The European extreme-right and Islam: New directions?

Journal of Political Ideologies

Volumn 13, Issue 3, 2008, Pages 321-344

  Zúquete, José Pedro ^a  

^a HARVARD UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HUMAN SETTLEMENT; ISLAMISM; POLITICAL IDEOLOGY; SOCIAL MOVEMENT;

EURASIA; EUROPE;

EID: 54049107673     PISSN: 13569317     EISSN: 14699613     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13569310802377019     Document Type: Article

References (162)

1. UN (United Nations), 'Confronting Islamophobia: Education for Tolerance and Understanding', Seminar held in New York, December 2004. http://www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2004/webArticles/112204_Conference.asp
2. IW (Islamophobia Watch), 2005. http://www.islamophobia-watch.com/ about-us/339
3. EUMC (European Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia) 'Muslims in the European Union: Discrimination and Islamophobia', December 2006. http://eumc.europa.eu/eumc/material/pub/muslim/Manifestations_EN.pdf.
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5. See R. Eatwell, 'Introduction: The New Extreme Right Challenge', in R. Eatwell and C. Mudde (Eds), Western Democracies and the New Extreme Right Challenge (London: Routledge, 2004) pp. 1-16.
6. J.-Y. Camus, 'Le nouvel ennemi: Le monde arabo-musulman ou l'Islam', Le Monde, January 23, 2005.
7. J.-Y. Camus, Jean-Yves, 'Interview', Council of Europe, March 17, 2005.
8. 'Le reveil de L'ISLAM', Identité: Revue d'études nationales, No. 6, March-April 1990.
9. See C. Mudde, The Ideology of the Extreme Right (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2000), pp. 103 and 173.
10. See P. Davies and D. Lynch, The Routledge Companion to Fascism and the Far Right (London: Routledge, 2002), p. 162
11. also, P. Ignazi, Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006) p. 106.
12. M. Cox and P. Shearman. 'After the Fall: Nationalist Extremism in Post-communist Russia', in P. Hainsworth (Ed.), The Politics of the Extreme Right: From the Margins to the Mainstream (London: Pinter, 2000), p. 232.
13. On this discussion see Ignazi, op. cit., Ref. 10, pp. 8-10.
14. C. Coon, 'Islamophobia', The Humanist, 66(3) (May-June 2006), pp. 4-5.
15. EUMC, op. cit., Ref. 3, p. 61.
16. J. Césari, 'Introduction: Use of the Term "Islamophobia" in European Societies', in J. Ceśari (Ed.), Securitization and Religious Divides in Europe: Muslims in Western Europe after 9/11, Submission to the Changing Landscape of Citizenship and Security: 6th PCRD of European Commission (2006), p. 8.
17. See 'Islamophobia: A Challenge for Us All', Commission on British Muslims and Islamophobia (London: The Runnymede Trust, 1997).
18. See for example, C. Allen, The 'First' Decade of Islamophobia: 10 Years of the Runnymede Trust Report 'Islamophobia': A Challenge for Us All (2007), p. 26. http://www.chris-allen.co.uk
19. Césari, op. cit., Ref. 15, p. 8.
20. V. Geisser, La Nouvelle Islamophobie (Paris: Éditions La Découverte, 2003), pp. 21-22.
21. M. Maussen, 'Anti-Muslim Sentiments and Mobilization in The Netherlands. Discourse, Policies and Violence', Ceśari, op. cit., Ref. 15, p. 101.
22. J. Bowen, 'Commentary on Bunzl', American Ethnologist, 32(4) (2005), p. 524.
23. C. Mouffe, 'The "End of Politics" and the Challenge of Right-Wing Populism', in F. Panizza (Ed.), Populism and the Mirror of Democracy (London: Verso, 2005), p. 59.
24. On this point see, for example, Mouffe, ibid.
25. W. Laqueur, The Last Days of Europe: Epitaph for an Old Continent (New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2007), pp. 171-172.
26. See Maussen, op. cit., Ref. 20, pp. 102-103
27. Y. Karakasoglu, 'Anti-Islamic Discourses in Europe: Agents and Contents', paper presented at the conference Muslims in Europe and in the United States: A Transatlantic Comparison, CES Harvard, December 15-16, 2006.
28. H. Cleveland and M. Luyckx, 'Civilizations and Governance', Working Paper for the Seminar on Governance and Civilizations, Brussels, May 14-16, 1998, p. 22.
29. On this issue see also C. S. Liang, 'Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right', in C. S. Liang (Ed.), Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2007) pp. 20-23.
30. J.-M. Le Pen, Jean-Marie, 'Discours de clot̂ure du XIIIe Congres̀ du Front National', November 18, 2007. http://www.frontnational.com/doc_interventions_detail.php?id_inter=92
31. La Stampa, February 7, 2000.
32. See for example R. Guolo, 'I Nuovi Crociati: La Lega e L'Islam', Il Mulino, No. 391 (September/October 2000), pp. 890-901.
33. See C. Saint-Blancat and O. Schmidt di Friedberg, 'Why are Mosques a Problem? Local Politics and Fear of Islam in Northern Italy', Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 31(6) (2005), pp. 1083-1104.
34. AGI (Agenzia Giornalistica Italia), October 2, 2006.
35. 'Rimossa la raffigurazione della bataglia di Lepanto a Montecitorio', La Padania, March 25, 2007.
36. 'Chiudamo le porte di casa nostra a chi arriva dai paesi musulmani', La Padania, September 19, 2006.
37. Ibid.
38. N. Griffin, 'The European Intifada - Rising to Meet the Great Challenge of Our Age', November 21, 2005. http://www.bnp.org.uk
39. 'Together We Can Stop the Mega-Mosque', March 27, 2007 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
40. 'St. George is for Life', July 4, 2006 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
41. 'Muslims Fail Sensitivity Test Once Again', September 15, 2006 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
42. 'Islamic takeover of Europe getting very nasty', November 2, 2006 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
43. 'Christian adviser Appointed to Mosque-Muslims Welcome Move', March 30, 2007 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
44. 'Mission Statement', Christian Council of Britain. 2007. The party has been accused by theologians and religious groups of using Christian themes in order to advance its political agenda. See, for example, 'BNP exploit racist fears and "Christian country" claims', Ekklesia, April 19, 2006.
45. The Voice of Freedom: The Newspaper of the British National Party, No. 93, March 2008.
46. T. Heydon, 'The Defense of Christian Civilisation', Identity: Magazine of the British National Party, February 2008.
47. 'New Far-Right Group Launches Its Mission to Defend European Identity', The Daily Telegraph, January 16, 2007.
48. 'Islamophobia Colors Austria Electioneering', IOL (IslamOnline.net). September 14, 2006.
49. Filip Dewinter, E-mail Interview. November 14, 2006.
50. R. Shorto, 'Keeping the Faith', The New York Times Magazine, April 8, 2007.
51. Benedict XVI, 'Address Of His Holiness Benedict XVI To The Participants In The Convention Organized By The Commission Of The Bishops', Conferences if The European Community (Comece)', March 24, 2007. http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2007/march/ documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20070324_comece_en.html
52. Already in 1999, a Catholic bishop warned against the creation of mosques and cultural centres in Christian countries, proof of a 'clear program of expansion and reconquest'. See G. G. Bernardini, 'Bishop: Islam Expanding Conquests', Associated Press, October 13, 1999. The authors of an article written in the Catholic journal Studium, one of them a Jesuit, write for example that 'The Islamization of the West is neither a phantasm nor merely something feared: It is an intention and a fact that emerges from an objective examination of the evidence'.
53. See R. A. M. Bertacchini and P. Vanzan, 'La Questione Islamica', Studium (January-February 2006), Year 102, p. 37.
54. Georg Gaenswein, Pope Benedict XVI's private secretary, argued in an interview that 'attempts to Islamize the West cannot be denied', and warned against the danger that Islam represents to the identity of Europe. See 'Pope's private secretary warns of Islamization of Europe", Jerusalem Post, July 26, 2007.
55. E. Kaufmann, 'Breeding for God', Prospect: Politics, Essays, Argument Issue 128 (November 2006), p. 29.
56. See G. Hentges, '"Popular Potential": The Extreme Right and Germany's Peace movement', in The Stephen Roth Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University (Ed.), Antisemitism Worldwide (Tel-Aviv, 2002/2003), pp. 55-74.
57. Mudde, op. cit., Ref. 9, p. 100.
58. The nationalist Sweden Democrats (SD) have also shown a similar strong pro-Israel stance. Party Secretary Björn Söder has declared that the Swedish government and the West should back Israel, 'the only democratic state'' in the Middle East. See B. Söder, 'Sweden should take a stance for Israel', 2006. http://www.bjornsoder.net/ artiklar.php?action=fullnews&showcomments=1&id=1097836687
59. Dewinter, op. cit., Ref. 46.
60. F. Dewinter, 'Guess Who's Coming to Seder. Dewinter's Tale', The New Republic: A Journal of Politics and the Arts, Issue 4, 801, Vol. 236 (January 22, 2007), p. 13.
61. F. Dewinter, 'Right-Wing Party Threatens to Abolish Belgium, by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard', The Daily Telegraph, May 17, 2003.
62. Dewinter, op. cit., Ref. 46.
63. Griffin, op. cit., Ref. 35.
64. N. Griffin, 'The British National Party Goes Straight: Interview by Robert Locke', Think-Israel, September-October 25, 2005.
65. L. Barnes, 'Nationalism and Israel', July 28, 2006. http://www.bnp.org.uk
66. M. Le Pen, 'Le Front national et le Mouvement pour la France de Philippe de Villiers courtisent la communauté juive, Auteur: Christiane Chombeau', Le Monde, March 3, 2006.
67. M. Le Pen, 'Sympathy for the Devil? By Nicholas Simon', The Jerusalem Report, January 10, 2005.
68. On this issue see also C. Chombeau, Le Pen fille & père (Paris: Éditions du Panama, 2007), pp. 295-297.
69. Le Pen, op. cit., Ref. 61.
70. G. Faye, La Nouvelle Question Juive (Paris: Les Editions du Lore, 2007), pp. 240-244.
71. D. Boyer, 'Welcome to the New Europe', American Ethnologist, 32(4) (2005), p. 523.
72. M. Bunzl, Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia: Hatreds Old and New in Europe (Chicago, IL: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2007), pp. 44-45.
73. See P. A. Silverstein, 'Immigrant Racialization and the New Savage Slot: Race, Migration, and Immigration in the New Europe', Annual Review of Anthropology, 34 (2005), p. 366
74. A. Kundnani, 'Integrationism: The Politics of anti-Muslim Racism', Race & Class, 48(4) (2007), p. 30.
75. As an example that anti-Jewish feelings still loom large in European public opinion, a 2007 survey in five countries - France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Poland - revealed that a substantial number of people believe that 'Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their country and that they have too much power in business and finance". See ADL (Anti-Defamation League), 'Attitudes toward Jews and the Middle East in Five European Countries', May 14, 2007.
76. See, for instance, Mudde, op. cit., Ref. 9, p. 171.
77. See Eatwell, op. cit., Ref. 5, p. 9.
78. There are some voices that advocate a rapprochement between nationalism and Islamism, precisely because both nationalists and Islamists share the same enemy in 'soulless' and 'disruptive' globalism. According to one such proponent, 'Both groups stand in antithesis to the globalist, in their insistence that man is homo sapiens, not homo economicus, and therefore materialism is not and ought not to be at the center of life'. In A. Fear, 'Anti-globalist Mussulmen', Right NOW!, No. 26 (January-March 2000), p. 6.
79. Bat Ye'Or, Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis (Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2005).
80. Dewinter, op. cit., Ref. 46.
81. 'The passing of a great lady' (BNP, British National Party), September 18, 2006. http://www.bnp.org.uk
82. Griffin, op. cit., Ref. 59. The BNP also promotes the anti-Islamic views of South-African writer Arthur Kemp. To him, 'Either Europe will submit to Islam, and become the "Eurabia" which some have mentioned as a possible new name, or it will take steps to ensure that the islamification process is not only halted, but reversed'.
83. In A. Kemp, JIHAD: Islam's 1,300 Year War on Western Civilisation (Burlington, IA: Ostara Publications, 2008), p. 60.
84. Griffin, op. cit., Ref. 35.
85. Barnes, op. cit., Ref. 60.
86. La Padania, July 8, 2005.
87. La Padania, op. cit., Ref. 33.
88. Ibid.
89. Oriana Fallaci is a major reference for the Northern League. For example, in a Northern town governed by a party member, a building used by Muslims for prayer has been razed to make way for Public Square 'Oriana Fallaci'. See La Repubblica, May 18, 2008.
90. M. Camre, E-mail Interview, October 31, 2006.
91. R. Stelzl, E-mail Interview. October 20, 2006.
92. 'Right-Wing Leaders to Form a European "Patriotic" Party', Deutsche Welle, January 26, 2008.
93. FPÖ, 2006. http://www.hcstrache.at/bilder/inserate/ ins_kleine_EU.pdf http://www.hcstrache.at/bilder/kampagne/ Duell_um_Oesterreich_CityLi.jpg
94. J.-M. Le Pen, 'Le Bourget-Projet Presidential', November 12, 2006. http://www.frontnational.com/doc_interventions_detail.php?id_inter=51
95. La Padania, March 1, 2005.
96. N. Göle, 'Europe's Encounter with Islam: What Future?' Constellations, 13(2) (2006), p. 255.
97. Some observers argue that the future of Turkey is in the European Union regardless of current hostility by Europeans to the idea. Robert Kaplan, for example, asked in an article, 'Does Europe want that many Muslims within its community? The answer should be that Europe has no choice. It is becoming Muslim anyway, in a demographic equivalent of the Islamic conquest of the early Middle Ages, when the Ottoman Empire reached the gates of Vienna. More to the point, Turkey is not only contiguous to Europe but also is already economically intertwined with it. In R. Kaplan, 'At the Gates of Brussels', The Atlantic, 294(5), (December 2004), p. 48.
98. J. Casanova, 'The Long, Difficult, and Tortuous Journey of Turkey into Europe and the Dilemmas of European Civilization', Constellations, 13(2) (2006), pp. 242-243.
99. One should note that Europe has witnessed in recent years the formation of pan-European associations and groups that reject any association with the extreme-right, and proclaim as their goal the 'defence' across Europe of the continent's Judeo-Christian roots, and stopping the 'islamization of Europe'. One such organization is Pax Europa, which has as its main figure a German journalist and writer, Udo Ulfkotte. Ulfkotte is also behind the creation in Germany of a new political party, describing itself as 'centrist', whose potential members must have a 'Judeo-Christian orientation', and which vows to 'regulate' the special benefits acquired by Muslims in Europe.
100. See, '11 de Septiembre en Bruselas, contra la islamización de Europa', Nueva Europa, 2007. http://yahel.wordpress.com/2007/04/ 12/11-de-septiembre-en-bruselascontra-la-islamizacion-de-europa/ Another group, Counterjihad Europa, established in 2007, aims at bringing together a coalition of writers, academics, activists and politicians 'to oppose the Islamization of Europe, with a focus on policy initiatives, legislation, legal test cases and political activism'.
101. See 'About', CounterJihad Europa, 2007. http://counterjihadeuropa.wordpress.com/about/
102. See, for example, P. Hossay and A. Zolberg, 'Democracy in Peril?' in M. Schain, A. Zolberg and P. Hossay (Eds), Shadows over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002), pp. 305-313.
103. P. Hainsworth, 'Introduction: The Extreme Right', in P. Hainsworth (Ed.), The Politics of the Extreme Right: From the Margins to the Mainstream (London: Pinter, 2000), p. 14.
104. Camre, op. cit., Ref. 81.
105. 'Danish Wake-up Call on Islam', International Herald Tribune. September 25, 2006.
106. See also 'Dane's Anti-Immigrant Backlash Marks Radical Shift', NPR, November 21, 2006.
107. La Padania, op. cit., Ref. 33.
108. C. Lussana, 'Unione vergognosa su mozione Cdl contro violazione della liberta ̀delle donne', February 20, 2007. http://www.gruppopoliticofemminile.leganord.org/lussana/ mozione_cdlprecetti_religiosi_20207.pdf
109. See for example, 'Sharia law is spreading as the authority of British justice wanes', The Daily Telegraph, November 29, 2006.
110. 'Islamic law taking hold in Britain', February 5, 2007 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
111. L. Fekete, 'Enlightened Fundamentalism? Immigration, Feminism and the Right', Race & Class, 48(2) (2006), p. 17.
112. A. Caeiro, 'France', in J. Ceśari (Ed.), Secularization and Religious Divides in Europe, 6th PCRD of European Commission (2006), p. 206. http://www.euro-islam.info/PDFs/ ChallengeProjectReport.pdf%20-4.pdf
113. As well as by other governments. See for example, J. Laurence, 'Managing Transnational Islam: Muslims and the State in Western Europe', in C. Parsons and T. Smeeding (Eds), Immigration and the Transformation of Europe (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006), pp. 253-275.
114. J.-M. Le Pen, 'Discours de Jean-Marie Le Pen è Valmy', September 20, 2006. http://www.frontnational.com/ doc_interventions_detail.php?id_inter=43
115. 'Intolerance and discrimination against Muslims in the EU-Developments since September 11', IHF (International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights) (2005), p. 35. http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/ doc_summary.php?sec_id=58&d_id=4029
116. Ibid., p. 56.
117. La Repubblica, September 10, 2005.
118. 'Parents shock as halal meat served in schools', September 21, 2006 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
119. 'BNP forces halal meat review in Worcestershire', October 13, 2006 (BNP, British National Party). http://www.bnp.org.uk
120. IHF (International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights) op. cit. Ref. 102, p. 59.
121. Ibid., p. 37.
122. Ibid., p. 74.
123. Guolo op. cit., Ref. 29, p. 898.
124. See P.-A. Taguieff, Sur la Nouvelle Droite: Jalons d'une Analyse Critique (Paris: Descartes&Cie, 1994), pp. 96-106.
125. See for example, C. Johnson, S. Patten and H.-G. Betz, 'Identitarian Politics and Populism in Canada and the Antipodes', in J. Rydgren (Ed.), Movements of Exclusion: Radical Right-Wing Populism in the Western World (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2005), pp. 85-100.
126. V. Stolcke, 'New Rhetorics of Exclusion in Europe', International Social Science Journal, 51(159) (March 1999), p. 30.
127. G. Sartori, 'Understanding Pluralism', Journal of Democracy, 8(4), (October 1997), pp. 68-69.
128. See, for example, F. Fukuyama, 'Identity, Immigration, and Liberal Democracy', Journal of Democracy, 17(2) (April 2006), pp. 12-19.
129. D. Goodhart, Progressive Nationalism: Citizenship and the Left (London: Demos, 2006), p. 13.
130. C. Joppke, 'Beyond National Models: Civic Integration Policies for Immigrants in Western Europe', West European Politics, 30(1) (January 2007), p. 5.
131. Fekete, op. cit., Ref. 98, p. 4.
132. Ibid., p. 3.
133. D. Blunkett, 'It's Not about Cricket Tests', The Guardian, December 14, 2001.
134. D. Davis, 'Do Muslims Really Want Apartheid Here?' The Sunday Telegraph, October 15, 2006.
135. See Daily Telegraph, February 17, 2008.
136. Joppke, op. cit., Ref. 117, pp. 9-12
137. MPI (Migration Policy Institute), 'France's New Law: Control Immigration Flows, Court the Highly Skilled' November, 2006. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=486
138. 'Sarkozy lance le débat sur l'identite ́nationale', Le Figaro, March 10, 2007.
139. 'Le regroupement familial sera bientot̂ durci', Le Figaro, June 12, 2007.
140. M. Burleigh, Sacred Causes: The Clash of Religion and Politics, from the Great War to the War on Terror (New York: HarperCollins, 2007), p. 479.
141. On this issue see H.-G. Betz, 'Against the "Green Totalitarianism": Anti-Islamic Nativism in Contemporary Radical Right-Wing Populism in Western Europe', in Liang, op. cit., Ref. 26, pp. 46-51.
142. See for instance, E. Lecoeur, Dictionnaire de l'extrême-droite (Paris: Larousse, 2007), pp. 116-117.
143. M. Le Pen, '2 personalities clash on European immigration, by Katrin Bennhold', International Herald Tribune, January 15, 2008.
144. Griffin, op. cit., Ref. 35, 2005.
145. B. Lewis, 'Prof. Bernard Lewis tells "Post": Muslims are "about to take over Europe"', The Jerusalem Post, January 29, 2007.
146. Laqueur, op. cit., Ref. 23, p. 19.
147. N. Ferguson, 'The March of Islam', The Sunday Telegraph, May 21, 2006. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/05/21/ svniall21.xml
148. See, for example, Ferguson, ibid.
149. Laqueur op. cit., Ref. 23, p. 168
150. D. Pipes, 'Gibbon, Oxford, and Islam', March 18, 2005. http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/430
151. D. Pryce-Jones, 'StudyingΟxford', National Review Online Blog Row, February 4, 2008
152. J. Ratzinger, 'The Spiritual Roots of Europe: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow'. Reprint. Translated by Michael F. Moore. In J. Ratzinger and M. Pera, Without Roots: The West, Relativism, Christianity, Islam (New York: Basic Books, 2007), pp. 66-67
153. M. Steyn, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It (Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing, 2006), p. 123.
154. For a critical and skeptical view of Eurabian and related catastrophic scenarios befalling Europe, see M. Carr, 'You are now entering Eurabia', Race & Class, 48(1) (2006), pp. 1-22
155. and J. Laurence, 'Integrating Islam', Frontpage Magazine, May 16, 2007. http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8305
156. D. Prager, 'The World in 2007', Creators Syndicate, December 19, 2006. http://www.creators.com/opinion/dennis-prager/the-world-in-2007.html
157. Steyn, op. cit., Ref. 134, pp. 108-109.
158. R. Peters, 'The "Eurabia" Myth', New York Post, November 26, 2006. http://www.nypost.com/seven/11262006/postopinion/ opedcolumnists/the_eurabia_myth_opedcolumnists_ralph_peters.htm?page=0
159. 'The Next Holocaust', New Statesman, December 5, 2005. http://www.newstatesman.com/200512050006
160. For examples see J. Rifkin, The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream (New York: Tarcher, 2005)
161. M. Leonard, Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century (New York: Public Affairs, 2006).
162. P. Jay and M. Stewart, Apocalypse 2000: Economic Breakdown and the Suicide of Democracy 1989-2000 (London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1987).