THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 99, April 14, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
ISLAM & THE EVOLUTION OF EUROPE'S FAR RIGHT
By R. John Matthies
THE SOURCE OF RECENT SUCCESSES OF EUROPE'S POLITICAL FAR RIGHT: RIGHTWING RESISTANCE TO THE
GROWING ISLAMIZATION OF EUROPE -- THE OPPOSITION OF RIGHTWING POPULISTS & NATIONALISTS TO IMMIGRATION
FROM MUSLIM COUNTRIES & TO CONCESSIONS GRANTED TO MUSLIMS IN EUROPE -- FEAR & LOATHING OF ISLAMIC LAW &
ATTEMPTS TO APPLY IT IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES -- FEAR THAT EUROPEAN CHRISTIANS WILL BECOME MINORITIES
WITHIN THEIR RESPECTIVE COUNTRIES -- FEAR THAT WESTERN-STYLE CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY WILL BE
SUBVERTED BY THE ISLAMISTS AMOMG MUSLIM IMMIGRANTS
FULL STORY:
What is to account for the success of Europe's Far Right? The attention the news media have devoted to the story of
Islam in Europe has never been greater. And displeasure over concessions granted to Europe's Muslims, fear and
loathing of Shari‘a law (Islamic law) and fears that Europe, in the rush to embrace the Other, may lose herself — appear
to be driving the continent's electoral agenda. These concerns have sprung from items as ridiculous as Fortis Bank's
decision to do away with pig mascot Knorbert (for fear of offending Muslims) to the Archbishop of Canterbury's
declaration that adoption of elements of Shari‘a law in the United Kingdom "seems unavoidable" — and would, in fact,
be a great help to maintain social cohesion. In any case, it appears that a growing number are sufficiently discouraged
by the imposition of the multicultural gag to take Europe's latest war of religion to the voting booth. It is also the case,
for many, that the persons who best speak to the continent's concerns are not those moderate (or secular) Muslims
who talk of assimilation, but the leading lights of Europe's Far Right — and the growing host of Muslim-baiters who sit
in public office.
But the electoral success of the Far Right has been far from evenly distributed. And this, of course, has a great deal to
do with perceptions of the Old Guard of Europe's Far Right, the most familiar branch of the movement. Geert Wilders,
the Netherlands' puckish Libertarian, for example, does not easily compare to France's Jean-Marie Le Pen, either with
respect to personal history or electoral sway. But, as difficult as it is to stack Wilders among the "blood and soil"
Conservatives of the Old Guard, Wilders and other members of the "progressive" Nationalist faction, nevertheless,
constitute an important, second branch of the confederation one casually describes as "Far Right." These are the
Young Turks of the movement. And, lastly, there is the success of Rightwing Populists, like those in Belgium and
Switzerland, who clearly seek to transcend Old Guard allegiances and adapt their platforms to better respond to the
continent's "Islam problem." These groups represent a third branch, and a slippery strength within the greater
movement. All told, however, what describes the strength of Europe's Far Right is the fact that votes have begun to
derive, in meaningful numbers, from across the political spectrum: from the "Godless" Left to the Fascist Right, and all
points in between.
To describe the Old Guard, then, is to include the likes of two men: Nick Griffin, National Chairman of the British
National Party (BNP), and Jean-Marie Le Pen of France's National Front (FN). Since their earliest days in politics, one
has likened these men to public discourse as one likens hooligans to organized sports. What is now clear, however, is
that these men have failed to unite the electorate behind their classic fear of European federalism, Turkish accession to
the European Union, and more or less avowed anti-Semitism. Consider, in addition, that parties of the Center-Right
have begun to appropriate the Old Guard's once signature xenophobia, and one will understand that little remains of the
old fight. What remains to be seen is whether Griffin and Le Pen will acknowledge that Islam is the new game in town.
The BNP's Nick Griffin, for his part, has admitted to privileging anti-Islamism for electoral gain — and for the same
reason, to discourage attacks against the Jews. In a branch meeting recorded in Burnley, Lancashire, in March, 2006, for
example, he said:
"But we bang on about Islam. Why? Because to the ordinary
public out there, it's the thing they can understand.... If we
were to attack some other ethnic group — some people say
‘We should attack the Jews' ... — it wouldn't get us
anywhere, other than stepping backwards. It would lock us
in a little box, which the public would think ‘extremist crank
lunatics, nothing-to-do-with-me,' and we wouldn't get power.
Whereas, by making Islam the issue, when every time
someone turns on the television, every time they pick up a
newspaper ... they get a drip, drip, drip. Something else,
which tells them, ‘Yeah, Islam is a real serious problem; I'm
really worried about it; what kind of future are my children
and grandchildren, my nephews and nieces, gonna have, in
a Britain which is on the way to becoming the Islamic
Republic? That's what I want to stop. The British National
Party are the only people talking about it. Yeah, I think
they're the ones for me.' That's the reason for the tactic."
But France's National Front (FN), often cited as the vanguard of the continent's Far Right, has drawn very different
lessons from the past decade's electoral chill. The FN has, since its inception, brandished a "blood and soil"
anti-Semitism. This fact, and electoral debates within the party, prompted Michel Gurfinkiel, a French political scientist,
to suggest that Le Pen was "poised to strike an alliance" with France's Muslims. If this has not since come to pass, it
remains that Gurfinkiel's deduction stands to reason: "The National Front is surprisingly popular among Muslim
immigrants or second-generation Muslim citizens," he writes.
"For all its campaigning about immigration, Mr. Le Pen's
party has always extended support to Arab and Islamic
causes abroad, from Saddam's Iraq to Arafat's or Hamas'
Palestine, and from Al-Qa'ida to Iran. And it is as firmly
anti-American and anti-Jewish as the Muslim community
itself tends to be."
Members of Le Pen's fold are now drawn to patently anti-Islamist groups, which has only encouraged the splintering of
France's Far Right — and empowered Nicolas Sarkozy.
Consider now the Young Turks of Europe's Far Right. This group represents a new breed of politician, who, although
tarred with the extremist brush for their attacks on Islam, speak most loudly to themes dear to Libertarians and Social
Democrats. And now is their magic moment. In the past decade, the "progressive" Nationalism of these politicians has
come to enjoy support the moribund Old Guard has only imagined; for these represent a new generation of politician:
Libertarian and socially democratic personalities who feel that to legislate Islamic space is to assault core "progressive"
European values.
This is a portion of the movement that came to prominence under the openly gay and socially Libertarian Pim Fortuyn,
who abandoned mainstream politics to found his Pim Fortuyn List (LPF). Most remarkable is the fact that the Dutch
were quick to adopt his message: Assassinated shortly before the 2002 vote, Fortuyn's party still went on to claim 26 of
150 seats and become the second party in Parliament. His most natural successors, both in matter of abrasive charisma
and fire-breathing anti-Islamism, are Geert Wilders of the Netherlands' Party for Freedom (PVV) and Pia Kjærsgaard of
the Danish People's Party (DF). Like Fortuyn, both abandoned establishment parties to form groups prompt to defend
"national values" against the multiculturalisme mou (milquetoast multiculturalism) of the new Europe.
Wilders' transformation to become Despiser of the Faith came as something of a shock to the Dutch public. He is now
best known for his short file Fitna (Strife), which seeks to expose the "Fascist" program of the Koran.
The Guardian profiled Wilders in February, making the point that he views himself as a "Libertarian provocateur
like the late Pim Fortuyn or Theo van Gogh. It mentions also that he "[rails] against ‘Islamisation' as a threat to what
used to be the easy-going Dutch model of tolerance." "My allies are not Le Pen or [Jörg] Haider," he wishes to make
clear. "We'll never join up with the Fascists and Mussolinis of Italy. I'm very afraid of being linked with the wrong
Rightist Fascist groups." Instead, as reported by the daily, "Dutch iconoclasm, Scandinavian insistence on free
expression, the right to provoke are what drive him."
Danish politician Pia Kjærsgaard speaks a similar language, remarking last year to the Associated Press: "The most
important thing for the Danish People's Party (DF) is to maintain the Danish identity." And like Wilders, she is quick to
reject comparisons to Europe's Old Guard, saying:
"There is nothing racist about what I have said, I know
that.... My driving force is the love for my home
country.... I want Denmark to be a safe and good and
cozy nation that has a good relationship to the rest of
the world."
Her party today is the Parliament's third largest, having garnered 14% of the legislative vote in November, 2007. This was
also a moment for the party to affirm its anti-Islamist credentials: a campaign poster depicted a cartoon illustration of
Mohammed, underscored by text that read: "Freedom of speech is Danish, censorship is not."
Add to the Old Guard and the Young Turks of resurgent Nationalism a third group, comprised of Rightwing Populists
often associated with the likes of Britain's Griffin and the Frenchman Le Pen. These are the Nationalist (and regionalist)
parties of Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium. Like the Old Guard, these groups are often socially Conservative and
subject to accusations of anti-Semitism (and, perhaps, too fond memories of Hitler's Reich). These groups have
packaged themselves under Nationalist-Populist wrap to play on perceptions that establishment parties are deaf to the
cause of the people; and they are interesting for having reoriented their politics and policies in calculation of popular
support. Like the Young Turks, however, this Populist Right has learned to exploit fears of insurgent Islam to great
electoral success.
First to Belgium, where Vlaams Belang (the former Vlaams Blok) occupies 12% of the Chamber of Representatives. Party
Chief Filip Dewinter appears more than eager to transcend the politics of the Old Guard and declaim Europe's debt to
Judeo-Christian tradition. Active support for Israel is a fine way to begin, he imagines. For example, in a 2006 interview
with the American New Republic, Dewinter stated:
"It's disgusting, it's infamous, it's treacherous, but ...
many Socialist and Green politicians .... hope they
can win over the Islamic vote bank by bashing
Israel and the United States, and by turning a blind
eye on the virulent anti-Semitic rhetoric in Islamic
publications and Islamic websites. These facts
mirror a remarkable switch of alliances in many
European countries: The Rightwingers defend
Israel and warn against Islam. The Leftwingers are
bashing Israel and the United States, and kowtow
for Islam."
In Switzerland, the Swiss People's Party (SVP) defied electoral expectations to walk away with 29% of the legislative vote
in October. This was accomplished with no small help from the party's outspoken (and hotly controversial) position on
the expulsion of law-breaking immigrants — as well with the announcement, in May, 2007, of the party's motion to ban
minarets. Austria's Far Right has clearly sought to capitalize on the group's "Swiss Quality." In August, 2007, Jörg
Haider's Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) introduced an initiative to ban construction of "unusual" structures in
the federal state of Carinthia. The reason? Minister of Urban Planning Uwe Scheuch explains: "With the help of this law,
it will be de facto impossible to construct mosques or minarets."
These statewide and nationwide initiatives to ban mosque and minaret have also borne continental fruit. A grand
multi-party rally erupted in Antwerp in February, under the banner "Cities Against Islamisation." The organization, which
boasts an online platform in six languages, speaks to the rise of Far Right Populism across the continent. Event
Coordinator Filip Dewinter (who insists his politics are merely "Rightwing") explained:
"We already have more than 6,000 mosques in Europe,
which are not only a place to worship, but also a
symbol of radicalization.... These kinds of symbols
have to stop."
The Young Turks have profited from this language, of course; and that is quite the point. Denmark's Kjærsgaard sums up
the mood among Europe's Rightwing elites:
"I am convinced that the Islamists want to sneak Shari‘a
(Islamic law) in through the back door, that they want to
combat Western society, and they want Islam to become
the main religion."
And, when asked by the Associated Press whether she believed Islam had anything to contribute to Danish
society, she replied: "I don't think so at all." Ditto for Wilders, who told the Washington Post in an interview:
"Islam and democracy are fully incompatible. They will
never be compatible — not today, and not in a million
years."
One might prefer to dismiss Wilders and Kjærsgaard as hotheads, or merely out of touch. But a report just now released
by the World Economic Forum (in partnership with Georgetown University) on the subject of West-Islamic world
dialogue, suggests that the Far Right's anti-Islam turn is far more representative of Europe's fears than one has wished to
believe. According to the results of surveys gathered by the Gallup Institute, 60% of Europeans surveyed see the
growing interaction between the Muslim world and the West as a menace to freedom. What's more, the study claims that
the citizens of Wilders' Netherlands and Kjærsgaard's Denmark are most fearful, with 67% of Dutch and 80% of Danes
surveyed in agreement with this statement. What's more, like Kjærsgaard, fully half of Danes consider Islam incompatible
with democracy. (Sadly, Gallup failed to collect opinions in France, Germany, or Great Britain.)
In the end, the phenomenon of Rightwing Populism (or Leftwing reaction) is as good a marker as any to insist upon the
new ground being broken among these figures and parties of the "Far Right." And it is clear that perceptions of Islam as
an intolerant faith are driving the agenda — for Left and for Right, and across the political spectrum. For this reason, one
can no longer easily dismiss the hodgepodge of characters, all platforms considered, who "bang on about Islam." And if
Britain's Nick Griffin is correct in his estimation that Islam is soon to dominate political discussion, we can expect to hear
noises like his own from the continent's mainstream political elite. It is unlikely that Old Guard formations like the British
National Party will ever enjoy the support of the Swiss and Danish Far Right — both for reasons of their history and the
promise of fresh Libertarian faces like Wilders'. But in the meantime, Britain's flagging passion for "diversity" presents
sure opportunity for the party — as it does for anyone interested in the popular vote.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Europe, European States, Politics, & Public Policy
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
R. John Matthies is Assistant Director of Islamist Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum. He can be contacted at
Matthies@meforum.org.
The foregoing article by R. John Matthies was originally published in Pajamas Media, April 10, 2008, and
can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to
define and promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam,
working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote
constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly
asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
(Article URL: http://www.meforum.org/article/1883)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
April 14, 2008
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