Among the smart things that Minnesota physician Ayaz Virji told an Aberdeen crowd last month was that al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terrorists use the same prooftexting and propaganda tactics that right-wing anti-Muslim nativist groups use to recruit and radicalize followers dedicated to the proposition that we are in a war of civilizations justifying the most extreme and unscrupulous tactics.
Now London-based researcher Julia Ebner expands on Dr. Virji’s thought, devoting an entire book to her proposition that Islamist terrorists and far-right extremists are actually “rhetorical allies” who “desperately need each other in order to push their narratives”:
Both the far right and Islamist extremists benefit when their professed enemies engage in a terror attack or do anything that confirms their narratives. They want to see more rifts and more chaos in society. When communities are scared, when they’re driven apart, they’re vulnerable to the extremist narratives.
…Both are based on the victimization of an in-group and the demonization of an out-group; both blame the “corrupt political establishment” and “rigged mainstream media” for all that is going wrong and aim to bring about radical societal change by creating countercultures.
On both sides, you find groups that embrace violent solutions — including terrorism and hate crimes — to reach this goal, and others who resort to strategies such as hate preaching, information warfare, vigilantism, or street activism. Ultimately, both tend to encourage apocalyptic thinking and conspiracy theories, which can incite violence and in some cases inspire terrorism [Julia Ebner, author of The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far Right Extremism; interviewed by Sean Illing, “Reciprocal Rage: Why Islamist Extremists and the Far Right Need Each Other,” Vox, 2017.12.19].
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right… if only the situation were that benign.
stuck on the leftist flood America with unskilled, uneducated, societal leeches with you. . . Love the Beatles.
Someone check OldSarg’s antennae; he seems to be receiving transmissions from a different frequency.
OS, do you have anything to say about the content of this article?
Stand for something or fall for anything.
Most Americans are sheep.
Kasparov makes the case that the US is allowing itself to become russia by not standing up to trump’s lies about immigrants, American institutions, and our general sense of fairness, due process, and equal treatment.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kasparov-warningto-americans-ontrump_us_5a38a2d5e4b0fc99878e473a
Cory, I’m tired of the argument. To argue that immigration somehow increases the wages of all Americans is the most blatant lie coming from the media today and they argue that lie over and over. It is not true, no rational and a blatant lie. Beyond that there is the argument that “these” immigrants the you support coming to the USA do not bring any skills, art, or morals. The immigrants you are supporting coming to the USA are not here to make things better but to escape their responsibility of fixing their own failed cultures. But your argument in support of immigrants is the same argument you present in everything you support, killing babies, a fictional wise government made up of these mystical people that are always diligent, honest and wise, that traitors inside the FBI, DoJ and Obama admin did not try to cheat in the last election, that though it is proven in their own speeches bot Obama and Hillary were behind the Fast&Furious gun conspiracy to undermine the 2nd Amendment, that the IRS wasn’t used to suppress the conservative voice, that the ATF isn’t a pack of loose cannons, that “big oil” is the reason for the wars, that pipelines are more dangerous that thousands of trucks driven my thousands of drivers dripping oil across the Nation and FORCING a free people to purchase a corporate product (health insurance) while arguing corporations are a bad thing is beyond ridiculous. .
Yes, I am tired of your arguments so a better question might be “OldSarg why are you still here?” I’m here because your baseless arguments are parroted by your lost lemmings on this site and they continue to show the world the ass on their shoulders and it my goal to help them continue down that path. You have all turned into nasty 9 year old girls crying and wailing as the world passes you buy. Now, as you are being dragged to be better off by removing burdens as opposed to loading more burdens on you and calling it better, you will benefit. Run a damn tax calculator of this bill on yourself, show us the impact and we will discuss. I for one will save around 3,700 a year based upon what passed and guess what? I will spend those dollars on things like hotels, food, gas, gift and other trinkets, all money going into the economy generating jobs, income and food for those both successful and less successful as will the rest of American and that IS where the most money will be generated from this tax law you have argued against since it’s inception.
Being tired of an argument does not justify interrupting the argument with distractions, insults, and nonsense.
ISIS and far-right groups use the same radicalizing tactics. That’s the main thesis here. OS can’t refute that, so he changes the subject and calls us names.
Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists use the same tactics. They both attempt to corral, infect and metastasize a discombobulated pilgrim’s thought process.
The above, long winded commenter’s brain has been so corralled but luckily he/she lacks the skill to convince and recruit any like minds. Especially here at the Free Press. So, why is he here? Self-loathing, no doubt.
Fundamentalism is bad. Very bad.
Beware The Zealot!!
Here’s another long-winded commenter, Porter. Local far-right crank Pati Koeniguer follows the Noem/Krebs strategy of shouting about falsehoods without identifying a single false statement made by Dr. Ayaz Virji during his November visit to our fair city. Koeniguer’s letter to the editor appears in my morning paper on, appropriately, the darkest day of the year:
No real refutation, no facts, just more anti-Muslim bile. Ugh—and I pay good money for this newspaper.
But Koeniguer gives a good example of Julia Ebner’s thesis: radical Muslims and radical Christians need each other to keep polarizing the community and dismissing intelligent, moderate, empathetic discourse like that offered by Dr. Virki.
Accusing all Muslims of bowing before Sharia Law is the same as accusing all Catholics of genuflecting before Opus Dei.
Beware The Zealot!!