April 10, 2002

8:29 PM

The Swastika & the CrescentThe peculiar bond between white nationalist groups and certain Muslim extremists derives in part from a shared set of enemies Jews, the United States, race-mixing, ethnic diversity. It is also very much a function of the shared belief that they must shield their own peoples from the corrupting influence of foreign cultures and the homogenizing juggernaut of globalization. Both sets of groups also have a penchant for far-flung conspiracy theories that caricature Jewish power.

This is not a direct link. This link takes you to a page titled "Intelligence Project." Once there, Click on "Intelligence Report." Scroll down a bit and click on "The Swastika & the Crescent."
posted by Rastafari (21 comments total)

Forgot to add: via OpinionJournal.
posted by Rastafari at 8:30 PM on April 10, 2002

I dunno, Rastafari, a few psychos publishing pamhlets and broadcasting does not a grand conspiracy make.
It seems to me to be a case of what somebody(exactly who escapes me) called fusion paranoia:take everyone of your enemies and imagine them all working together. From where I sit both White Supremacists and Islamic Extremists seem far to fanatical and fractious to ever manage to pull off even a minor conspiracy. Besides just about all the Aryan Nations type propaganda I've ever seen puts Arabs under "mud people," which I imagine would rule them out as KKK allies.
posted by jonmc at 8:41 PM on April 10, 2002

Anyone who buys this drivel is a myopic bigot with nothing of value to add to any discussion of Islam, the Middle East, or the world political situation in general. Rastafarai, if you give any credence whatsoever to this kind of hyperbolic mouth-foaming, I daresay your critical faculties are in serious need of an overhaul.

Don't waste your time/energy formulating an indignant response. This FPP is the clearest sign imaginable that I need to take a long, long break from MeFi, effective immediately.
posted by hipstertrash at 8:45 PM on April 10, 2002

No, hipstertrash, don't go! Then there'll be only two disgruntled music-fanatic ex-Borders employees here and we need at least three, dude!

Please stay, for the children...
posted by jonmc at 8:49 PM on April 10, 2002

Even I have Fatah Fatigue.
posted by ParisParamus at 8:50 PM on April 10, 2002

Hey, everybody! Let's all sing the Barney Song!

I love you
You love me
We're A Happy Fam-i-ly...
posted by y2karl at 9:01 PM on April 10, 2002

A previous MeFi thread that seems apropos.
posted by boaz at 9:15 PM on April 10, 2002

Here ya go - fusion paranoia. The phrase is apparently (c) one Michael Kelly, of The New Yorker.
posted by yhbc at 9:27 PM on April 10, 2002

*cries*
posted by y2karl at 9:28 PM on April 10, 2002

Direct link.

Just as long as people know that not all Aryans are German and not all Swastikas are Nazi symbols.
posted by riffola at 9:29 PM on April 10, 2002

not all Swastikas are Nazi symbols

Indeed. Lady at a secondhand book fair gave me a nasty look when she saw me buy a swastika-clad book, and muttered something under her breath. It's nothing more than an old Tamil cookbook.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 9:41 PM on April 10, 2002

It's worth pointing out that David Duke has voiced support for the Palestinian revolt. I just can't bring myself to link to his site. While this doesn't prove a massive conspiracy, it does re-inforce hipstertrash's need to take a break from MeFi if that knee-jerk reaction is anything to go by.
posted by jackiemcghee at 12:09 AM on April 11, 2002

Rasta man is grinding that axe again.
posted by donkeyschlong at 1:28 AM on April 11, 2002

A more philosophical look at the links between militant Islam and fascism.

Certainly the rise in Arab exploitation of anti-Semitism should give anyone pause. Not only do the Egyptions republish the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, they made it into a 30-part miniseries. In the deep mists of time, perhaps? Nope, just this past fall, as a Ramadan special event. This winter there was the matter of the Saudi newspaper that republished the 'blood libel' (an ancient calumny that Jews require the blood of gentile boys to make Passover matzohs). Repudiated, but can you imagine the same making it into any major US newspaper?

There's that cheerful sojourn the Mufti had with Adolf, some of which seems to be reflected in modern Palestinian militancy, including ranks of black-clad (and hooded) shaheed marching with their arms raised in the so-recognizable Nazi salute.

At the same time, Arab protestors and media traffic in Nazi imagery to describe the Israeli state and its occupation of the territories, suggesting glimmers of complexity and savvy. Is it merely throwing in the face of your enemy that which will sting the most? Perhaps. They seem to relish calling Jews Nazis at the UN or the Durban forum on, um, ostensibly racism, and editorial cartoons can be particularly odious.

Perhaps all of this is just a fad sparked by the violence that will disappear as solutions return to the table. Nevertheless, it's a force that is out there, and is in complete consonance with overt political aims of certain Palestinian parties such as Hamas. To deny its power is to deny history.

And surely it's mere coincidence that the European Union, the stalwart supporters of the Palestinian cause against all us cowboys, are suddenly confronted with a steep rise in anti-Semitic hate incidents. Combine that with questionable events such as the Nobel Peace Prize committee bitter over Peres's "failure" while saying not word one about Arafat, and you think you're reading the Onion. Or, hope against fear, the 20th century all over again.

It doesn't need a conspiracy, folks. With enough people believing the Big Lie, history can repeat itself from the grass up.
posted by dhartung at 3:16 AM on April 11, 2002

It's nothing more than an old Tamil cookbook

You and your cookbooks, obi! Do you think of nothing except food? You goose-stepping food Nazi, you! I bet this last sentence got you thinking of foie gras too. ;)
posted by MiguelCardoso at 3:24 AM on April 11, 2002

i never got all the negative hoopla about the swastika. when you think about it, it's just a plus symbol, doing a cartwheel.
posted by lotsofno at 4:36 AM on April 11, 2002

Anyone who buys this drivel is a myopic bigot with nothing of value to add to any discussion of Islam, the Middle East, or the world political situation in general

To everyone criticizing the substance of article: did you read the whole thing? I know it's long, but please take some time out and read the whole thing. I give a lot of credence to the Southern Poverty Law Center, and their reports. They are a well respected organization who spend lot of time and resources docuemnting and fighting racism in the US. Morris Dees, the founder and president (I think) of the SPLC, has his life threatned constantly by white supremecist groups who oppose his work.

Oh, I also agree with the Swastikas as a harmless symbol. The swastika is a symbol of good health in the Hindu religion and Indian culture (and has been around long before the Third Reich came to power). I'm not sure how the Nazi Party came to use it as their symbol.

And dhartung, absolutely agree. Great post. Thanks for the links. Riffola, I have no idea how you linked to it directly, but thanks.
posted by Rastafari at 5:58 AM on April 11, 2002

Rastafari:

Not really relevant to the thread, but interesting (shows Hindu jewelry with the swastika on it). The Nazi party was filled with half-assed "mystics" who appropriated the swastika without really knowing the relevance it had to the Hindu faith.
posted by mrmanley at 6:05 AM on April 11, 2002

Is this the first FPP that invokes Godwin's law before the discussion?
posted by fullerine at 6:17 AM on April 11, 2002

Hipstertrash, isn't it hard to type while sticking your fingers in your ears while singing "La La Lala, I'm not listening, La La-Lala"?
posted by Mick at 7:12 AM on April 11, 2002

The difference between the Hindu swastik and the Nazi swastika is that the Nazi one is a mirror image.
No clue why that site is being so painful. Here's a fixed direct link
posted by riffola at 1:08 PM on April 11, 2002