Counter-jihad
[23] Genocide: Massacres, torture, expulsion: Other incidents: Counter-jihad is a radical right-wing movement[24] that operates, according to Toby Archer, via the "sharing of ideas between Europeans and Americans and daily linking between blogs and websites on both sides of the Atlantic",[25] and, according to Rasmus Fleischer, "calls for a counterjihad against the supposed Islamisation of Europe".
[24] Two central counter-jihad themes have been identified, namely that Islam and Muslim immigration poses a threat to Western civilisation,[14][25] and a lack of trust in political "elites", focusing especially against the European Union.
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.
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 areas for non-Muslims.
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.
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".
[28] In April 2007, the counter-jihad current became visible as a movement operating in northwestern Europe with "The UK and Scandinavia Counterjihad Summit", organised by a transatlantic network of anti-Islam bloggers in Copenhagen, Denmark.
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 G. Bostom, and Laurent Artur du Plessis.
[42][43][44] Blogs such as Gates of Vienna, Jihad Watch, Atlas Shrugs, Politically Incorrect, and The Brussels Journal are central to the transatlantic counter-jihad movement.
Notable figures include the editors of these blogs, respectively Edward 'Ned' May (pseudonym Baron Bodissey),[25] Robert Spencer, Pamela Geller, Stefan Herre, and Paul Beliën.
[55] In 2010, a workgroup dubbed "Team B II" published a report titled Shariah: The Threat To America which has been cited as influencing the movement's discourse and the public's perception.
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.
[45] 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.
[68] Breivik has later been identified as a neo-Nazi,[75] and has stated that he had exploited counter-jihad rhetoric in order to protect "ethno-nationalists", and instead start a media drive against what he deemed "anti-nationalist counterjihad"-supporters.
[76][77] 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.
[80] 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.
