Rise of European Right: Reaction to the Neoliberal Right

[Heracleum Persicum]

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The Nature of the New Right

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[Heracleum Persicum]

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The European right is claiming that Europe is culturally Christian in an attempt to push back against Islam.

FLORENCE, Italy — The longstanding link between the political right and various Christian churches is breaking down across Europe. This is largely because the right, like much of European society, has become more secular. Yet this hardly indicates progress: Animated by an anti-Islamic sentiment, the right’s position is endangering freedom of religion, as well as secularism and basic democratic traditions.

Up to the 1950s, the cultural values endorsed by the right throughout much of Europe were not so different from the traditional religious values of Catholics and Protestants. Homosexuality was criminalized in many countries. Children born out of wedlock had fewer rights than “legitimate” children. The law in most countries protected family values, censored some forms of pornography and condemned what the French call mauvaises moeurs (roughly, loose morals).

Then came the 1960s. The cultural revolution engulfed European societies with new values: sexual freedom (which entailed distinguishing sexuality from procreation), women’s rights (including the right to abortion), and gay rights (most recently, gay marriage). At first these views were seen to be the exclusive purview of the political left, but in the intervening years they have become mainstream.

Today, even conservative parties subscribe to them. If conservative voters, especially in Southern Europe, remain widely homophobic, they no longer reject feminism or some gay rights. Prominent members of Britain’s Conservative Party have endorsed same-sex marriage; France’s Union for a Popular Movement and Germany’s Christian Democratic Union still oppose it, but support for gay rights has clearly increased among their supporters. The governing parties in Italy, Germany, Britain and Poland have distanced themselves from the dominant churches in these countries.

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This anti-Islam rhetoric is spreading to the mainstream. The coalition government of the Netherlands requires would-be immigrants to accept progressive values before they are given a residency visa. Applicants are asked whether they tolerate the mixing of boys and girls in school, gender equality, nudity in public and gay rights. Although all applicants must take these tests, given the concerns revealed in these questions and the demographics of migration into Europe, there can be little doubt that the exams are designed to challenge adherents to Islam. Such measures are unfair to Muslims, and they violate European states’ professed commitment to multiculturalism and the separation of church and state.

What’s more, prohibitions like those on circumcision and the ritual slaughter of cattle also amount to attacks on Judaism. In France Marine Le Pen of the National Front has called for banning both the hijab and the kippah (but not the priest’s cassock) in public places. In this respect, the defense of Europe’s Christian identity is taking on an especially ugly quality: It echoes the anti-Semitic regulations of Nazi Germany and other European countries in the 1930s. So much for the Judeo-Christian roots of European culture; once again, the Jews of Europe are made to feel like foreigners.

It was only logical, if also paradoxical, then, that Jewish groups would build coalitions with Muslims. In Germany in 2012, the Jewish community rallied around the case of a Muslim family whose son’s botched circumcision became the basis for a local court to declare all circumcision unlawful. Last month the chairman of Shechita-U.K. and the deputy secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain signed an open letter to The Daily Telegraph defending ritual slaughtering. Religious minorities that may otherwise be wary of one another are joining forces.

Will the Catholic and Protestant churches do the same? After all, since the political right’s onslaught against Islam manifests itself mostly through an aggressive form of secularism, they are collateral victims as well. The French law banning the hijab forbids all “ostentatious” religious symbols (this, in order to not seem baldly discriminatory). In Britain a 17th-century law penalizing blasphemy against Christianity was repealed in 2008 after a heated debate about whether it could be used against Salman Rushdie, the author of “The Satanic Verses.”

The political right’s dual move — claiming the mantle of Christianity but not its values — is a threat to Christianity as radical as it is indirect: It risks stripping the religion of its spirituality. In 2004 after protracted appeals in the Ludin case, which concerned the right of a Muslim teacher to wear a head scarf in school, the government of the German state of Baden-Württemberg enacted a law that banned teachers from displaying religious signs except for the “exhibition of Christian and Occidental educational and cultural values or traditions.” The same reasoning runs through the European Court of Human Rights decision authorizing the display of the crucifix in Italian schools on the grounds that it is a “historical and cultural symbol” more than the expression of any specific belief. But to defend a distinct cultural Christian identity is to secularize Christianity itself.

So far, the Christian churches have contributed to the problem. By failing to clearly distance themselves from the cultural ultranationalist right-wing parties that have co-opted the Christian idea of Europe to block the integration of Muslims, they have enabled more secularization still, as well as allowed the betrayal of religious values in the name of xenophobia.

In 2009 Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the archbishop of Vienna, rightly criticized the populist Freedom Party of Austria for using the cross on its electoral posters: He argued that it was proffering the symbol against other religions rather than to express Feindesliebe, love for one’s enemies. Like Mr. Schönborn, the churches of Europe should reassert the fundamental values of their religions. Going beyond him, they should try to build a vast coalition with Muslims and Jews to promote the free exercise of religion, any religion.

The case for freedom of religion is but one aspect of the classic case for democratic freedom for all, believers and nonbelievers alike — thus, even secularists should subscribe to it. The abuse of secularism by the right-wing parties of Europe to exclude Muslims is fundamentally undemocratic. It is an attack not just on Islam, and all religions, but also on freedom itself.

Anti Islam a code word for "racist" .. issue not theology, Islam versus Christians .. but Europeans against Middle Eastern


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[Torchwood]

Azari gets it wrong again. Middle Eastern Christians fleeing the persecution they are subject to (and the secular minded, such as many Turks and, yes, Iranians) are acceptable. The problem is the majority of Muslims, even the so called "moderates" espousing values which are quite alien - not just homophobic, but anti-semitic, oppressing women, anti-democratic, and anti-science. Black communities of Christian origin (such as from the Carribbean) are integrating much better (40% intermarriage rate with whites) because the cultural gap is much smaller.

Given that many large European cities now seem like alien places, it is surprising that the native reaction has taken so long.

[Mr. Perfect]

Anyone know what Ibs has to say?

[Endovelico]

Azari gets it wrong again. Middle Eastern Christians fleeing the persecution they are subject to (and the secular minded, such as many Turks and, yes, Iranians) are acceptable. The problem is the majority of Muslims, even the so called "moderates" espousing values which are quite alien - not just homophobic, but anti-semitic, oppressing women, anti-democratic, and anti-science. Black communities of Christian origin (such as from the Carribbean) are integrating much better (40% intermarriage rate with whites) because the cultural gap is much smaller.

Given that many large European cities now seem like alien places, it is surprising that the native reaction has taken so long.

I know it is crude, but "enhanced" integration may do the trick. Dilute the immigrant communities on what housing is concerned, bring back uniforms in all schools (basic and secondary) without any allowances for religious differences, expel from the country anyone actively opposing integration. It may take another generation but we would get rid of most destructive elements in our communities. Most of those left behind would be normal and peaceful members of our communities, no matter what their religious background might be.

[Alexis]

Anyone know what Ibs has to say?

Would be interesting to hear.

Too bad he seems to have lost interest in this forum for good.

[Parodite]

Anyone know what Ibs has to say?

Would be interesting to hear.

But it is entirely predictable what he'd say. If you miss him so much I can role play him for free.

[Mr. Perfect]

Or me.

Maybe we could make a forum sock puppet where anyone can log in and say what he would have said.

[Simple Minded]

Parodite & Mr. Perfect,

I like that idea. Anyone can imitate anyone as long as they start the post with WW____S,

What Would Ibrahim or Simple Minded or Parodite or Mr. Perfect or _______ Say

only rule is no one can get offended since we all know the post is purely fictitious (our imagination and/or interpretation)!

WWSimple Minded Say:

At first I thought I thought, "Wow, he can't be serious!", but then I saw where he said it was fictitious.......

[Doc]

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The European right is claiming that Europe is culturally Christian in an attempt to push back against Islam.

FLORENCE, Italy — The longstanding link between the political right and various Christian churches is breaking down across Europe. This is largely because the right, like much of European society, has become more secular. Yet this hardly indicates progress: Animated by an anti-Islamic sentiment, the right’s position is endangering freedom of religion, as well as secularism and basic democratic traditions.

Up to the 1950s, the cultural values endorsed by the right throughout much of Europe were not so different from the traditional religious values of Catholics and Protestants. Homosexuality was criminalized in many countries. Children born out of wedlock had fewer rights than “legitimate” children. The law in most countries protected family values, censored some forms of pornography and condemned what the French call mauvaises moeurs (roughly, loose morals).

Then came the 1960s. The cultural revolution engulfed European societies with new values: sexual freedom (which entailed distinguishing sexuality from procreation), women’s rights (including the right to abortion), and gay rights (most recently, gay marriage). At first these views were seen to be the exclusive purview of the political left, but in the intervening years they have become mainstream.

Today, even conservative parties subscribe to them. If conservative voters, especially in Southern Europe, remain widely homophobic, they no longer reject feminism or some gay rights. Prominent members of Britain’s Conservative Party have endorsed same-sex marriage; France’s Union for a Popular Movement and Germany’s Christian Democratic Union still oppose it, but support for gay rights has clearly increased among their supporters. The governing parties in Italy, Germany, Britain and Poland have distanced themselves from the dominant churches in these countries.

..

This anti-Islam rhetoric is spreading to the mainstream. The coalition government of the Netherlands requires would-be immigrants to accept progressive values before they are given a residency visa. Applicants are asked whether they tolerate the mixing of boys and girls in school, gender equality, nudity in public and gay rights. Although all applicants must take these tests, given the concerns revealed in these questions and the demographics of migration into Europe, there can be little doubt that the exams are designed to challenge adherents to Islam. Such measures are unfair to Muslims, and they violate European states’ professed commitment to multiculturalism and the separation of church and state.

What’s more, prohibitions like those on circumcision and the ritual slaughter of cattle also amount to attacks on Judaism. In France Marine Le Pen of the National Front has called for banning both the hijab and the kippah (but not the priest’s cassock) in public places. In this respect, the defense of Europe’s Christian identity is taking on an especially ugly quality: It echoes the anti-Semitic regulations of Nazi Germany and other European countries in the 1930s. So much for the Judeo-Christian roots of European culture; once again, the Jews of Europe are made to feel like foreigners.

It was only logical, if also paradoxical, then, that Jewish groups would build coalitions with Muslims. In Germany in 2012, the Jewish community rallied around the case of a Muslim family whose son’s botched circumcision became the basis for a local court to declare all circumcision unlawful. Last month the chairman of Shechita-U.K. and the deputy secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain signed an open letter to The Daily Telegraph defending ritual slaughtering. Religious minorities that may otherwise be wary of one another are joining forces.

Will the Catholic and Protestant churches do the same? After all, since the political right’s onslaught against Islam manifests itself mostly through an aggressive form of secularism, they are collateral victims as well. The French law banning the hijab forbids all “ostentatious” religious symbols (this, in order to not seem baldly discriminatory). In Britain a 17th-century law penalizing blasphemy against Christianity was repealed in 2008 after a heated debate about whether it could be used against Salman Rushdie, the author of “The Satanic Verses.”

The political right’s dual move — claiming the mantle of Christianity but not its values — is a threat to Christianity as radical as it is indirect: It risks stripping the religion of its spirituality. In 2004 after protracted appeals in the Ludin case, which concerned the right of a Muslim teacher to wear a head scarf in school, the government of the German state of Baden-Württemberg enacted a law that banned teachers from displaying religious signs except for the “exhibition of Christian and Occidental educational and cultural values or traditions.” The same reasoning runs through the European Court of Human Rights decision authorizing the display of the crucifix in Italian schools on the grounds that it is a “historical and cultural symbol” more than the expression of any specific belief. But to defend a distinct cultural Christian identity is to secularize Christianity itself.

So far, the Christian churches have contributed to the problem. By failing to clearly distance themselves from the cultural ultranationalist right-wing parties that have co-opted the Christian idea of Europe to block the integration of Muslims, they have enabled more secularization still, as well as allowed the betrayal of religious values in the name of xenophobia.

In 2009 Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the archbishop of Vienna, rightly criticized the populist Freedom Party of Austria for using the cross on its electoral posters: He argued that it was proffering the symbol against other religions rather than to express Feindesliebe, love for one’s enemies. Like Mr. Schönborn, the churches of Europe should reassert the fundamental values of their religions. Going beyond him, they should try to build a vast coalition with Muslims and Jews to promote the free exercise of religion, any religion.

The case for freedom of religion is but one aspect of the classic case for democratic freedom for all, believers and nonbelievers alike — thus, even secularists should subscribe to it. The abuse of secularism by the right-wing parties of Europe to exclude Muslims is fundamentally undemocratic. It is an attack not just on Islam, and all religions, but also on freedom itself.

Anti Islam a code word for "racist" .. issue not theology, Islam versus Christians .. but Europeans against Middle Eastern


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Eu Tu Azari?

Race is something(if it is anything at all) you can not become a member of by choice. Now Perhaps in the ISLAMIC republic of Iran where you cannot choose to be something other than Muslim that might lead you to believe that there is an Islamic race. But seriously the laws of Europe say you are free to choose.Howeverif your view were true that it is racism then certainly Iran must feel to you like a very good place to be "from"

[HAL 10000]

1) Certainly some opportunist racist parties are taking advantage of the tension between the European and Islamic cultures that is escalating, but most Europeans are fully aware of the fact that this war is a cultural and religious war, not a race war.


2) Furthermore, it's important to note that many of the Islamist terrorists in Europe are former Christians or atheists who converted to Islam. For example, the notorious London machete killer is a new Muslim whose parents were Christian immigrants in UK , who originally came from Africa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZz-18uhtQg

In addition, there are many children from mixed marriages (where either the father or mother is Muslim but the other parent is a non-Muslim native European) who have embraced extremist Islamic ideologies.

So we cannot say that this is a race war, at least not yet. I would concede that in the future, if the EU economy collapses and if there is more tension against the Muslims in Europe, then racist parties can gain power in some European countries, but currently the overwhelming majority of those Europeans who are against Islam are only concerned with the cultural differences without being racist for the moment.

Another factor that the anti-Muslim parties are using to gain voters is the fact that many of the European Muslims are unemployed. Until recently, although it is illegal in France for the government to keep any statistics about ethnic or religious groups, it was estimated that nearly 15 % of the French Muslims are unemployed. But because many more of the European Muslims have given up looking for work and that many of them have very low salaries, this way the anti-Muslim parties are able claim that the Muslims in Europe are a burden to the taxpayers. Remember that after World War I, curiously Hitler and the Nazis were initially not popular in Germany until the Great Depression in the US made the German economy far worse, changing the psychology of the German people, and only in 1933, more than a decade after the loss of World War I did the Nazis managed to come to power, primarily because of the economic collapse. What I am saying is that I am NOT claiming that it is impossible for this religious/cultural war to become a race war in the distant future, but that currently the overwhelming majority of the Europeans see the current situation as a cultural war.

[monster_gardener]

1) Certainly some opportunist racist parties are taking advantage of the tension between the European and Islamic cultures that is escalating, but most Europeans are fully aware of the fact that this war is a cultural and religious war, not a race war.


2) Furthermore, it's important to note that many of the Islamist terrorists in Europe are former Christians or atheists who converted to Islam. For example, the notorious London machete killer is a new Muslim whose parents were Christian immigrants in UK , who originally came from Africa:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZz-18uhtQg

In addition, there are many children from mixed marriages (where either the father or mother is Muslim but the other parent is a non-Muslim native European) who have embraced extremist Islamic ideologies.

So we cannot say that this is a race war, at least not yet. I would concede that in the future, if the EU economy collapses and if there is more tension against the Muslims in Europe, then racist parties can gain power in some European countries, but currently the overwhelming majority of those Europeans who are against Islam are only concerned with the cultural differences without being racist for the moment.

Another factor that the anti-Muslim parties are using to gain voters is the fact that many of the European Muslims are unemployed. Until recently, although it is illegal in France for the government to keep any statistics about ethnic or religious groups, it was estimated that nearly 15 % of the French Muslims are unemployed. But because many more of the European Muslims have given up looking for work and that many of them have very low salaries, this way the anti-Muslim parties are able claim that the Muslims in Europe are a burden to the taxpayers. Remember that after World War I, curiously Hitler and the Nazis were initially not popular in Germany until the Great Depression in the US made the German economy far worse, changing the psychology of the German people, and only in 1933, more than a decade after the loss of World War I did the Nazis managed to come to power, primarily because of the economic collapse. What I am saying that I am NOT claiming that it is impossible for this religious/cultural war to become a race war in the distant future, but currently the overwhelming majority of the Europeans see the current situation as a cultural war.

Thank You VERY Much for your post, HAL10000

2) Furthermore, it's important to note that many of the Islamist terrorists in Europe are former Christians or atheists who converted to Islam. For example, the notorious London machete killer is a new Muslim whose parents were Christian immigrants in UK , who originally came from Africa:

True......

Converts are often though not always the most extreme.....

May feel they have to prove to themselves and others that they are not faking it.....

Perhaps go so far and commit such atrocities that going back is not practically possible

For fear of being being treated as a traitor.........

Which is what the Muslim Machete Man and his Evil Friends are.....