On terrorism

Islamo fascism as an ideological construct

Arguably, those inspired by the ISIS ideology can be described by the term islamo-fascists. Their ideology of cultural superiority and the means and circumstances through which they gather popular support is reminiscent of the resurgence of fascist cells in Europe. Islamo-fascism has inherited European fascism’s hate for hate diversity, otherness and individual rights but has some special founding characteristics. In Europe, fascism has built its ideology around the recent construct of the nation state. In the Middle East where states are post-colonial artifacts, fascism builds around sectarian religious identity.

Islamo fascists are funded from abroad

Both resurgent European fascism and islamo-fascism recruit populations who are economically marginalized and feel powerless because of their alienation from the political process. According to Trotsky, fascism is a plebeian movement in origin, directed and financed by big capitalist powers. This description is disturbingly accurate in the case of ISIS, which is reported as receiving direct funding from 30 countries, both Islamic and non-Islamic. These economic interests seem determined to maintain and capitalize on ISIS for as long as it can prove useful. Moreover, the islamo-fascists have been proven extremely useful for the European political class (notably in France) who have been keen on taking advantage of the attacks to promote their own agendas.

The political class capitalizes on terrorism

The days after the Paris attacks we have seen a deliberate attempt by the ruling class to capitalize on the attacks by multiplying the terror effect on the population. The political class and the media have utilized the attacks in order to maximize their own political gains. This manipulation has helped to align the population with the government, give enhanced powers to the security forces and restrict political dissent. This is not the first time that the ruling elites have manipulated the outcry created by terrorist attacks as an opportunity to consolidate their power. Through the terrorist finding, the upper class is able to propagate fear and use it as a form of social imposition and control. Hence, this is a case where the political-media complex incites terror within the population in order to gain politico-economic benefits.

The use of the term terrorism is problematic

Historically, organized power structures started to use the term terrorism to characterize the actions of militant groups with political objectives. However, the use of the term terrorism is highly problematic, since it is not clear how it can include groups that use arms to achieve political goals, but exclude some higher order political structures that do exactly the same. For example, hundreds of thousands faced a violent death as a result of the 2003 Iraq invasion, a case where forged evidence on weapons of mass destruction was only a thin disguise for the political motives of the operation. Thus, a definition for the contemporary use of terrorism could be the use of violence as a means to achieve political goals by forces which do not represent an official state order. This definition is protects the founding principle of the modern state for Max Weber, which is the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory.

What is at stake and who will pay the bill

Finally, even as terrorism is often manipulated by the big capital, things can always get out of control. In our days, we are witnessing how islamo-fascists in the Middle East and xenophobic fascist elements in the west and are entangled in a positive feedback that enhances the influence of both. In the meanwhile, secular refugees from Syria and other warzones who cross into Europe may soon find themselves trapped between Scylla and Charybdis: Trying to flee the islamo-fascists, they can only hope to be spared from the aggression of Europe’s xenophobic constituents. The anomie of our world can no longer be sustained: the plight of the refugees tells of a broader deracination of which we may only be at the beginning. As the drama unfolds, the global masses brace for the worst. However, as always, views differ according to vantage points. What is catastrophe for the many, may be an opportunity for the few.