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What far-right terror has in common with ISIS
I've called them the American Taliban for years. So, what do we call the globalized version of it? ISIS-White?
The increasingly transnational narratives of far right extremists have strong parallels with other forms of global extremism, in particular Islamism. Like ISIS, the Christchurch attacker's ideology claims there are no such thing as innocents in this clash of civilizations between Islam and the West, only combatants. Both worldviews emphasize transnational bonds of brotherhood. While the shooter frames his identity as part of a global white European race, ISIS emphasizes a global Islamic identity in its propaganda, which it uses to perpetuate a form of warped solidarity.
One area where this ideological relationship is particularly evident is in the Western Balkans region, which the shooter frames in his propaganda as a frontline in a civilizational contest between Europe and the Islamic world. Showing the long view of history feeding into this ethno-nationalist ideology, the weapons used -- as seen in a video of the attack livestreamed on Facebook -- have scrawled upon them references to 14th century Serbian fighters involved in defending against the Ottoman invasion. There was also the name of Frankish warlord Charles Martel, who turned back the Islamic forces of Abdul Rahman at Poitiers in the eighth century -- a figure who has become a resurgent fascist symbol. He also draws on the imagery of the defense of Christendom at Vienna, the furthest point of Ottoman expansion in 1529 by Suleiman the Magnificent. It is no accident that one of the most prominent far right blogs is called "Gates of Vienna."
Our research has shown uncanny parallels with ISIS propaganda targeting the Western Balkans region. Drawing on the same history, ISIS videos present the region as the "frontier for the Muslims," while unofficial ISIS propaganda has included the Balkans as a "province" in its plans for expansion of its failed "Caliphate." Those borders are based on the frontiers of Islamic conquest under the Ottomans in the 16th century. Such narratives feed into the shooter's perceptions of inevitable conflict between Islam and the West.
I've called them the American Taliban for years. So, what do we call the globalized version of it? ISIS-White?