Special report: Spotlight on the far-right
Norway, a wealthy and egalitarian society, once prided itself on being a place where nothing much ever happens. Then, the bloody and tragic attacks on 22 July 2001 woke Norwegians and the world to the growing danger posed by far-right extremism.
This Chronikler special report seeks to cast a much-needed spotlight on far-right extremism, and seeks to explore the social, political, economic and cultural factors behind this troubling phenomenon. Throughout this week, we will be publishing articles on this theme, so do come back again to read the latest updates and feel free to share your views on the subject.
Articles:
December 2011 – Anders Breivik’s “paranoid schizophrenia” may have pulled the trigger but he chose his victims through the crosshairs of far-right politics.
Spain turns right but where’s the far right?
1 December 2011 – On the anniversary of Franco’s death, Spain elected a centre-right government but that doesn’t mean its far-right ghosts have been exorcised entirely.
1 August 2011 – Had the threat from far-right extremists been taken more seriously, could the Norway tragedy have been averted?
From right to far-right in Spain
1 August 2011 – Why is there no prominent far-right party in Spain? Well, there is and there isn’t.
Rejected by the right, Western Muslims are only left with the left
2 August 2011 – No Muslim in their right mind would support far-right Christian groups in the West, though they may well symathise with their Muslim equivalents elsewhere.
Scandinavia: is the far right far off?
4 August 2011 – Home-grown terrorism in Norway, a resumption of border controls in Denmark and an increasingly immigration-weary Sweden. Is right-wing politics taking hold in the once-tolerant Nordic countries?
5 August 2011 – Faced with soaring unemployment and the lack of prospects, many educated young Hungarians are being drawn to the radical right. But will it give them the better future they seek?
Other resources
29 July 2011 – Khaled Diab discusses why the media rushed, with scant evidence, to blame Muslim extremists for the Norway attacks on KALW Radio’s Media Roundtable.
December 2010 – Among the most hated people in Europe, Roma are treated as second-class citizens at home and abroad. Nikolaj Nielsen spent some time with members of a Roma family.
November 2010 – Islamophobia is common in western society, so the classroom is a good place to start combating it.
The rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic
November 2010 – On KALW’s weekly media round table, Khaled Diab took part in a radio debate on the rise of far-right politics on both sides of the Atlantic.
July 2010 – The fifth anniversary of the 7 July attacks has refocused attention on Islamist terrorism, but the neo-Nazi threat goes largely unnoticed.
July 2010 – Advocates of banning the face veil want to take away the only choice some women have – the choice to conform.
Miss USA 2010 and an Islamic cover-up
May 2010 – Rima Fakih’s Miss USA win is welcomed by many Arab-Americans, but some neocons denounce it as a sinister Islamic plot.
Zero tolerance=zero difference
February 2010 – Belgian media hysteria over crime and calls for zero-tolerance policing miss the real issue – social exclusion in the inner city.
Building intolerance in Switzerland
December 2009 – The Swiss minaret ban doesn’t mean European Muslims are persecuted, but it makes me worry for the Europe my son has been born into.
Closing the ‘hijab murder’ file
November 2009 – The life sentence imposed on Marwa al-Sherbini’s killer shows that European Islamophobia exists but is not institutionalised.
August 2009 – Tougher naturalisation laws are counterproductive. What we need is to redefine our understanding of citizenship.
August 2009 – Given that only about 4% of the EU‘s population is Muslim, why is the fear of a coming Eurabia so strong in certain quarters?
