Rabelais.org.au | La Trobe University's Independent Student Newspaper, est 1967

Sunday 5 September 2010

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Ordinarily the mention of European countries like Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and England brings to mind progress and enlightenment. This reputation is undeserved. In the last few months, the bigoted Europe has shone through.

In Switzerland, on 29 November 2009, 57.5% of voters approved a referendum explicitly banning the construction of minarets – important component structures of Mosques. "This was a vote against minarets as symbols of Islamic power," said Martin Baltisser, the general secretary of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party. The ‘yes’ campaign featured pictures of the Swiss map pierced with minarets, with a niqab-wearing woman in the foreground. On March 9, French fascist politician Jean-Marie Le Pen launched his own party’s campaign poster, directly copying the Swiss version.

70 years ago, similar politicians ran similar campaigns - only targeting synagogues and featuring Jewish stereotypes.

In France, controversy erupted over the candidacy of Ilham Moussaid, a member of the Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste (New Anti-Capitalist Party). She is a Muslim woman who wears the hijab. The French right immediately condemned the decision to select Moussaid. Shamefully, large parts of the left, including the Socialist and Communist parties, have also joined in the condemnation. This follows the 2004 decision in France to ban the headscarf in schools. Some feminists who have historically championed women’s rights to wear whatever they choose have added their voices to the chorus of intolerance.

Moussaid has responded, stating: "It is with great sadness that I watch … my life reduced to my headscarf. It is with great sadness that I hear that my personal beliefs are a danger to others while I advocate friendship, respect, tolerance, solidarity and equality for all human beings."

In recent regional elections in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam Freedom Party made significant gains. Some analysts predict that if the results are repeated in the national elections on June 9, it could become the largest party in the Netherlands. Wilders has demanded a ban on headscarves in public, has called Islam a backward religion, and has compared the Qur’an with Hitler’s Mein Kampf, calling for it to be banned.

Wilders is also gaining popularity in Britain – specifically in the House of Lords, that fetid remnant of monarchical privilege and corruption. The leader of the UK Independence Party, Lord Pearson, invited Wilders to screen his anti-Muslim hate film Fitna there.

It appears as though the ‘respectable’ British establishment has conspired to give space and publicity to these ultra-nationalist racists. At an anti-fascist demonstration on March 5, 50 non-violent anti-fascists were arrested while the police protected members of the English Defense League – an organization whose members have been involved in anti-Muslim and anti-Asian attacks and whose spokespeople argue that Muslims should burn in hell. In addition to this, the BBC has invited the leader of the Nazi British Nationalist Party, Nick Griffin, to give interviews with a number of its news programs.

Fortunately, this didn’t help the BNP, as their vote collapsed in the recent British election.

Across the channel, on April 29, the Belgian Federal Parliament voted to ban the face veil, with hefty fines and short jail terms as penalty. This ban was introduced in the name of allowing people to be identified and liberating women, yet its clear effect is to reinforce distrust and racism towards Muslims.

Following this, our own stone-age conservative, Corey Bernardi (senator and secretary to Tony Abbott) called for the burqa to be banned in Australia. Echoing the sentiment, Abbott argued that many Australians find the burqa "confronting". Shamefully, Julia Gillard – from the so-called left faction of the ALP – agreed.

To single out clothing worn by some Muslims in such a way is racist. Rather, we should respect people’s decisions to wear whatever they want. Anyone who is "confronted" by what Muslim women wear should take a long hard look at themselves and confront their own prejudices.

At any rate, there are a lot of far more "confronting" things about this country - for example, the fact that we imprison refugees in isolated detention centres, or that we still discriminate legally against gays and lesbians.

All of these examples of anti-Muslim racism should be greeted with revulsion and condemnation. Where racists are granted an audience, their race-baiting inevitably results in assaults and increased discrimination. When fascist politicians are legitimised by Parliament or the BBC, their followers are bolstered and given encouragement. And in the worst cases, racist campaigning has been able to bring about changes in the law which actively marginalise Muslims.

These examples are not isolated. Equivalents can be found in any country in Europe, and they represent a growing trend.

There are two essential factors that underpin this trend.

The first is the War on Terror, which is supported by the overwhelming majority of European countries. Since the beginning of the War on Terror, there has been a consistent effort to demonise Muslims as terrorists and extremists. This has been coupled with the argument that the war effort in Afghanistan and Iraq is aimed at liberating those countries – in particular the women. That these two wars are human catastrophes that have resulted in millions of deaths should go without saying. Moreover, most people around the world can see clearly that these two wars were about nothing more than the extension of the USA’s imperial power. Yet, as Edward Said wrote in a recent introduction to his classic Orientalism:

"Every single empire in its official discourse has said that it is not like all the others, that its circumstances are special, that it has a mission to enlighten, civilize, bring order and democracy, and that it uses force only as a last resort. And, sadder still, there always is a chorus of willing intellectuals to say calming words about benign or altruistic empires."

The other basic factor that underpins the growth of far-right racism in Europe is the global economic crisis. Politicians and other representatives of the ruling classes have been eager to re-direct popular anger away from the financial system and the banks and towards immigrants. The establishment across Europe is terrified that the enormous strikes and demonstrations that have taken place recently in Greece will be repeated in other European countries, so they are desperate to scapegoat. This is why the mainstream political parties and the mass media in Europe are willing to give space to far-right intolerance.

Australia has been more fortunate than other countries economically. This, however, could change. And even so, Kevin Rudd has retained the US alliance and support for the War on Terror as key pillars of Australian foreign policy. Indeed, the Howard years saw an enormous increase in anti-Muslim bigotry in Australia, culminating in the Cronulla riots. For these reasons, we must remain vigilant. We must clearly, unambiguously, and without reservation declare our solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters, both here and around the world.