Islamophobia and the rise of neo-Nazis in West

This was no flash in the pan. It was the ninth week in a row that PEGIDA had taken its protest onto city streets. Its numbers have grown alarmingly. Starting with a mere 200 people when it held its first rally, it has now swollen to 15,000 and will perhaps continue to grow. One man in the protest alleged the “Muslims are plotting to infect our food chain with their excrement.” Germany’s federal office for the protection of the constitution has admitted that there are hundreds of right-wing extremists in their midst, as well as established groups of hooligans who are known to the police. “The instigators are unmistakably right-wing extremists,”a federal spokesman said.
The police identified two soccer hooligan organizations, “Faust des Ostens” (Fist of the East) and Hooligans Elbflorenz (Florence of the Elbe Hooligans), as well as members of the National Democratic Party (NPD) as being part of the protest rallies. The anti-Muslim venom is frightening. Some accuse Muslims of “taking over” the West while others say asylum seekers are living in luxury while they are deprived of even eating properly!
True, there were also two counter-demonstrations taking place elsewhere in Dresden but their numbers were small. They held banners that read, “Act against the right” and “Nazis, no thanks.” Given massive anti-Muslim propaganda in sections of the media and the government’s policy of militarism against Muslim countries — Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, etc. — there has been a noticeable shift in public perception about Muslims. According to a recent poll for the newsmagazine Spiegel, conducted by the TNS Institute, almost two-thirds of Germans believe that their government is not doing enough to address concerns about immigration and asylum seekers. The alleged threat of“Islamization” is also high on the list of Germans’ concerns: 34% think Germany is undergoing a process of “Islamization.”
On December 12, a newly refurbished home for asylum seekers in Nuremberg, the site of the Nazis’ war crimes trial after the Second World War, was badly damaged in a suspected xenophobic arson attack. Anti-foreigner slogans and swastikas were found daubed on the walls of the house. It will be a short step from there to attacks on Muslims or“Muslim-looking” people.
Germany is not alone in experiencing the rise of neo-Nazi groups. In Britain, there are several groups that have clearly fascist tendencies and are not averse to publicly expressing them. There are groups like the National Front and the English Defence League (EDL). The fascists’ most successful venture has been through the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), a new political party that has already won a seat in parliament. Timothy Miller, a UKIP member, hung a huge Union Jack (the British flag) upside down outside his house in Hedge End, Hampshire, on Christmas eve with a plea to Santa, “All we wish for is our country back!” Miller may have got Santa’s nationality wrong — he is not British — but it is certain had the mythical figure been non-white in popular folklore, Miller would not have made such a plea!
The EDL has close links with the European Defence League as well as the Danish Defence League (DDL) from whose ranks emerged the mass murderer Anders Breivik. The English Defence League also has a “Jewish division” within its ranks and the group has vowed to support Israel against what it calls “political Islam.” The EDL has also cultivated close links with right-wing fascist groups in the US including the well-known Islamophobic pastor Terry Jones who has gained notoriety for his Qur’an burning crusade.
It is however, the EDL’s close alliance with the Canadian Jewish Defence League (JDL) that is quite revealing. The JDL claims to be anti-Nazi and to speak in defence of Jewish rights. Yet the EDL is infested with neo-Nazis. So how does JDL justify its alliance with the neo-Nazis? Easy: JDL itself is a fascist outfit. It is driven by extreme hatred of Muslims and anyone opposed to the racist Zionist entity called Israel.
The English Defence League is totally opposed to non-white immigration to Britain. Its sister organization, the National Front wants all non-whites to be immediately repatriated including those born and raised there who have not known any place else except Britain as home. The Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Breivik, who massacred 77 children in July 2011, was inspired by the ideology of EDL. He had hundreds of EDL members as friends on his Facebook page.
Many members of the National Front were absorbed into the Conservative Party once Margaret Thatcher came to power in Britain. Dubbed the “Iron Lady,” she did not hesitate to espouse her racist views in public. There are numerous Defence League groups that have sprouted in Europe including the Welsh Defence League, the Scottish Defence League and so on. There are other fascist groups that use different names such as the English Volunteer Force but the common thread between them is hatred of Islam and Muslims. In France, the far right party, the National Front founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, now headed by his daughter Marine Le Pen, is part of the political landscape and has seats in the French National Assembly. It, too, is opposed to immigrants and to Muslims in particular.
Since the 9/11 events, almost all Western governments have instituted extremely oppressive laws whose principal targets are their Muslim citizens. In addition to the numerous false flag operations launched to besmirch Muslims and therefore justify the oppressive policies, such policies have also encouraged the media as well as fascist groups to go on the offensive. Hardly a day passes by without some media outlet spouting anti-Muslim venom. In fact, terrorism has become an exclusively“Muslim phenomenon.” Thus, if a Muslim is involved in a crime, it is“terrorism”; otherwise it is considered just a crime. Canada offers a good example.
In October, there were two incidents in Canada involving mentally unstable individuals who killed soldiers — one in Montreal, the other in Ottawa. Both incidents were dubbed acts of terrorism by the government. Last June, three RCMP officers were shot and killed in Muncton, New Brunswick but this was not considered terrorism. Also in October, a war veteran amassed huge amounts of firearms and explosives and had planned to attack a federal building in Alberta but the government refused to categorize it as terrorism.
The really troubling aspect of the Canadian scene is the patronizing of the JDL by the Canadian government. In March 2014, when Harper went on a visit to Israel, he took a member of the Canadian branch of the Jewish Defence League in his entourage. It must be borne in mind that the group’s parent organization, Kahane Chai, named after the racist rabbi, Meir Kahane, is banned in Israel as well as the US.
The Canadian JDL has been involved in violent attacks against people that protest the Zionist regime’s crimes. For instance, in June 2013, the JDL had come out to support Iranian counter-revolutionaries when they were protesting against a program commemorating Imam Khomeini’s anniversary in Richmond Hill, a suburb of Toronto. The Iranian counter-revolutionaries attacked and injured two Muslims who were taking photographs, but minding their own business. The police were present there but took no action against the assailants.
The JDL has also been involved in direct attacks. Last July, a mob of about 200 JDL thugs planned to storm Palestine House in Mississauga. The Palestinians and their supporters mobilized the community and stood their ground. The JDL thugs attacked them. Again, the police took no action against the offenders. At the annual Quds Day Rally in Toronto (also in July) a brother and sister who were left behind from the huge rally (attended by some 25,000 people) were attached by five JDL thugs. The Muslim man was badly beaten and sustained severe injuries. Fortunately, another Muslim captured the assault on his cell phone and provided information to the Toronto police that laid charges against four of the five assailants. The case is still pending.
When such violent people receive state patronage and support, they are bound to become bolder in their crimes. But as long as the victims are Muslims, that is considered to be OK because Muslims cannot be up to any good.
Living in the West is becoming precarious for Muslims these days. This is not confined to any particular country. It mattering not how many times Muslims profess their condemnation of terrorist acts perpetrated by so-called Muslims anywhere in the world, they will continue to bear responsibility and, therefore, the brunt of the regimes’wrath as well as that of fascist Islamophobic groups.