Islamic Fascism 101

(National Review Online)  This column was written by Victor Davis Hanson .

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Make no apologies for the use of "Islamic fascism." It is the perfect nomenclature for the agenda of radical Islam, for a variety of historical and scholarly reasons. That such usage also causes extreme embarrassment to both the Islamists themselves and their leftist "anti-fascist" appeasers in the West is just too bad.

First, the general idea of "fascism" — the creation of a centralized authoritarian state to enforce blanket obedience to a reactionary, all-encompassing ideology — fits well the aims of contemporary Islamism that openly demands implementation of sharia law and the return to a Pan-Islamic and theocratic caliphate.

In addition, Islamists, as is true of all fascists, privilege their own particular creed of true believers by harkening back to a lost, pristine past, in which the devout were once uncorrupted by modernism.

True, bin Laden's mythical Volk doesn't bathe in the clear icy waters of the Rhine untouched by the filth of the Tiber; but rather they ride horses and slice the wind with their scimitars in service of a soon to be reborn majestic world of caliphs and mullahs. Osama bin Laden sashaying in his flowing robes is not all that different from the obese Herman Goering in reindeer horns plodding around his Karinhall castle with suspenders and alpine shorts.

Because fascism is born out of insecurity and the sense of failure, hatred for Jews is de rigueur. To read al Qaeda's texts is to reenter the world of "Mein Kampf" (naturally now known as in the Arab world). The crackpot minister of its ideology, Dr. Zawahiri, is simply a Dr. Alfred Rosenberg come alive — a similar quarter-educated buffoon, who has just enough of a vocabulary to dress up fascist venom in a potpourri of historical misreadings and pseudo-learning.

Envy and false grievance, as in the past with Italian, German, or Japanese whining, are always imprinted deeply within the fascist mind. After all, it can never quite figure out why the morally pure, the politically zealous, the ever more obedient are losing out to corrupt and decadent democracies — where "mixing," either in the racial or religious sense, should instead have enervated the people.

The "will" of the German people, like the "Banzai" spirit of the Japanese, should always trump the cowardly and debased material superiority of decadent Western democracies. So al Qaeda boasts that in Somalia and Afghanistan the unshakeable creed of Islam overcame the richer and better-equipped Americans and Russians. To read bin Laden's communiqués is to be reminded of old Admiral Yamamato assuring his creepy peers that his years in the United States in the 1920s taught him that Roaring Twenties America, despite its fancy cars and skyscrapers, simply could not match the courage of the chosen Japanese.

Second, fascism thrives best in a once-proud, recently humbled but now ascendant, people. They are ripe to be deluded into thinking contemporary setbacks were caused by others and are soon to be erased through ever more zealotry. What Versailles and reparations were to Hitler's new Germany, what Western colonialism and patronizing in the Pacific were to the rising sun of the Japanese, what the embarrassing image of the perennial sick man of Europe was to Mussolini's new Rome, so too Israel, modernism, and America's ubiquitous pop culture are to the Islamists, confident of a renaissance via vast petro-weatlh.

Such reactionary fascism is complex because it marries the present's unhappiness with moping about a regal past — with glimpses of an even more regal future. Fascism is not quite the narcotic of the hopeless, but rather the opiate of the recently failed now on the supposed rebound who welcome the cheap fix of blaming others and bragging about their own iron will.

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[safrolejay]

People forget that this is a war. They killed 5,000 of our people BEFORE we occupied a couple of their countries. They've just been such an inept enemy that we've been able to marginalize their continous efforts over the last 20 years. It's a good thing Islam is such a repressive system, otherwise they may have actually been able to wage an effective war against us. It's like if the Amish decided to start a war; they just don't stand a chance. They are in a fight to the death. Are we? Only spoiled western liberals can afford to cast a blind eye to a nuclear Tehran, or an arab populace that embraces terrorists in their midst.

To the person who points out that the US was founded over the graves of Indians.... so what? Revisionists historians would love to paint a picture of unprovoked massacres, but we all know Indians were some savage, scalping wildmen. Once they attacked a couple villages and killed some women, their fate was sealed. They didn't know who they were messing with. Neither do these Muslims. Well, at least I hope. These days the pansy liberals have us second guessing our common sense, so maybe we can no longer preepmtively defend ourselves in this vicious world. Maybe our time is done and bombings of trains will start to effect real political outcomes, like in Spain. I hope not. I hope we still have the fortitude to exterminate anyone who tries to exterminate us. The blood of incidental casualties is not on our hands. It never has been.

[estephe56]

The only fascism I can see is the monitoring of our citizens, the tracking of our citizens phone calls, and the tracking of our citizens financial records.

[random_radar]

If Mr. Hanson is advocating opposing evil, he is definitely speaking to the right audience. Just point out a target and provide the motivation and America's patriots will remorselessly take care of business.

For example, in the process of settling the continent, the immigrants happily exterminated millions of indigenous people referred to as Indians. This was done by privation, starvation, and outright slaughter of Hitlertarian proportions.

And then there were the millions more kidnapped and enslaved from their homes in Africa to grease the wheels of the American economy. Generations of Africans were worked under a yoke of oppression that compares favorably with the Nazi slave labor programs.

And lately America has sponsored the resettlement of millions of Jews in a giant concentration camp called the Promised Land in the Middles East. While it is true that the vast majority of the Jews fully embrace the plan, we should not overlook the obvious advantages some people see to exporting Jews to Israel. Modern anti-semites have abandoned the ovens of Auschwitz in favor of the furnace of Arab animosity.

And now we hear the steady drumbeat of rhetoric calling for a solution to the Islamofascist problem. I am sure America will rise to the occasion and millions more will be liquidated with pomp and pride. America has a history of excelling at its self-ordained role as policeman to the world.

Lock and load, brethren, we got a heap a serious killin' to do!

[patriotic9]

stopneofatbs
The person who created Usama Bin Laden from scratch and gave him weapons,money and military training was a radical,RACIST and UNJUST Conservative Christian form the Republican party named Ronald Reagan.There is no difference between the enemy of freedom and democracy named ZARQAWI and those enemies of freedom and democracy who want US foreing policies to favor second coming of CHRIST.Who believe that when jesus'll be back,all the democratically elected government choosen by the people of their countries'll be collapsed and the whole world be living under the dictatorship of a dictator named GOD who will snatch the people's freedom of going to clubs,having parties,fun and enjoyment in their lives away from them just like the RADICAL TALIBANS.

[Syndicate]

There is no God. Simple as That.

[patriotic9]

All the human beings living in this world are GOD NEGLECTED PEOPLE because of not being born in race choosen by God,so they've not benn promised a single penny from God,Whereas those EUROPEANS brought into Palestine after WWII are GOD CHOOSEN PEOPLE because of being born in a race choosen by GOD and that's why've been promised a land in the Middle East.Human beings should not be treated on the basis of their actions but should be treated as GOD NEGLECTED or GOD CHOOSEN on the basis of race they are bron in.This Ideology is called RACISM and INJUSTICE.This RACIST and UNJUST judeo-christian ideology is the mother of all the evils in this world.If Europeans would not have been brought into Palestine after WWII to occupy their land by force because BIBLE said that,Alqaeda would not get enough recruit to blow themselves up because koran says so.The most important tool to fight Islamic radicalism is to denounce the RACIST and UNJUST Christianity and the Illegitimate and unjustified existance of Isreal on the world map which is the main source of Hatred,terrorism and 9/11 against our nation.

[prelgovisk]

It is racism to have one standard of behavior for one race but a different standard for another. For Europeans and its white citizens, the United States has a definite standard. A standard that is offended if the N word is used, or if someone speaks bad against homosexuals or if a woman is denied admittance to an exclusively male group.

But if a Arab group uses hate speech, executes a homosexual or denies a woman an education, our liberal friends just shake their heads, and don%u2019t get excited. They say, %u201CWhat do you expect? They are Arabs. We should expect more from ourselves and our allies then from them.%u201D

This is racism. It views the Arabs as incapable of better behavior. We ought to expect the same behavior of all people, regardless of race. To lower our expectations for Arab behavior, to refuse to hold them accountable for what we abhor in European nations, is to say that we believe they are inferior.

It is time to raise the bar of accountability for all races and all nations. A double standard for Arabs has not worked. It is time to bring evil into account regardless of race or national origin.

[joehawkinson]

Hitler is not my hero, he was one of the most evil men set foot on Earth. you dont know what you are talking. and stop calling me Abdullah. Try answering questions , you can start with this posted you ignored:

To the genius who thinks all terrorists are muslims, here is a list of the first 5 non-muslim terrorist groups that I could think of. There are many more as well...

Tamil Tigers: They started the concept of modern day suicide bombings. They are Hindu
IRA
Kahane Chai: jewish terrorist organization.
Basque Separatists in Spain.
FARC: columbia
Posted by SK_W at

[joehawkinson]

for anybody who thinks I may be alittle sarcastic or harsh with this "stopneofatbs" please understand I need to lower myself to his level, he just does not get it :) oh stopnofatbs you are little something .

[joehawkinson]

hey stopnofatbs , our little somebody on somebody's payroll :) Why are you so itchy about Likud anyways? any relations there? :) surprize me LOL. wake up from your slumber dude! you read too much of daniel pipe I reckon.