representative of the 3,000 or so who, an hour later, marched through the streets of Birmingham city centre,…

Source: The Times March 29, 2018 23:00 UTC