LONDON – Birmingham Central Mosque opened its doors on Saturday, April 8, to host a “Best of British” typical tea party for all faiths, countering a far-right march nearby with love.

“We would love the focus of Saturday to be our tea party rather than the protests going on elsewhere,” Muhammed Afzal, chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque, said ahead of the event, the Telegraph reported on Sunday, April 9.

“Our mosque is open to all and we thought the best response to the demonstrations would be to invite our neighbors round for a cup of tea.”

The tea party was held as English Defence League (EDL) organized a demonstration on Saturday, which was condemned by the leaders of the Labour, Liberal Democrat and Conservative groups on Birmingham city council.

A statement issued by the city council on behalf of party group leaders John Clancy, Robert Alden and Jon Hunt said: “The English Defence League is not welcome in Birmingham. They will never be welcome in Birmingham.

“We would urge people to go about their normal everyday business.

“There is no place in our city for messages of hate. There is no place for intolerance and there is no place for violence or extremism of any kind.”

Thanks to the mosque’s tea party, the far-right group’s demonstration, attended by less than 100, passed off without a major incident.

Local MP Liam Byrne addressed the estimated 300 guests who gathered at the mosque to chat over cake, tea and coffee.

“This is how we protest – by celebrating the quiet miracle of a normal life and the things that we love most about our city and our country,” the Labour MP told the audience.

“Getting together as friends, getting together as neighbors, breaking a bit of Victoria sponge and having a cup of tea. That is a potent, powerful message that we will send to those who seek to divide us.”