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'{{Islamophobia}} '''Counter-jihad''' or '''counterjihad''' or '''counter-jihad movement'''<ref name=CJM>{{cite journal|title=Why we fight: Understanding the counter-jihad movement|last=Lee|first=Benjamin|journal=Religion Compass|volume=10|issue=10|quote="The clearest case of violence linked to the CJM is that of Anders Breivik; the commonalities between Breivik and the CJM have been noted by several writers (Kundnani, 2012: 4; Jackson, 2013; Meleagrou-Hitchens & Brun, 2013:2; Goodwin, 2013: 4; Titley, 2013)."}}</ref> is a political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by a common belief that the [[Western world]] is being subjected to takeover by [[Muslims]].<ref name="Lee">{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Benjamin|title=A Day in the "Swamp": Understanding Discourse in the Online Counter-Jihad Nebula|journal=Democracy and Security|date=4 September 2015|volume=11|issue=3|pages=248–274|doi=10.1080/17419166.2015.1067612}}</ref> Several academic accounts have presented [[conspiracy theory]] as a key component of the counter-jihad movement.<ref>Cited in Lee (2016): * {{cite journal|last1=Fekete|first1=Liz|title=The Muslim conspiracy theory and the Oslo massacre|journal=Race & Class|date=15 December 2011|volume=53|issue=3|pages=30–47|doi=10.1177/0306396811425984}} * {{cite journal|last1=Bangstad|first1=Sindre|title=Eurabia Comes to Norway|journal=Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations|date=July 2013|volume=24|issue=3|pages=369–391|doi=10.1080/09596410.2013.783969}} * Meleagrou-Hitchens, A., & Brun, H. (2013).A neo-nationalist network: The English Defence League andEurope’s counter-jihad movement. London: The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisationand Political Violence.</ref> On a day-to-day level, it seeks to generate outrage at perceived Muslim crimes.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=Benjamin J.|title='It's not paranoia when they are really out to get you': the role of conspiracy theories in the context of heightened security|journal=Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression|date=30 September 2016|volume=9|issue=1|pages=4–20|doi=10.1080/19434472.2016.1236143}}</ref> While the roots of the movement go back to the 1980s, it did not gain significant momentum until after the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001 and the [[7 July 2005 London bombings]]. As far back as 2006, online commentators such as [[Fjordman]] were identified as playing a key role in forwarding the nascent counter-jihad ideology.<ref name="Lee" /> The movement received considerable attention following the [[2011 Norway attacks]] whose manifesto extensively reproduced the writings of prominent counter-jihad bloggers,<ref name ="conspiracy" /> and following the emergence of prominent street movements such as the [[English Defence League]] (EDL).<ref name="Lee" /> The movement has been variously described as pro-Israel,<ref name="Lee" /> [[Criticism of Islam|anti-Islamic]],<ref name=svd.se>{{Cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/kultur/understrecket/diffus-rorelse-med-muslimer-som-hatobjekt_6364272.svd|title=Diffus rörelse med muslimer som hatobjekt|work=Svenska Dagbladet|date=3 August 2011|accessdate=6 August 2011|language=sv}}</ref><ref name=CBSNews>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57432640/pentagon-suspends-counterjihad-class-on-islam/|title=Pentagon suspends "counterjihad" class on Islam|work=[[CBS News]]|date=11 May 2012|accessdate=3 July 2012}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/14/breivik-trial-norway-mass-murderer The Guardian: Far-right anti-Muslim network on rise globally as Breivik trial opens]</ref> [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Goodwin|first1=Matthew J.|last2=Cutts|first2=David|last3=Janta-Lipinski|first3=Laurence|title=Economic losers, protestors, islamophobes or xenophobes? Predicting public support for a counter-Jihad movement|journal=Political Studies|date=19 August 2014|volume=64|issue=1|pages=4–26|doi=10.1111/1467-9248.12159|url=http://opus.bath.ac.uk/41051/|accessdate=6 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/risk-att-breivik-ses-som-profet_7065745.svd|title=Risk att Breivik ses som profet|work=Svenska Dagbladet|author=Anna-Lena Lodenius|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Mattias Wåg|url=http://www.goteborgsfria.se/artikel/89385| title=Den nya högerextremismens terroristiska uttryck|newspaper=Göteborgs fria|date=28 Jul 2011|language=sv}}</ref><ref name=Denes/> inciting hatred against Muslims,<ref name=HateAgainstMuslims>{{cite journal|last1=Wolff|first1=Elisabetta Cassina|title=Evola's interpretation of fascism and moral responsibility|journal=[[Patterns of Prejudice]]|date=2 November 2016|volume=50|issue=4-5|pages=478–494|doi=10.1080/0031322X.2016.1243662}}</ref> or [[Far-right politics|far-right]].<ref name=svd.se/><ref name=Denes>{{cite journal|last=Denes|first=Nick|title=Welcome to the Counterjihad: "Uncivil" Networks and European Social Space|journal=Dahrendorf Symposia Series|volume=2012-12|publisher=Dahrendorf Symposia|location=Berlin|year=2012|url=http://www.dahrendorf-symposium.eu/fileadmin/Content_Images/Papers/Dahrendorf_Symposia_Series/DSS_12.pdf|accessdate=2012-08-26|doi=10.1080/17448689.2012.738894}}</ref><ref name=HitchensBrun2013>Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Hans Brun, ''[http://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/ICSR-ECJM-Report_Online.pdf A Neo-Nationalist Network: The [[English Defence League]] and Europe’s Counter-Jihad Movement]'', [[The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence|International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence]], March 2013.</ref> The movement has adherents both in Europe and in North America. The European wing is more focused on the alleged cultural threat to European traditions stemming from immigrant Muslim populations, while the American wing emphasizes an alleged external threat, essentially terrorist in nature.<ref name="svd.se"/> ==Overview== Counter-jihad is a transatlantic<ref name=Archer2013/> "radical right" wing movement<ref name=Fleischer/>{{attribution needed|date=July 2016}} that, via "the sharing of ideas between Europeans and Americans and daily linking between blogs and websites on both sides of the Atlantic",<ref name=Archer2013/>{{attribution needed|date=July 2016}} "calls for a counterjihad against the supposed [[Eurabia|Islamisation]] of Europe".<ref name=Fleischer/>{{attribution needed|date=July 2016}} While the roots of the movement go back to the 1980s, it did not gain significant momentum until after the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001.<ref name=tnyt1/> The authors of ''Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse'' describe the movement as heavily relying on two key tactics. "The first is arguing that the most radical Muslims – men like [[Osama bin Laden]] – are properly interpreting the [[Quran]], while peaceful moderate Muslims either do not understand their own holy book or are strategically faking their moderation. The second key tactic is to relentlessly attack individuals and organizations that purport to represent moderate Islam...painting them as secret operatives in a grand Muslim scheme to destroy the West."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beirich|first1=Heidi |editor=Wodak, Ruth |editor2=KhosraviNik, Majid |editor3=Mral, Brigitte|title=Right-Wing Populism in Europe: Politics and Discourse|date=2013|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|location=London|isbn=1-78093-343-6|pages=91–92|chapter=Hate Across the Waters: The Role of American Extremists in Fostering an International White Consciousness}}</ref> Benjamin Lee describes the "counter-jihad scene" as one where "Europe and the United States are under threat from an aggressive and politicized Islamic world that is attempting to take over Europe through a process of "Islamification" with the eventual aim of imposing [[Sharia law]]. In this process, the threat is characterized by the perceived removal of Christian or Jewish symbols, the imposition of Islamic traditions, and the creation of [[no-go area]]s for non-Muslims. The construction of [[mosques]] in particular is seen as continued reinforcement of the separation of the Muslim population from the wider populous. As strong as the threatening practices of Muslims in descriptions of the counter jihad are images of a powerless Europe in decline and sliding into decadence, unable to resist Islamic takeover. The idea that European culture in particular is in a state of decline, while a spiritually vigorous East represented by Islam is in the ascendancy in civil society, is a common sentiment in some circles."<ref name="Lee" /> Two central counter-jihad themes have been identified: * the notion that Islam poses a threat to "Western civilisation", with a particular focus on "Muslims living in Europe", that is, within the European Counterjihad Movement (ECJM), "seen predominantly in terms of immigration",<ref name=Archer2013/> particularly Muslim immigration.<ref name=HitchensBrun2013/> * a lack of trust in regional, political and economic "elites", with a particular focus against the European Union (EU).<ref name=Archer2013>{{cite book|author1=Toby Archer|authorlink1=Breivik's Mindset|editor1-last=Taylor|editor1-first=Max|editor2-last=Currie|editor2-first=P.M.|editor3-last=Holbrook|editor3-first=Donald|title=Extreme right wing political violence and terrorism|date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|isbn=9781441140876|pages=173–4|edition=1. publ.}}<!--|accessdate=23 May 2016--></ref> ==Counter-jihad movement== [[File:Paulbelien.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Paul Beliën, member of the board of directors of the International Free Press Society (IFPS) and the editor of Counterjihad blog The Brussels Journal]] One of the first organizations of the Counter-jihad movement [CJM], the ''910 Group'' was founded in 2006 and announced on ''Gates of Vienna'', “a principal blog of the CJM since 2004.” Its stated purpose was to defend “liberties, human rights, and religious and political freedoms [that] are under assault from extremist groups who believe in Islamist supremacy.”<ref name=UPE>{{cite book|title=Understanding the Populist Shift: Othering in a Europe in Crisis|editor=Gabriella Lazaridis|editor2=Giovanna Campani|pages=70–103|isbn=978-1138101654|publisher= Routledge|year=2016|author=Gabriella Lazaridis|author2=Marilou Polymeropoulou|author3=Vasiliki Tsagkroni}}</ref> By April 2007, the counter-jihad current became visible as a movement operating in northwestern Europe after a "counter-jihad summit", organised by a transatlantic network of anti-Islam bloggers, was held in Copenhagen, Denmark.<br/> In October 2007 a second summit ''Counterjihad Brussels 2007'', was hosted by the [[Belgium|Belgian]], [[Flemish Movement|Flemish-nationalist]] party [[Vlaams Belang]] in the [[European Parliament]] building in Brussels, Belgium.<ref name="Fleischer">{{cite book|author1=Rasmus Fleischer|authorlink1=Two fascisms in contemporary Europe? Understanding the ideological split of the radical right|editor1-last=Deland|editor1-first=Mats|editor2-last=Minkenberg|editor2-first=Michael|editor3-last=Mays|editor3-first=Christin|title=In the Tracks of Breivik: Far Right Networks in Northern and Eastern Europe|date=2014|publisher=LIT Verlag|location=Münster|isbn=978-3-643-90542-0|page=62|url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Coi8BAAAQBAJ|accessdate=21 May 2016}}</ref><ref name=Luban/> This conference has been regarded as a crucial event in the movement's history<ref>{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/07/25/breivik_s_swamp?page=0,1|title=Breivik's swamp|first=Toby |last=Archer|date=25 July 2011|accessdate=28 August 2011}}</ref> and featured "keynote speakers" Bat Ye'or<ref name=Fleischer/> and [[David Littman (historian)|David Littman]] followed by "country reports" from "delegates" Paul Beliën and [[Filip Dewinter]] (Vlaams Belang, Belgium), Stefan Herre ([[Politically Incorrect (blog)|PI blog]], Germany), Nidra Poller ([[PJ Media|Pajamas Media]] blog, France), [[Gerard Batten]] ([[UK Independence Party]], UK), Ted Ekeroth ([[Swedish Democrats]], Sweden), [[Lars Hedegaard]] ([[International Free Press Society]], Denmark), Jens Tomas Anfindsen ([[Ole Jørgen Anfindsen#Social commentary|HonestThinking]] blog, Norway), Kenneth Sikorski (Tundra Tabloids blog, Finland), Johannes Jansen (Holland), Adriana Bolchini Gaigher, (Lisistrata blog, Italy), Traian Ungureanu (Romania), Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff (Austria), [[Matyas Zmo]] (Czech Republic), with further speeches by [[Arieh Eldad]] ([[Moledet]], Israel). [[Patrick Sookhdeo]], ([[Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity]], Barnabas Fund, UK), Dr Marc Cogen (Professor of International Law, Vesalius College, Belgium), Sam Solomon (Islamic Affairs Consultant, [[Christian Concern]]), Robert Spencer ([[Jihad Watch]], [[David Horowitz Freedom Center]]), [[Andrew Bostom]], and [[Laurent Artur du Plessis]]<ref>{{cite web|title=CounterJihad Brussels 2007 Conference Press Release|url=https://counterjihadeuropa.wordpress.com/conferences/counterjihad-brussels-2007/|website=Counterjihad Europa|publisher=Wordpress|accessdate=22 May 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031233953/http://counterjihadeuropa.wordpress.com/conferences/counterjihad-brussels-2007/counterjihad-brussels-2007-biographies/|archivedate=31 October 2007|location=Internet Archive}}</ref><br/> A March 2012 Counter-jihad conference in Denmark drew 200-300 supporters from throughout Europe. Ten times the number of left-wing protesters staged a counter-demonstration.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=149759573|title=80 Arrested After Anti-Islam Protest In Denmark|agency=Associated Press|date=March 31, 2012|accessdate=April 25, 2012}}</ref> The 2012 conference in Denmark, was alleged by its organisers, the [[English Defence League]] to mark the starting point of a pan-European movement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cphpost.dk/news/national/islam-debate-takes-centre-stage-aarhus|title=Islam debate takes centre stage in Aarhus|publisher=The Copenhagen Post|date=April 4, 2012|accessdate=April 27, 2012}}</ref> There have been no CJM conferences since 2013, pointing to a decline in the movement.<ref name=UPE/> ==Organization== Blogs such as ''Gates of Vienna'', ''[[Jihad Watch]]'', ''[[Pamela Geller|Atlas Shrugs]]'', ''[[Politically Incorrect (Blog)|Politically Incorrect]]'', ''[[The Brussels Journal]]'' are central to the transatlantic Counter-jihad movement (TCJM). Notable figures include: the editors of these blogs, respectively Edward 'Ned' May (pseudonym Baron Bodissey),<ref name=Archer2013/> [[Robert Spencer (author)|Robert Spencer]]; [[Pamela Geller]]; [[Stefan Herre]]; and [[Paul Beliën]]. Notable writers in the Counter-jihad movement are [[Bat Ye'or]], [[David Horowitz]] and [[Fjordman]].<ref name=svd.se/><ref name=tnyt1>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/opinion/sunday/the-rise-of-the-macro-nationalists.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=The Rise of the Macro-Nationalists|first=Thomas|last=Hegghammer|authorlink=Thomas Hegghammer|date=30 July 2011|accessdate=31 July 2011}}</ref><ref name=tnyt2 /><br/> 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.<ref name=Kundnani/><ref name=Fekete2012/> In time, a network of formal organisations has been established, with its main centres in Europe and the United States.<ref name=Townsend2012>{{cite web|last=Townsend|first=Mark|title=Far-right anti-Muslim network on rise globally as Breivik trial opens:Report highlights UK role in the growth of groups that inspired Norway's mass murderer|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/14/breivik-trial-norway-mass-murderer|website=The Guardian|accessdate=27 April 2012|date=14 April 2012}}</ref> A [[Transatlantic relations|transatlantic]] [[umbrella organisations|umbrella organisation]] SION was established in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/20/idUS122494+20-Jan-2012+PRN20120120|work=[[Reuters]] (Press release)|title=Stop Islamization of Nations (SION) Calls on UN to Protect Christians of Syria|date=January 20, 2012|accessdate=April 27, 2012}}</ref> The International Free Press Society lists representatives from many parts of the counter-jihad spectrum on its board of advisors.<ref name=Luban>{{Cite news|url=http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45928|work=[[InterPress Service]]|title=Dutch Foe of Islam Ignores US Allies' Far Right Ties|first=Daniel |last=Luban|author2=Eli Clifton|date=28 February 2009|accessdate=28 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Anders Hvass|title=Lars Hedegaard ude af DF|language=Danish|trans-title=Lars Hedegaard leaves Danish People's Party|publisher=[[Berlingske tidene]]|url=http://www.b.dk/politik/lars-hedegaard-ude-af-df|accessdate=July 23, 2012}}</ref> [[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.<ref name="Luban"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Nick Lowles|title=International Counter-jihadist Organisations - The International Free Press Society (IFPS) Network|url=http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/counter-jihad/organisations/Free-Press-Society|publisher=Hope Not Hate|accessdate=24 May 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303201310/http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/counter-jihad/organisations/Free-Press-Society|archivedate=3 March 2013|location=Internet Archive|date=June 2012}}</ref> ===American Counter-jihad movement=== [[File:Robert Spencer.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Robert Spencer, joint leader of Stop Islamization of America and editor of counter-jihad blog Jihad Watch]] The U.S.-based [[Stop Islamization of America]] (SIOA) is led by Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer,<ref name=MorgEur/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05EEDB113CF933A25753C1A9669D8B63&scp=3&st=cse&pagewanted=all |title=Outraged, And Outrageous |publisher=The New York Times |date=October 10, 2010 |accessdate=April 27, 2012}}</ref> as a programme under their American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI). According to the AFDI website, the initiative aims, among other activities, to:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freedomdefense.typepad.com/fdi/2011/07/american-freedom-defense-initiative-action-plan.html|title=American Freedom Defense Initiative Action Plan|author=[[Pamela Geller]]|date=July 31, 2011|accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> * Create state organizations that work towards the initiative's aims at a local level * Organize grass root small groups at the local level to fight what it labels "specific Islamic supremacist initiatives" in American cities * Build strategic alliances with activist groups in Europe and Israel to engage in open and stealthy counter jihad measures * Promote candidates who "fight against the march of Islamic supremacists" * Host conferences "that educate Americans about Leftist indoctrination and Islam’s quest for domination" SIOA has been accused by the [[Anti-Defamation League]] of <blockquote>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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/sioa.htm|title= Backgrounder: Stop Islamization of America (SIOA)|publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]]|date=March 25, 2011|accessdate=April 29, 2012}}</ref></blockquote> In 2010, a group dubbed "Team B II", patterned after the [[anti-communist]] 1970s [[Team B]], published a report titled "Shariah: The Threat to America"<ref>[http://www.voltairenet.org/IMG/pdf/Shariah_-_The_Threat_to_America_Team_B_Report_.pdf Shariah: The Threat to America], REPORT OF TEAM ‘B’ II</ref> which has been cited as influencing the movement's discourse and the public's perception.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/02/03/why-do-so-many-americans-believe-that-islam-is-a-political-ideology-not-a-religion/ Why do so many Americans believe that Islam is a political ideology, not a religion?], Washington Post, Michael Schulson, 3 February 2017</ref><ref name="vox201702">[https://www.vox.com/world/2017/2/13/14559822/trump-islam-muslims-islamophobia-sharia Trump’s counter-jihad], Zack Beauchamp, Vox, February 2017</ref> With the election of [[Donald Trump]] to the United States presidency in 2017, some have claimed that the American wing has achieved some influence in the US administration.<ref name="vox201702"/> ===European Counter-jihad movement=== The umbrella organization, [[Stop Islamisation of Europe]], was founded by [[Anders Gravers Pedersen]],<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/23/uk-norway-killer-group-idUKTRE76M37M20110723 |title=Fringe group barred suspected Norway killer from forum |publisher=Reuters |date=July 23, 2011 |accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.dagbladet.no/2011/08/24/nyheter/anders_behring_breivik/innenriks/terrorangrepet/17803023/ |title=Her er Breiviks meningsfeller |language=Norwegian |trans-title=These are the people who share Breivik's opinions |publisher=[[Dagbladet]] |date=August 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.tv2nord.dk/artikel/121586:Krimi--Anders-Gravers-Pedersen-vaeltet-omkuld-under-demonstration |title=Anders Gravers Pedersen væltet omkuld under demonstration |language=Danish |trans-title=Anders Gravers Pedersen scuffled during demonstration |publisher=TV2 Nord |date=May 21, 2010 |accessdate=April 28, 2012 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710104124/http://www.tv2nord.dk/artikel/121586%3AKrimi--Anders-Gravers-Pedersen-vaeltet-omkuld-under-demonstration |archivedate=July 10, 2011 |df= }}</ref> who also sits on the board of the Stop Islamisation of Nations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sion-to-hold-international-congress-and-media-workshop-to-address-islamic-supremacist-war-against-free-speech-142749465.html |title=SION to Hold International Congress and Media Workshop to Address Islamic Supremacist War Against Free Speech (Press Release) |publisher=PR Newswire |date=March 15, 2012 |accessdate=April 28, 2012}}</ref> There are numerous affiliated "Stop the islamisation of..." and "Defense Leagues" in several European countries,<ref name=Townsend2012/> among them [[Stop Islamisation of Denmark]], [[Stop Islamisation of Norway]], and the [[English Defence League]]. ==Counter-jihad ideology== In the words of Toby Archer, a scholar of political extremism and terrorism, <blockquote>"Counter-jihad discourse mixes valid concerns about [[Islamic terrorism|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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rusi.org/publications/monitor/articles/keywords:counter-jihad/ref:A48A5851376CB9/|title=Countering the counter-jihad|first=Toby |last=Archer|date=15 August 2008|accessdate=28 August 2011}}</ref></blockquote> Arun Kundnani, in a report published by the International Centre for Counter-terrorism, writes that the counter-jihad 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 counter-jihadist worldview to the older, neo-nazi one, "Muslims have taken the place of blacks and multiculturalists are the new Jews."<ref name=Kundnani>{{cite web|author=Arun Kundnani|title=Blind Spot? Security Narratives and Far-Right Violence in Europe|publisher=[[International Centre for Counter-terrorism]]|format=PDF|url=http://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Kundnani-Blind-Spot-June-2012.pdf|date=June 2012|accessdate=July 23, 2012}}</ref> According to prominent counter-jihadist [[Edward S. May]], writing under the [[pseudonym]] Baron Bodissey, the counter-jihadist movement is based on the belief that <blockquote>"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'."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gatesofvienna.blogspot.com/2009/11/counterjihad-manifesto.html|title=The Counterjihad Manifesto|first=Baron|last=Bodissey|date=20 November 2009|accessdate=28 August 2011|work=Gates of Vienna}}</ref></blockquote> [[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]].<ref name=MorgEur>{{Cite news |url=http://morgenbladet.no/samfunn/2011/eurabiske_vers |title=Eurabiske vers |language=Norwegian |trans-title=Eurabian verses |publisher=[[Morgenbladet]] |date=August 19, 2011 |accessdate=April 27, 2012}}</ref> According to [[Hope not Hate]], counter-jihad discourse has replaced the racist discourse of rightwing, populist and nationalist politics in America and Europe "with the language of cultural and identity wars".<ref>{{cite web|title=Counter-jihad Report|url=http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/counter-jihad|website=Hope Not Hate|accessdate=21 May 2016|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705190727/http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/counter-jihad/|archivedate=5 July 2012|location=Internet Archive|date=1 June 2012}}</ref> [[File:EDL6.jpg|thumb|300px|left|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.<ref name="svd.se"/> The views of the counter-jihad movement have been criticized as a source of support for the anti-Muslim views of individuals inspired to take violent direct action.<ref name=tnyt2>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/25/us/25debate.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3|title=Killings in Norway Spotlight Anti-Muslim Thought in U.S.|first=Scott |last=Shane|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=24 July 2011|accessdate=30 July 2011}}</ref> [[Anders Behring Breivik]], responsible for the [[2011 Norway attacks]], published a manifesto explaining his views which drew heavily on the work of counter-jihad bloggers such as [[Fjordman]].<ref name="tnyt1"/><ref name="dsp">{{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,776413,00.html|title=Blogging Hate - Anders Breivik's Roots in Right-Wing Populism|first=Frank |last=Patalong|work=[[Der Spiegel]]|date=25 July 2011|accessdate=30 July 2011}}</ref> [[Daniel Pipes]] argues that a “close reading of his manifesto suggests” that Breivik wanted to discredit and undermine the movement's dedication to democratic change to further Breivik’s “dreamed-for revolution” as the only alternative.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/272804/norway-s-terrorism-context-daniel-pipes|title=Norway’s Terrorism in Context: The damage Behring Breivik did to the counterjihad may well have been purposeful|last=Pipes|first=Daniel|publisher=National Review Online|date=July 27, 2011|accessdate=April 24, 2012}}</ref> [[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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2012/04/20/the-scandalous-lies-of-hope-not-hate/|last=Bawer|first=Bruce|date=April 20, 2012|title=The Scandalous Lies of ‘Hope Not Hate’}}</ref> Breivik has later identified himself as a [[Fascism|fascist]] and voiced support for [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazis]], stating that he had exploited counter-jihad rhetoric in order to protect "[[Ethnic nationalism|ethno-nationalists]]", and instead start a media drive against what he deemed "anti-nationalist counterjihad"-supporters.<ref name="Expo14">{{Cite news|url=http://expo.se/2014/breivik-vill-deportera-illojala-judar_6336.html|title=Breivik vill deportera "illojala judar" [Breivik wants to deport "disloyal Jews"]|work=[[Expo (magazine)|Expo]]|date=10 January 2014|language=Swedish|author=Daniel Vergara }}</ref><ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/05/us-norway-breivik-idUSKBN0H01NG20140905 "Mass killer Breivik says wants to create fascist party"]. ''Reuters''. Sep 5, 2014.</ref> 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 counter-jihadists, that warn of Islamisation as a result of naïvety or indecisiveness, whom she identifies as a source of legitimacy for the former.<ref name=Fekete2012>{{cite journal |last=Fekete |first=Liz |title=The Muslim conspiracy theory and the Oslo massacre |journal=Race & Class |volume=53 |issue=3 |year=2012 |pages=30–47 |doi=10.1177/0306396811425984 |url=http://rac.sagepub.com/content/53/3/30}}</ref> Theologist and philosopher Marius Timmann Mjaaland has described the [[Christianism|role]] given to [[Christianity]] in some parts of the counter-jihad movement and has identified some aspects of the movement's ideology that he says links it to [[Christofascism|fascism-like]] conspiracy theories: #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. #A claim that mainstream politicians and media in Western countries have in effect become internal enemies or "traitors", by respectively allowing the creation of [[Multiculturalism|multicultural]] societies and advocating "marxism" and "political correctness". #This, in turn, has allowed Muslims to settle in Western lands, and thereby allegedly opened them to attack from within. #And, lastly, a [[Friedrich Nietzsche|Nietzschean]], post-Christian worldview where the distinction between good and evil is given little attention, to the point where Christianity's ideal of "[[The Golden Rule|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]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kronikker/article4239821.ece|title=Korstog mot hellig krig (Crusade against Holy War)|first=Marius Timman |last=Mjaaland|work=[[Aftenposten]]|date=28 September 2011|accessdate=28 September 2011}}</ref> Counter-jihad has sought to portray Western Muslims as a "[[fifth column]]", collectively seeking to destabilize Western nations' identity and values for the benefit of an international Islamic movement intent on the [[Eurabia|establishment of a caliphate in Western countries]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Akbarzadeh|first1=Shahram|last2=Roose|first2=Joshua M.|title=Muslims, Multiculturalism and the Question of the Silent Majority|journal=Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs|date=September 2011|volume=31|issue=3|pages=309–325|doi=10.1080/13602004.2011.599540}}</ref> Much of the Eurabia literature and Counter Jihad forums describe ''[[taqiyya]]'' as a manipulative strategy used by [[moderate Muslims]] to infiltrate and eventually overthrow society.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nilsson|first1=Per-Erik|title=‘Secular Retaliation’: A Case Study of Integralist Populism, Anti-Muslim Discourse, and (Il)liberal Discourse on Secularism in Contemporary France|journal=Politics, Religion & Ideology|date=17 February 2015|volume=16|issue=1|pages=87–106|doi=10.1080/21567689.2015.1012160}}</ref> Supporters are often fiercely pro-Israel.<ref name="Lee" /> ===Comparison with anti-communism=== The movement has been compared to the [[anti-communism]] of the [[Cold War]]. [[Geert Wilders]], Dutch politician and speaker at counter-jihad events, argues that Islam is a political ideology that, like [[communism]], is a [[totalitarian]] threat to a liberal social order.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2010/geert-wilders/islam-the-communism-of-today/|title=Islam: the Communism of Today|author=Geert Wilders|date=Oct 4, 2010}}</ref> 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.”<ref name=SPLC>[http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/the-anti-muslim-inner-circle ] The Anti-Muslim Inner Circle. By Robert Steinback| Intelligence Report| Summer 2011| Issue Number: 142</ref> The Cold War parallel is taken further by social commentator [[Bruce Bawer]], who not only compares counter-jihad with anti-communism, but also compares those who criticize the counter-jihad 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” counter-jihadists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://frontpagemag.com/2013/bruce-bawer/notes-on-counterjihad/|title=Notes on ‘Counterjihad’|date=July 29, 2013|newspaper=Front Page Magazine}}</ref> Author [[Roger Kimball]] agrees.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2013/07/30/from-anti-communist-to-counter-jihadist/|title=From ‘Anti-Communist’ to ‘Counterjihadist’|date=July 30, 2013|author=Roger Kimball|newspaper=PJ Media}}</ref> ==See also== {{Div col|colwidth=20em}} *[[Counter-terrorism]] *[[Islamofascism]] *[[Islam and violence]] *[[Islamic fundamentalism]] *[[Jihad]] *[[Jihadism]] *[[Persecution of Christians#Muslim world|Persecution of Christians in Muslim countries]] *[[Q Society of Australia]] *[[War against Islam]] *[[Dark Enlightenment]] *[[Alt-right]] *[[Alt-lite]] *[[Far-right politics]] {{Div col end}} ==References== {{reflist|3}} *{{cite thesis|type=Ph.D.|chapter=V|title=Warblog without end: online anti-Islamic discourses as persuadables |url=http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/715/ |last=Munksgaard |first=Daniel Carl |year=2010 |publisher=The University of Iowa |accessdate=2012-08-26 }} [[Category:Counter-jihad| ]] [[Category:Criticism of Islam]] [[Category:Anti-Islam]] [[Category:Islamophobia]] [[Category:Conspiracy theories involving Muslims]] [[Category:Far-right politics in Europe]] [[Category:Far-right politics in North America]] [[Category:Anti-immigration politics]]'