Farzan Ghani
Politics stem from views and ideologies, some of them extreme. To achieve a limited goal some groups take severe steps. Discrimination is done based on diverse grounds, difference in identities is shown as a clash of cultures. This hate leads to catastrophes, like what happened in Christchurch on the 15th of March 2019. Although extremism is not policy specific, ideologies and acts are explicitly linked. Acknowledging problems and accepting all people as equal is the key to betterment, a vision that the Far-Right lacks.
Major ideologies and their effects are never free from the splatters of political mud. One such political swamp is the Right. Organizations that align themselves closer to the right side of the political spectrum constitute the Right-Wing. They are characterized by the view that the social or economic hierarchy in society is naturally occurring and even desirable. The Far-Right places itself towards the farthest position in the same range and gives into this probable inequality among the social order. The Far-Right includes ultra-nationalist and authoritarian tendencies, and aspects of neo-fascism, neo-Nazism and racial supremacy. These features are displayed beautifully by the groups of white-supremacy, Hindutva and neo-Zionism.
The main feature that can currently be found in almost all far-right groups is Nativism – the policy of opposition towards immigration and endorsing only the natives of a society. This idea seeks to prevent the cultural change that immigrants might propose. Although the concerns of employment, demography, constant aggression and security are often brought up by the Right-Wing politicians, the Far-Right activists focus on inciting the fear of transformation concerning territory, culture and identity.
One may claim that trying to preserve one’s culture cannot be racist, but this is only true if the other cultures are not marginalized, degraded and, in the process, destroyed. Far-Right groups claim themselves not to be racist and yet embrace displaying other forms of prejudices like Homophobia, Xenophobia and Islamophobia. Here, a question is relevant to ponder upon: is it alright to judge a community if it doesn’t characterize as a race? The answer is self-evident: discrimination based on identity, no matter who it is done against, is not justifiable.
Two years ago on March 15, 2019, on a Friday afternoon when the Muslim minority of Christchurch, New Zealand was busy in acts of worship, a terrorist named Brenton Tarrant was getting ready for mass murder. Goaded by motives and sentiments that are generally approved by the Far-Right, this gunman carried out two mass shootings in the Al Noori Mosque and at the Linwood Islamic Centre between 1:40 pm-1:59 pm (NZDT). After posting an online manifesto that reeked of white supremacy, he went on to kill 51 people and injure 40 in this horrifying act. The victims aged between 3 and 77 were immigrants of diverse ethnicity. All of this was to display dominance and to incite terror. James McKay, a Trauma Surgeon in Christchurch Hospital, defined the bullets used on victims as “hunting type” that “causes mass tissue injury“, clearly meant to take life painfully.
Although these acts have no moral baggage, they stem from an extreme haphazard understanding of the same. People committing acts of hate delude themselves into believing that they are doing something helpful for society. They find their approach to be right and excusable. It needs to be noted that these people are not fringe elements but rather adhere to and are inspired by organizational ideologies. It has emerged that Tarrant donated to an organisation named Generation Identity, part of the Far-Right youth movement in Europe that has close links with major right-winged parties like the AfD in Germany.
One of the reasons why the Far-Right is gaining political support is that it is easier to mobilize votes through hate, fear, and the use of scapegoating another social group. The common term used by Far-Right activists to monopolize people is along the lines of ‘don’t we feel like minorities in our land?‘. In the course of action, nationalism and a fear of change are brought together and an “Islamicized and Africanized” threat is shown prevailing.
Far-Right extremism is not just common in the West but also in countries like India which, because of the current authoritarian form of governing, has been termed as ‘partly free‘ according to the global democracy watchdog, Freedom House. And although this piece talks about the Far-Right, it is very important to note that all kinds of extremisms lead to hostility and should be avoided. Even the left, in the political spectrum, are not free from this- as is the case with China. Over a million Uyghurs, an ethnic Muslim minority in Northwest China, since 2015 have been forced into what human rights activists perceive to be concentration camps.
The friction between ideologies isn’t just about the present; it’s deeply rooted in history and what it echoes. Extreme Far-Right sentiments exploit this very idea of the past, it focuses on the memories of fading grandeur and a reversion to a supposedly utopian land. Every society has its problems but the solution isn’t the hateful exclusion of others but rather a heartfelt inclusion. When a feeling of discrimination dawns, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s unifying phrase (regarding immigrants), said in the aftermath of the Christchurch mosque shootings, should be recalled: “They are us.”
Farzan Ghani is a student pursuing English Literature from Jamia Millia Islamia.
Edited by: Malaika M Khan
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.
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