Enemies of Islam in Europe and America, Hate International

Enemies of Islam in Europe and America

Hate International

It has taken a while for the virulent Geert Wilders style of hatred for Islam to get a foothold in the USA. But now the opponents of Islam are working together on both sides of the Atlantic. Thomas Kirchner has been taking a closer look

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The appearance of Geert Wilders during the 9/11 commemoration service in New York provided clear evidence of a successful "union of anti-Islamic groups on both sides of the Atlantic," writes Thomas Kirchner | New York's day of mourning was a day of joy for Geert Wilders. The Dutch Islam critic's appearance at the protests against the building of a Muslim community centre close to Ground Zero is just part of a master plan he has been working on for some time – the setting up of an "International Freedom Alliance". His presence in the US, therefore, is symbolic of the successful union of anti-Islamic groups on both sides of the Atlantic.

It has taken some time for aggressive European style Islam hatred to make its mark in the US. For years, the old world's constant state of conflict with its Muslim citizens and the hysterical warnings over the imminent takeover of the West by Sharia law has produced little more than a shrug of the shoulders in America, the classic immigration land. There was relatively little in the way of a reaction against Muslim Americans in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. There were no mass protests against Muslims, no mosques burned.

"Islam is a conspiracy, not a religion"

There were a few bloggers prepared to declare war on jihad; people like Charles Johnson whose tirades on his "Little Green Footballs" blog attracted millions. One of these, Pamela Geller, was particularly active and particularly virulent in her comments, and later began her own blog, "Atlas Shrugs".

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Former CDU politician René Stadtkewitz has founded a party in Germany for haters of Islam. He has named it "Die Freiheit" (Freedom) | She, along with bearded intellectual Robert Spencer (he blogs on "Jihad Watch"), head the organisation "Stop Islamization of America" (SIOA) and are now regarded as the leaders of the anti-Islam movement in the US. They make regular appearances on right-wing TV and radio shows and in David Horowitz have found themselves a millionaire backer. They can also count Republican Newt Gingrich and the neoconservative former UN ambassador John Bolton amongst their prominent supporters.

And they are becoming increasingly radical and it was they who were behind the protests in New York this month. They are good friends with Wilders, and admirers of his radicalism. His belief that Islam is a conspiracy to conquer the world, rather than a religion, is one they share.

"Islamophobia is the highest form of common sense"

Geller und Spencer are also teaming up with like-minded people in Europe. Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, who recently faced sedition charges in Austria, appeared at one of their meetings in Washington in February. Also present was Anders Gravers a butcher from Denmark who founded "Stop Islamisation of Europe" (SIOE) in 2005, an organisation whose slogan is "Islamophobia is the highest form of common sense." The American SIOA is one of its many offshoots.

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International network of Islam haters: According to a report in the Dutch newspaper NRC, the Dane Anders Gravers is a central figure in Islamophobe circles | According to a report in the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad, Geller and Spencer are even controlled by Gravers. He himself was responsible for bringing the pair in to head the SIOA the Dane boasted, because the previous leadership had been too wishy-washy.

The new international alliance of enemies of Islam has even developed close ties with Israel. It has gone global, just like Islamism. German Islam haters are not hard to find on the Internet, on sites such as the blog "Politically Incorrect" and others. And there is no shortage of them, if the number of clicks is anything to go by. They have so far maintained their distance from the political stage, but now the Berlin-based ex-CDU politician René Stadtkewitz has founded a party for them. It is called "Die Freiheit" (Freedom) – a name very like that of Wilders' own party.

Thomas Kirchner

© Süddeutsche Zeitung/Qantara.de 2010

Translated from the German by Ron Walker

Editor: Lewis Gropp/Qantara.de

URL: http://www.qantara.de/webcom/show_article.php?wc_c=476&wc_id=1408

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Asadullah Syed