Islamofascism in the News

Great word, which Wikipedia uses as follows: "Islamofascism is a neologism and political epithet used to induce an association of the ideological or operational characteristics of certain modern Islamist movements with European fascist movements of the early 20th century, neofascist movements, or totalitarianism." Yes, I know the Islamic world did not invent fascism and that Eurofascism came first, but that's the whole point. Think of Mussolini. First fascists seem like clowns; then they're someone else's problem; then you're wondering where they got such nice missles. Interesting historical analogy. Pundits are starting to catch on.

Thomas Sowell thinks we are at a "Point of No Return," noting that international terrorist organizations will, at some point, have nuclear weapons and that "suicide bombers cannot be deterred." Noting the poverty and economic frustration in much of the Islamic Middle East, he notes, "Hitler was able to rouse similar resentments and fanaticism in Germany under conditions not nearly as dire as those in most Middle East countries today."

John O'Sullivan writes about "The Next Last War," which suggests we have just seen the first Iranian-Israeli war but not the last, and that Israel is not in a position to lose twice. This pairing does help explain this story about Israeli nuclear submarines (termed "nuclear-capable submarines" in the article), as well as escalating Iranian rhetoric of late.

And there's an entire article at NPR (hardly a conservative outlet) on the sudden prominence of the term "Islamofascism," quoting Fouad Adjami (who has been an objective commentator on the Middle East for decades) as follows:

I know people think it's offensive, but what's the offense here? There are people waiting to be offended. They want to be offended, they're eager to be offended.

What has caused this evident shift, where some in the media are suddenly willing to see this as a real threat, a military threat, not just someone else's problem, and give it a name? Let's see, was it the averted London planes bombing plot? Was it 4000 rockets sent in the general and non-specifically targeted direction of Israeli civilians? Was it the continuing and gripping series of articles at the Christian Science Monitor by Jill Carroll about her recent ordeal as a hostage? Or maybe it was a million people that had to dump out shampoo, toothpaste, and bottled water last week in airports across the country.

Funny that shampoo and toothpaste might be the straw that broke the camel's back. Did I say funny? At some point, it's just not funny anymore. One result of these relentless recent events seems to be an evaporating pool of public sympathy for those who in any way support or themselves sympathize with the Islamoperps. And just wait until they take down another airplane! Election rhetoric on this issue, probably veiled but there if you look for it, is going to get interesting.

Comments

[LDS Patriot]

A small collection of other articles discussing this same topic can be found at Pipe's Weblog entry More on the Term "Islamic Fascists".

[Ronan]

Dave,

There was a full-page ad that ran in several outlets yesterday throwing the "fascist" label back at Bush. I can't find a picture of it, but here are the details. It was pretty bold stuff. Basically it had pictures of dead and suffering Lebanese children and asked, "Who's the fascist, Mr. Bush?"

[danithew]

My feeling is that in the past some people have liked to use terms such as Islamic fascism or Islamofascism for obvious pejorative reasons.

However, a scholarly comparison of fascism and Islamic fundamentalist movements is quite possible.

Walter Laqueur wrote a book called "Fascism: Past, Present and Future" in which he writes about what he refers to as "clerical fascism." Islamic groups and movements get quite a bit of attention in some chapters of his book and I think from that approach it is somewhat useful.

By the way, the NPR article writes about Juan Cole's reaction ... I don't trust Juan Cole's scholarship. He's extremely politicized and biased.

[John Mansfield]

Almost five years ago, standing in a long line at Baltimore-Washington International with charts of lots of little pointy tools I was forbidden to carry, I was reminded of one of the periods that the Philistines dominated the Israelites. "Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock." I wondered then, and increasingly since then as such constraints increase monotonically, Who conquered my nation?

[Curtis]

I have started a blog to counter the type of people who talk about "islamofascism" in the Church. It's here.

There is a lot that is kept hidden from us in consequence of the secret combinations of the day. I try to ferret those sorts of things out. I see a huge bias in our Church in favor of US foreign/military policy/Israeli foreign policy that leaves a massive amount of information out of the equation and propogates the propaganda that forms our knowledge in this area. Please visit.

[DKL]

John, no army or foreigners have conquered our nation. It is Allah who has conquered us.

[john f.]

Danithew, Walter Laqueur blogs (in English) at The Free West together with Dutch commentator Leon De Winter and Rabbi Eliyahu Shalem of Jerusalem, if you're interested (some background info on him is at this post). I think Laqueur makes a good point. Essentially, Laqueur is arguing about the characteristics of militant Islamic fundamentalism that resemble or are identical to mid-twentieth century fascism. The comparison is apt and useful. Those who throw the term back at President Bush are the ones who are misusing it. Whether one agrees or disagrees with the Bush Administration's policies, they can hardly be equated with or even compared to fascism. America remains a democracy and Bush's Presidency remains restrained by the constitutional limitations of executive power. Surveillance of suspected terrorists' phone calls, even without a warrant, does not even approach characteristics of fascism.

[Brad Kramer]

Anyone remember that old episode of MASH when Hawkeye spends several days under paranoid suspicion that BJ is trying to "get" him (play some kind of practical joke) -- antics which include, if I remember correctly, among other things, Hawkeye frantically emptying his shampoo bottle? The episode ends with Hawkeye gloating about his victory from behind barbed-wire on his cot curled up in the fetal position: "Ha! You didn't get me! You didn't get me..."