Fascistic Islam... that's rather interesting coming from the
head of Austria's FPÖ. The Far-Right Freedom Party of Austria was founded (at
least in part) by Anton Reinthaller an ex-Nazi official.
FPÖ which succeeded an earlier post-war, pro-Nazi group has
made a few twists and turns over the years. Its present manifestation is the
result of a realignment under the leadership of Jörg Haider, a child of Nazi
parents and one who promoted a modernised version of their ideas.
Consistently Eurosceptic, the party has vacillated with
regard to their position vis-à-vis the United States.
The recent rapprochement with Israel's Likud represents a
very interesting trend in Euro-Right-wing politics. It is reminiscent of the
relationship forged between Israel's Likud and Apartheid South Africa. Both
find a great deal of commonality with classic Fascism. I say classic because
the school that arose in Italy antedates and is significantly different than
the racial and specifically anti-Semitic version that arose in Germany.
This aspect of their ideology is worth watching because it is at this point that a potential
door opens to the American Evangelical embrace. While the Euro and American Far
Right have long displayed Fascist tendencies, the US-based Evangelical Right
has always balked at any forms of anti-Semitism. They have always rejected the
Far Right's narratives about the Jews and have also rejected overt forms of
Fascism that identify with the Third Reich... because of what happened to the
Jews as well as their own American nationalism.
While Fascism is not inherently anti-Semitic, the hatred of
the Jews has often played into Right-wing conspiracy theories with regard to
global banking etc...
The latest versions of the Neo-Fascist Right wing seem to be
turning away from 'the Jew' as the enemy and are instead focusing their rage on
Islam.
Dispensationalism, the theology that has dominated
Evangelicalism for the past century, venerates (if not deifies) the Jewish
people and in particular the Zionist state which they erroneously believe is a
fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
If the Euro-Right can embrace Israel on the basis of ideology
and anti-Islamic sentiment... then that opens the door to a host of new possibilities
and political re-alignments.
I think it will be more interesting to see what continues to happen with the Gypsies. Fear of Muslims and proclamations of outlawing, declaring war on, etc. radical Islam is many times posture to try and win elections and get control of parliament. But what these countries do with gypsies will be the litmus test. Hannah Arendt said the dark-side of nationalism and the nation-state is that now those who lack citizenship in a nation-state will become outside of the law, meaning they can basically be hunted, herded, and liquidated with impunity.
ReplyDeleteI know we talked about PM Orban and the poor treatment of Hungary's gypsies. As right-wing nationalists and fascists get power, this will be a good indicator to follow what things will look like for those Muslim immigrants who become more ghettoized as they are ostracized from the public sphere.