Liberals May Lose to Far-Radicals Due to Islamist Threat Across Europe
SputnikNews.com
18.11.2015
The recent terrorist attacks in Paris play into the narrative of European far-radical parties that call for counter “Islamization”. Unless liberals provide their own plan in response to the European crisis, they risk losing the argument completely, professor Matthew Goodwin wrote in his article for think tank Chatham House.
“This is war. Nothing else,” Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom, tweeted after news came out about the recent terrorist atrocities in Paris. Like many radical populists, Wilders has long warned of the Islamist threat and the “Islamification” of Europe.
“Since 9/11 the so-called ‘Eurabia thesis’ has become a central reference point for not only the hard right but also some mainstream voices. It emerged long before the arrival of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIL), or the refugee crisis, but these events are bringing the idea to new audiences,” the article read.
According to the theory, there is a conspiracy underway to “Islamize” Europe, through terrorism, forced migration or high birth rates among Muslims living in Europe. Far-right radicals say established politicians are too weak to solve the crisis.
It is obvious that a majority of Muslims in Europe openly refute fanaticism and violence which proves the radical conspiracy theory wrong, the author wrote. However, unlike a few years ago it is no longer so easy for liberals to dismiss the idea as an obsession.
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