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The war on terror ended badly and now the culture war is turning into a religious war.
Find three mistakes with that sentence. How about the word “war”? An accident as a phenomenon and as a metaphor.
The terrorist attacks in France reignite the discussion about how militant Islamism should be treated. The teacher Samuel Paty was assassinated for teaching freedom of expression, with cartoons of Muhammad as the basis.
It could have happened here. The similarities between French and Swedish society are great. Secular and libertarian ideals. Integration problems spill over into religious contradictions, in extreme cases, terrorism.
The similarities between the French and Swedish debates are also great. A common reaction to these atrocities in the name of Islam is that freedom of expression must be defended with more cartoons. Media, schools, politicians – everyone should have the courage to insult the Prophet in solidarity. Only then can we dilute the explosive effect of satire.
Read more. Maria Schottenius: democracy becomes fragile when people are afraid
Mindset is at its best fall naive. Of course, it was tragic that Samuel Paty, like Salman Rushdie, Lars Vilks, and Charlie Hebdo, were so alone when it comes to freedom of speech, but freedom of speech is not a weapon. It would be a mistake to design the fight against terrorism on the basis of the murderous motives of the murderers.
To take some examples:
The terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 were motivated by the conspiratorial worldview of al-Qaeda. In short, they were Crusaders and Jews corrupting the Arab world. A few thousand office workers, completely innocent of how the Middle East’s borders were drawn 85 years earlier, died in a hell of fire and smoke.
The apocalypse was Osama bin Laden’s goal. Unfortunately, the Americans took the bait. “They hate our freedom,” declared President Bush, constantly invading the heart of freedom. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11, but now it has become a hotbed for jihadists. The theocracy Iran advanced positions. At all times a disaster for freedom and security.
Bombarding the public with cartoons of Muhammad does not help freedom of expression or the fight against terrorism
In Sweden we have experienced two terrorist attacks with Islamist motives, in Drottninggatan 2010 and 2017. Taimour Abdulwahab referred to Swedish interference in Afghanistan, Rakhmat Akilov to interference in Syria. Complete idiocy, but logical pieces in the apocalyptic puzzle.
If Sweden had reacted like the United States, we would have sent Jas planes to Muslim countries. Not because it is reasonably or strategically justified under international law, but as a mark against Abdulwahab and Akilov.
The conclusion is simple. Separate the response from the jihadist hate propaganda. Keep your head cool. Bombarding the public with cartoons of Muhammad does not help freedom of expression or the fight against terrorism, much less integration into a multicultural society.
It is and continues to be allowed to joke, tease and mock. Not everyone has to maintain the same level of wit as Sacha Baron Cohen, you even have to be as clumsy as the Swedes of 2018 and 2019. Freedom of speech is non-negotiable, but it would be strange to let extremists dictate opinions, anyway.
Read more. Per Svensson: The murder of the teacher in Paris shows that terrorism has spread beyond all borders
Offending minorities is hardly an end in itself. Why Muslims? It’s not much fun with racist stereotypes of Asians or Africans, or the height of humor with anti-Semitic cartoons. Should some fanatics force us to insult Islam?
Don’t swallow that bait.
In the 1970s, Sweden was persecuted by terrorists from Germany and Croatia, extremists from the left and the right, respectively. Had the reaction been dictated by the rhetoric of the assassins, the government would have demanded the closure of German universities and a tougher central government in Yugoslavia.
The point is to fight terrorism hard without buying the narrative of the terrorists. Never has that distinction been more important than today.
Against all odds they have a global axis of forces centered on chaos has emerged. The Islamic State seeks paradise through mass murder and rape. Vladimir Putin and his neo-Nazi support troops in the West are undermining the open society. Voters in Donald Trump’s evangelical core see the mess in their tracks as a welcome harbinger of the end of time.
These apocalyptic-leaning groups all hate each other, but they also have a lot in common
Legendary preacher Pat Robertson symbolizes attitude. Armageddon is the goal and the president is the means. Here’s part of the explanation for Trump’s popularity with right-wing Christians, despite the fact that his entire life has been a middle finger in the commandments of ten gods. Trump’s encouragement of right-wing extremists also fits the pattern.
All these apocalyptic-leaning groups hate each other, but they also have a lot in common: anti-Semitism, anti-feminism, anti-science, anti-homosexual, a taste for conspiracy theories. Chaos heralds the purification bath that heralds the kingdom of happiness. The way is through provocations.
Swallow. No. Betet.
Read more:
Hanne Kjöller: Show the patrol dog in Swedish schools on Freedom of Expression Day
Niklas Orrenius: The master’s beheading could have taken place in Sweden
Erik Ohlsson: Rising contradictions in the name of religion risks escalating terrorist violence
