The Left/Right Split on Islamic Totalitarianism

(A microcosm of idiots, all in one room)

After Islamo-Fascism Awareness week took place at a number of universities across the States, a particular and necessary divide became apparent in the blogosphere between liberal opponents of Islamic totalitarianism, and some right wing factions. This “battle within” has been a long time coming, and I am pleased to see it discussed. Here were two striking examples, both of which were brought to light at Little Green Footballs.

1. At Michigan State University, Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, was brought to campus for a speech denouncing Islam during Islamo-Fascism awareness week by the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom. Griffin was not invited to speak for IFAW, but he was noticeably invited to speak during it.

David Horowitz came out swinging against the addition of a clear racist and anti-Semite to his week of events. He said: “Bringing a neo-Nazi and Jew-hater to campus in connection with Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week would be worse than counterproductive. It’s antithetic to the purpose of the event which is designed to expose Nazis and Jew haters. Any attempt to associate me with this creep is a malicious misrepresentation of my efforts.” He added that his organization sponsored no event at Michigan State.

Your general group of leftists said this about the event.

“what Horowitz does paves the way for even more extreme views to be expressed and tolerated — and to blur the line between an important discussion about threats to our nation and blatant expressions of hatred.” - Nada Zohdy

Spoken like a true totalitarian! We should make sure no controversial figure ever appears on our campus, because it will spawn chaos! What a giant moron folks like Zohdy truly are. I would NEVER support Griffin, but I would also never ban any individual from speaking, regardless of how moronic they are. For anyone who believes in the rights of the individual over a religious order and yet jumps in bed with the same old bag of tricks on the European right, is a fool or a liar as far as I am concerned. You stand for the rights of the individual or you don’t in this regard, and the racist right has no interest in such things.

Horowitz is hardly in the realm of people like racists in the BNP and he had some harsh words for those who hosted this event. But it goes to show that simply because you are opposed to Islamic totalitarianism doesn’t make you an ally worth having. Standing up to groups like the BNP should be on the agenda for true liberals who also oppose theocratic fascism.

And surprise, surprise: this group of college Republicans also love Ron Paul and Pat Buchannan! Who would have thought?

2. The second recent development has been the surprising anger and distaste that many in the Neocon camp have expressed for the Vlaams Belang political party in Belgium. The party includes a number of anti-Semites and holocaust deniers, as well as your standard right wing nationalist nut case.

My father is Flemish, and most of his family still lives in Flanders. When I visited them in the summer of 03, the group’s previous attempt at entering electoral politics (the Flemish Block, or Vlaams Blok) was on its way to getting banned by the Belgian government for being in contempt of the 1981 Belgian law on racism and xenophobia. A few slight cosmetic changes were made, and in 2004, Vlaams Belang came into existence.



To see such a right wing party pick up speed so quickly in my father’s homeland was a bit unnerving to me at the time, and I brought up the issue with any of my family who could speak English. Not surprisingly, none of them said they supported Vlaams Blok, but they all said they knew why they were gaining ground so quickly. The group was willing to address issues that the traditional social-democrats were not willing; mainly that of immigration. The PC atmosphere that had been upheld was falling apart, and the liberal political parties were unwilling to change, and the far-right capitalized and continues to.

Unlike the waves of leftist protesters that see no problem aligning themselves with theocratic right-wing groups to further their goal of opposing the United States and Israel, I will not get into bed with racists and extremists just because we both fear the Islamists.

LGF had this to say concerning VB and other right wing groups:

“LGF is as anti-jihad as anyone on the web; but I do not accept that we’ve reached the point where we should embrace these kinds of people as allies, simply because they’re hitching a ride on the bandwagon and saying the right things when the spotlight is on them.

I’m in this fight because I believe in personal freedom and liberty.”

Well said. The enemies of liberty come in a countless ideologies, but they all share the same naked hatred in one variety or another.