The Impact of Right-Wing Populism on Islamist Terrorism in Europe: Causes, Results, and Solutions
By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam
28 August 2024
The Rise Of Right-Wing Populism And The Consequent Alienation And Marginalization Of Muslim Communities From The Mainstream, Nurtured With The Help Of Right-Wing Populism In Europe, Have Extensively Abetted Their Radicalization.
Main Points:
1. Right-wing populism in most parts of Europe has had a pronounced effect on the discourse around Islam and Muslims, furthering the cause of social upheaval and changing the dynamics of Islamic terrorism
2. Over the past two decades, right-wing populism has mobilized the people of Europe with powerful emotions on immigration, national identity, and economic insecurity
3. Solutions for addressing the linkage of right-wing populism and Islamic terrorism do not lie only within a counter-terrorism policy but need to be multilayered
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Background
Right-wing populism in most parts of Europe has had a pronounced effect on the discourse around Islam and Muslims, furthering the cause of social upheaval and changing the dynamics of Islamic terrorism. Over a while, populist right-wingers tend to capitalize on issues of immigration, especially that of Muslims, to rally people behind them by mislabelling Muslims as a cultural and security threat. In turn, this rhetoric shapes the socio-political context, which may further exacerbate the very issues it seeks to resolve. The given article probes the influence wielded by the European right-wing on Islamic terrorism, using concrete examples from France, Germany, and Italy, and goes on to offer some solutions to these effects.
The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Europe
Over the past two decades, right-wing populism has mobilized the people of Europe with powerful emotions on immigration, national identity, and economic insecurity. Far-right parties, such as the French National Front—now National Rally—Germany's Alternative for Germany, and the League in Italy, are quick to seize on fears and position themselves as defenders of European culture vis-à-vis the threat of Islamization.
A key framing device of European right-wing populism is pitting Islam against Western values. Rhetoric along these lines typically links Muslims to terrorism, crime, and an attack on secularism, thus creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion. For example, the National Rally in France has traditionally tied Islam to the colonial legacy with massive migration from Algeria for anti-Muslim campaign purposes. It focuses on the failure of Muslims to integrate, creating a fiction of a threat to French laicite and to national identity.
In Germany, movements such as PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) have appeared, showing attention to the perceived threats to the state from Muslim refugees and immigrants. These movements have influenced public opinion and policy, as the AfD has gained remarkable ground in politics based on similar anti-Islamist positions. In Italy, the League has mixed anti-Islam rhetoric with economic concerns to frame Muslim immigrants as both a cultural and economic threat to the state.
How Right-Wing Populism Fuels Islamic Terrorism
It is this enabling environment that right-wing populism can trigger that goes on to in many ways sculpt the face of Muslim radicalization. Muslims do get projected as "the other" or "the enemy," a process that can lead them to alienated and marginalized positions, especially in the case of the youth. Being marginalized can be used by radical groups to make people feel appreciated in a world that would have otherwise rejected them.
In France, for example, stigmatization of Muslims and associating Islam with terrorism has led to an atmosphere of distrust and hostility. It is in such an atmosphere that people are often swayed to follow extremist ideologies as a way of fighting perceived oppression. Guided by far-right narratives, the mode of dealing with radicalization in France has mainly been that of repression, instead of addressing the actual causes which include social exclusion and discrimination.
In Germany, the rise of AfD and PEGIDA happened along with mounting anti-Muslim hate crimes, in situations that could further place deeper schisms within society. Targeting Muslim communities will feed a vicious cycle, as fear and resentment on both sides of the divide fuel further radicalization. Similarly, in Italy, the already increased animosities among Muslim communities and the masses in general have been fuelled by the League's anti-Islam policy in a way that could also encourage some people to resort to extremist views to get back at their much-hated oppressors.
Case Studies
France The environment governing the French debate on Islam is borrowed from the colonial relations that France had been maintaining, especially with Algeria. It simply aggravates the schisms within French society, since a far-right depiction of Muslims as a threat to French secularism and national identity undoubtedly provokes in the French Muslim populace an alienated feeling; this feeling, together with very rich discriminatory tendencies, can breed radicalization, as one could see by various terrorist attacks.
Germany: Within this context, it is the fears of Muslim immigration that the PEGIDA and AfD have made skilled use of to attract political support by which the increased hostility to Muslims and anti-Muslim crimes increasingly document. The AfD, in particular, creates more polarization through incessant rhetoric about Islam being responsible for terrorism and crime in German society, with very often the brunt of this hostility being left for Muslims to bear. This situation has contributed to cycles of radicalization among certain sub-groups of the Muslim population, who respond to the perceived threat of exclusion and violence.
Italy: The League using anti-Islam rhetoric has escalated otherwise potent relations of Muslims with the general people in Italy. The framing of Muslims in the League as both a threat to the country's culture and an economic threat has led to increased marginalization and risks of being radicalized. The influence of the party on the point of forming the government or the coalition has also guided its immigration policies to tighten immigration controls and make the environment of the country increasingly hostile towards Muslims.
The Way Forward
Solutions for addressing the linkage of right-wing populism and Islamic terrorism do not lie only within a counter-terrorism policy but need to be multilayered. Security alone is, therefore, not more critical than addressing factors of radicalization based on social and political aspects. The following solutions, therefore, may offset the negative impacts of right-wing populism on the Muslim communities by reducing overall risks related to terrorism.
Promoting Inclusive Policies: Governments should work toward policies that advance social inclusion and integration instead of exclusion and marginalization. This includes equal opportunities in terms of education, job creation, and housing and making sure that Muslims are part of the political process. In so doing, they will deal with socio-economic inequalities that pose a threat of radicalization, which, in the long run, will limit attraction to these deviant ideologies.
Therefore, challenging Islamophobia in the public discourse on Islam and Muslims is reframed so that the narrative provided mostly by right-wing populists can be sent into the abyss. This would include a more nuanced understanding of Islam than stereotypes and an acknowledgment of the contributions being made in European societies by Muslims. Media, civil society, and political leaders would therefore each play their role, making this environment more inclusive in the process.
Building community trust: Trust between Muslim communities and the mainstream society is one great way of avoiding radicalization. Contact and collaboration on the part of community leaders with law enforcement agencies must form at all levels of governmental institutions. Programs of intercultural understanding and cooperation will break down the barriers and decrease the feelings of isolation that could lead, through the process of radicalization, to terrorist activities.
Education and awareness: The population should be educated on the hazards of right-wing extremism and the importance of social cohesion. Schools and universities should contribute by establishing critical thinking and awareness of what hate speech and discrimination actually lead to. Public campaigns portraying the benefits of inclusion and diversity may also help in changing public attitudes in society away from the pulp at which right-wing demagogues are so good.
Legal and Policy Measures: Governments should apply and enforce laws against hate speech and discrimination in more stringent ways; this includes holding political leaders and parties accountable for rhetoric that incites violence or hatred against the Muslim communities. Legal measures should also be complemented with policies that support immigrant integration and the protection of minority rights.
Conclusion
The Rise of Right-Wing Populism The alienation and marginalization of Muslim communities from the mainstream, nurtured with the help of right-wing populism in Europe, have extensively abetted their radicalization. The governments can curb the impact of this right-wing populism by addressing socio-political factors that foster such a trend and encouraging such policies that will not promote this aspect that is nurturing Islamic terrorism. It is crucial for European societies to go beyond the divisive rhetoric of populist politics in the direction of a unifying, cohesive future.
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A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-west/right-wing-populism-islamist-terrorism-europe/d/133060
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