Counterjihad

Counterjihad is a political current. It has been variously dubbed anti-Islamic,[1][2][3] or islamophobic,[4][5][6] or far-right.[1][6][7] The roots of the movement go back to the 1980s, but it did not gain significant momentum until after the September 11 attacks.[8]

Counter-jihad ideology

In the words of Toby Archer, a scholar of political extremism and terrorism,

"Counter-jihad discourse mixes valid concerns about jihad-inspired terrorism with far more complex political issues about immigration to Europe from predominantly Muslim countries. It suggests that there is a threat not just from terrorism carried out by Islamic extremists but from Islam itself. Therefore, by extension, all European Muslims are a threat."[9]

Arun Kundnani, in a report published by the International Centre for Counter-terrorism, writes that the counterjihad movement has evolved from earlier European far-right movements through a shift from race to values as identity markers: "In moving from neo‐Nazism to counter‐jihadism, the underlying structure of the narrative remains the same." Continuing on this note, he writes that comparing the counterjihadist worldview to the older, neo-nazi one, "Muslims have taken the place of blacks and multiculturalists are the new Jews."[10]

According to prominent counterjihadist Edward S. May, writing under the pseudonym Baron Bodissey, the counterjihadist movement is based on the belief that

"Islam is above all a totalitarian political ideology, sugar-coated with the trappings of a primitive desert religion to help veil its true nature. The publicly stated goal of Islamic theology and political ideology is to impose the rule of Islam over the entire world, and make it part of Dar al-Islam, the 'House of Submission'."[11]

Cas Mudde argues that various conspiracy theories with roots in Bat Ye'Or's Eurabia are important to the movement. The main theme of these theories is an allegation that European leaders allow a Muslim dominance of Europe, whether by intention or not, through multicultural policies and lax immigration laws.[12] According to Hope not Hate counterjihad have largely replaced earlier neo-nazism and the traditional far right thus making their ideas more respectable.[13]

English Defence League rally in Newcastle, UK, 2010

Toby Archer detects a difference between the European and American wings of the movement. The American wing emphasizes an external threat, essentially terrorist in nature. The European wing sees a cultural threat to European traditions stemming from immigrant Muslim populations. While Archer notes that the perceived failure of multi-culturalism is shared across much of the political spectrum, he argues the counter-jihad movement is a particular conservative manifestation of this trend. He acknowledges the movement’s conservative defense of human rights and the rule of law but he believes by rejecting progressive policy it rejects much of what Europe is today.[1]

The views of the counterjihad movement have been criticized as a source of support for the anti-Muslim views of individuals inspired to take violent direct action.[14] Anders Behring Breivik, responsible for the 2011 Norway attacks, published a manifesto explaining his views which drew heavily on the work of counterjihad bloggers such as Fjordman.[8][15] Daniel Pipes argues that a “close reading of his manifesto suggests” that Breivik wanted to discredit and undermine the counterjihad movement's dedication to democratic change to further Breivik’s “dreamed-for revolution” as the only alternative.[16] Bruce Bawer argues that the association of criticism of Islam with violence implies that "to be opposed to jihad is, by definition, not only a bad but a downright dangerous thing."[17] Breivik has later identified himself as a fascist and voiced support for neo-Nazis, stating that he had exploited counterjihad rhetoric in order to protect "ethno-nationalists", and instead start a media drive against what he deemed "anti-nationalist counterjihad"-supporters.[18][19]

Executive director of the Institute of Race Relations, Liz Fekete, has argued that although most of the counter-jihad movement "stops short of advocating violence to achieve their goals", the most extreme parts share much of Breivik's discursive frameworks and vocabulary. She counterposits this with more mainstream counterjihadists, that warn of Islamisation as a result of naïvety or indecisiveness, whom she identifies as a source of legitimacy for the former.[20]

Theologist and philosopher Marius Timmann Mjaaland has described the role given to Christianity in some parts of the counterjihad movement and has identified some aspects of the movement's ideology that he says links it to fascism-like conspiracy theories:

  1. The establishment of an allegedly continuous and coherent connection between the present-day conflict between the Christian West and Muslims, whereas analyses based on established historical science will dismiss any such claim as unfounded.
  2. A claim that mainstream politicians and media in Western countries have in effect become internal enemies or "traitors", by respectively allowing the creation of multicultural societies and advocating "marxism" and "political correctness".
  3. This, in turn, has allowed Muslims to settle in Western lands, and thereby allegedly opened them to attack from within.
  4. And, lastly, a Nietzschean, post-Christian worldview where the distinction between good and evil is given little attention, to the point where Christianity's ideal of "loving one's neighbour" is entirely omitted. Christianity is reduced from a system of belief to an identity marker, and a political mythology is built, that draws heavily on the crusades.[21]

The Counterjihad movement has been compared to the anti-communism of the Cold War. Geert Wilders, Dutch politician and speaker at Conterjihadi events, argues that Islam is a political ideology that, like Communism, is a totalitarian threat to a liberal social order.[22] The Southern Poverty Law Center compares both as similar exaggerated threats. “Like the communists that an earlier generation believed to be hiding behind every rock, infiltrated “Islamist” operatives today are said to be diabolically preparing for a forcible takeover.”[23]

The Cold War parallel is taken further by social commentator Bruce Bawer. He not only compares counterjihad with anti-communism but compares those who criticize the counterjihad movement with anti-anti-communists. The latter damned anti-Communists as “fanatical, paranoid conspiracy theorists” while “remaining all but silent about the evils of Communism itself.” Today it is fashionable to hold that “the good guys are the counter-counterjihadists – the journalists, activists, and others who make a career of slamming” counterjihadists.[24] Author, Roger Kimball, agrees.[25]

Organization

Paul Beliën, the editor of counterjihad blog The Brussels Journal

Blogs such as Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, Politically Incorrect, Gates of Vienna and The Brussels Journal are central to the counterjihad movement. Notable figures include the blogs' editors, respectively Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, Daniel Pipes, Edward S. May and Paul Beliën, as well as writers such as Bat Ye'or, David Horowitz and Fjordman.[1][8][14] Think tanks such as the International Free Press Society and the David Horowitz Freedom Center have had an important role in providing funds and establishing international links.[10][20] In time, a network of formal organisations has been established, with its main centers in Europe and the United States.[26] A transatlantic umbrella organisation was established in 2012.[27]

The International Free Press Society lists representatives from many parts of the counterjihad spectrum on its board of advisors.[28][29] Eurabia theorist Bat Ye'Or is on the board of advisors, while owner of the blog Gates of Vienna, Edward S. May, serves as outreach co-ordinator on its board of directors.[29][30]

Europe

The "Counter Jihad 2007" conference, which took place in Belgium, has been regarded as a crucial event in the movement's history.[31] During this first large conference, the Belgian, Flemish-nationalist party Vlaams Belang acted as host, allowing the conference access to the European parliament building as a venue.[29] A March 2012 Counterjihad-conference in Denmark drew 200-300 supporters from throughout Europe. Ten times the number of left-wing protesters staged a counter-demonstration.[32] The 2012 conference in Denmark, was alleged by its organisers, the English Defence League to mark the starting point of a pan-European movement.[33] The umbrella organization, Stop Islamisation of Europe, was founded by Anders Gravers Pedersen,[34][35][36] who also sits on the board of the Stop Islamisation of Nations.[37] There are numerous affiliated "Stop the islamisation of..." and "Defense Leagues" in several European countries,[26] among them Stop Islamisation of Denmark, Stop Islamisation of Norway, and the English Defence League.

United States

Robert Spencer, joint leader of Stop Islamization of America and editor of counterjihad blog Jihad Watch

The U.S.-based Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) is currently being led by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer,[12][38] as a programme under their American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). According to the AFDI website, the initiative aims, among other activities, to:[39]

SIOA has been accused by the Anti-Defamation League of

promot[ing] a conspiratorial anti-Muslim agenda under the guise of fighting radical Islam. The group seeks to rouse public fears by consistently vilifying the Islamic faith and asserting the existence of an Islamic conspiracy to destroy "American" values.[40]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Diffus rörelse med muslimer som hatobjekt". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 3 August 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  2. ↑ "Pentagon suspends "counterjihad" class on Islam". CBS News. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
  3. ↑ The Guardian: Far-right anti-Muslim network on rise globally as Breivik trial opens
  4. ↑ Anna-Lena Lodenius. "Risk att Breivik ses som profet". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish).
  5. ↑ Mattias Wåg (28 Jul 2011). "Den nya högerextremismens terroristiska uttryck". Göteborgs fria (in Swedish).
  6. 1 2 Denes, Nick (2012). "Welcome to the Counterjihad: "Uncivil" Networks and European Social Space" (PDF). Dahrendorf Symposia Series (Berlin: Dahrendorf Symposia). 2012-12. doi:10.1080/17448689.2012.738894. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  7. ↑ Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Hans Brun, A Neo-Nationalist Network: The English Defence League and Europe’s Counter-Jihad Movement, International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, March 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 Hegghammer, Thomas (30 July 2011). "The Rise of the Macro-Nationalists". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  9. ↑ Archer, Toby (15 August 2008). "Countering the counter-jihad". Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  10. 1 2 Arun Kundnani (June 2012). "Blind Spot? Security Narratives and Far-Right Violence in Europe" (pdf). International Centre for Counter-terrorism. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  11. ↑ Bodissey, Baron (20 November 2009). "The Counterjihad Manifesto". Gates of Vienna. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  12. 1 2 "Eurabiske vers" [Eurabian verses] (in Norwegian). Morgenbladet. August 19, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ Conter-Jihad Report
  14. 1 2 Shane, Scott (24 July 2011). "Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  15. ↑ Patalong, Frank (25 July 2011). "Blogging Hate - Anders Breivik's Roots in Right-Wing Populism". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  16. ↑ Pipes, Daniel (July 27, 2011). "Norway’s Terrorism in Context: The damage Behring Breivik did to the counterjihad may well have been purposeful". National Review Online. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  17. ↑ Bawer, Bruce (April 20, 2012). "The Scandalous Lies of ‘Hope Not Hate’".
  18. ↑ Daniel Vergara (10 January 2014). "Breivik vill deportera "illojala judar" [Breivik wants to deport "disloyal Jews"]". Expo (in Swedish).
  19. ↑ "Mass killer Breivik says wants to create fascist party". Reuters. Sep 5, 2014.
  20. 1 2 Fekete, Liz (2012). "The Muslim conspiracy theory and the Oslo massacre". Race & Class 53 (3): 30–47. doi:10.1177/0306396811425984.
  21. ↑ Mjaaland, Marius Timman (28 September 2011). "Korstog mot hellig krig (Crusade against Holy War)". Aftenposten. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
  22. ↑ Geert Wilders (Oct 4, 2010). "Islam: the Communism of Today".
  23. ↑ The Anti-Muslim Inner Circle. By Robert Steinback| Intelligence Report| Summer 2011| Issue Number: 142
  24. ↑ "Notes on ‘Counterjihad’". Front Page Magazine. July 29, 2013.
  25. ↑ Roger Kimball (July 30, 2013). "From ‘Anti-Communist’ to ‘Counterjihadist’". PJ Media.
  26. 1 2 "Far-right anti-Muslim network on rise globally as Breivik trial opens". The Guardian. April 14, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Stop Islamization of Nations (SION) Calls on UN to Protect Christians of Syria". Reuters (Press release). January 20, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  28. ↑ Anders Hvass. "Lars Hedegaard ude af DF" [Lars Hedegaard leaves Danish People's Party] (in Danish). Berlingske tidene. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  29. 1 2 3 Luban, Daniel; Eli Clifton (28 February 2009). "Dutch Foe of Islam Ignores US Allies' Far Right Ties". InterPress Service. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  30. ↑ Nick Lowles (June 2012). "International ‘Counter-Jihadist’ organisations - The International Free Press Society (IFPS) Network". Hope not hate. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  31. ↑ Archer, Toby (25 July 2011). "Breivik's swamp". Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  32. ↑ "80 Arrested After Anti-Islam Protest In Denmark". Associated Press. March 31, 2012. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  33. ↑ "Islam debate takes centre stage in Aarhus". The Copenhagen Post. April 4, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Fringe group barred suspected Norway killer from forum". Reuters. July 23, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  35. ↑ "Her er Breiviks meningsfeller" [These are the people who share Breivik's opinions] (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. August 25, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Anders Gravers Pedersen væltet omkuld under demonstration" [Anders Gravers Pedersen scuffled during demonstration] (in Danish). TV2 Nord. May 21, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  37. ↑ "SION to Hold International Congress and Media Workshop to Address Islamic Supremacist War Against Free Speech (Press Release)". PR Newswire. March 15, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  38. ↑ "Outraged, And Outrageous". The New York Times. October 10, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  39. ↑ Pamela Geller (July 31, 2011). "American Freedom Defense Initiative Action Plan". Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  40. ↑ "Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)". Anti-Defamation League. March 25, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
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