Extreme Islam may not be fascism but it's still illiberal

In an email exchange, a friend of mine commented on how some on the European left act as apologists for radical Islam.Or perhaps more accurate, reactionary Islam.

Their political enemies are far right loudmouths like Jorg Haider (Austria) and Jean-Marie Le Pen (France). And since the far right hates Muslims, then those who oppose the far right should love Muslims.

The flaw in this analysis is that it doesn't distinguish between peaceful Muslims and extremist Muslims. The Le Pens of this world insist there is no distinction, that all Muslims are violent. That's assinine. But it's equally assinine to pretend that no Muslims are violent. Any serious analysis must have a nuance that reflects the complex reality of humanity.

The fear I have is that Europe's democratic left will make the same mistake it made in both the 1930s and the 1950s and cozy up to extremists who are really antithetical to their views. The democratic left must unambiguously dissociate itself from all gratuitous violence, whether in the name of Christianity, Islam, corporatism or whatever. Islamism (which is not merely Islam but an extreme politicized perversion of the religion) may not be fascist but it's certainly illiberal and should be opposed by all on the democratic left.

This doesn't seem to be a big problem in the US. While there is certainly some anti-Islamic bias in this country, Muslims seem better integrated into mainstream society than in Western Europe, where they are marginalized in distinct ghettos of many major cities. Maybe the American obsession with money and materialism perversely creates some unifying goals. I'm not sure what the reasons are but you don't hear much apologia in the American left for extreme Islam. Maybe progressives in the US realize that you don't have to pick between Bush and al-Qaedaism, that you can oppose two violent ideologies at the same time.

Islamism is completely antithetical to the liberal, progressive and leftist world views. Extremist Islam hates gays, oppose tolerance, loathes the democratic free exchange of ideas, wants women in their place as maids and baby factories, promotes religious bigotry and uses war, violence and force to try to impose its puritanical dystopia.

In short, its goals are much closer to the Christian Theocracy Brigade's wish list than any progressive ideology. In fact, Islamists and the Theocracy Brigade have actually united in various international conferences to oppose gay rights, abortion and contraception for the purpose of fighting HIV/AIDS. For the (largely secular) European left to reject Christian religious extremists and decide that Islamic religious extremists would be one iota better is complete stupidity. And very dangerous. If the European left is to have any credibility, it must recognize that they would be the first people the Islamists would go after: the secular 'hedonists.'

There's clearly an integration problem amongst much of Europe's Muslim population. One must resist the temptation to assign all of the blame to one side. Clearly, anti-Arab racism in France and anti-Asian racism in England contributes to the sentiment of Muslim isolation. But Muslims in Europe also need to make a more conscious effort to integrate into their societies. Racism will never disappear if Muslims keep themselves completely separated. Such integration must be encouraged by Muslim leaders and non-Muslim leaders alike. Not via demands. Not via legislation. Not via the threat of expulsion. Not via treating all Muslims as would-be terrorists. Not via patronizing lectures. Encouragement.

As someone who's lived in two overwhelmingly Muslim countries, I know that most Muslims are normal, peaceful people who want the same things for themselves and their kids as people here. But I also know that when I was there, I tried to adapt to the Islamic West African culture as much as I could and be respectful of their ways. That didn't mean I became exactly like them. It didn't mean I abandoned everything I grew up believing as an American. But I accepted certain norms by choosing to live there. I lived as a part of them, not apart from them. I knew this going in. If I couldn't in good conscience accept this, I wouldn't have chosen to live there. Westerners who live in Africa are generally expected to be respectful of local customs and are criticized when they aren't. That's perfectly reasonable. So why can't that work both ways?

In Arab countries, women are expected to cover their heads. But in the west, when two people meet, it's quite disconcerting when one party has their face covered completely. When western women are in Arab or Asian countries, they should respect their cultural norm on the issue. So when Arab or Asian women are in western countries, why shouldn't they respect the western cultural norm, especially in private? Why should a perfectly reasonable man be savaged for asking the question?

(And the hysterical overreaction alone is symptomatic. When even the mere mention of serious, important questions become taboo, that should ring alarm bells in a pluralistic, democratic society)

It's important to preserve some of your native culture but it's also important to integrate too and not live completely separate lives. Why should an Algerian live in France if he's only ever going to interact with other Algerians? If you reject British culture, don't choose live in Britain. If you hate French culture, don't live in France. If you think Algerian or Pakistani culture is so much better, I don't begrudge you that. Just choose to live in Algeria or Pakistan. But when you choose to live in a country, whether it's Western, African, Asian or Arab, you implicitly choose to abide by certain basic, commonly accepted standards. If you can't accept those standards in good conscience, live somewhere else.

European progressives must not suddenly become tolerant of intolerance or of anti-progressive ideologies simply to spite their domestic political opponents. It can only lead to disaster.If Arabs expect to remain faithful to Arab values, Africans to African values and Asians to Asian values, then surely the west can remain faithful to western values.