THE FAR RIGHT EXPLOIT THE BERLIN TERROR ATTACKS
TV DEBATE - MO ANSAR VS ALTERNATIVE FÜR DEUTSCHLAND
In the wake of the tragic #BerlinAttack, the AFD (Alternative for Germany), Pegida, Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen and the French National Front have all rallied to attack Angela Merkel and her CDU government, blaming them directly for the loss of life and their policy of allowing refugees a safe haven in the country. This is without us even knowing the identity of the attacker - so bad is the hysteria gripping Europe. What is needed is calm. What is wanted is sense; rational thought. Instead we have fear and the politics of hate as groups clamour to progress their agenda in a frenzied storm of tweets and statements.
There is no question that the scourge of terrorism, both at home and abroad, needs to be tackled. The extermination of hundreds of thousands of human beings in Syria, the massacre of innocents at a gig in Paris, the devastation at a Christmas market in Germany, deaths at a Nice beachfront on Bastille Day, the murder of Labour politicians who stand for multi-culturalism or the mass slaughter of socialist teenagers at a summer camp in Norway... we have to stop the war. We have to seek out peace.
Be clear about one thing: terrorism has no religion. None of the world's greatest religious traditions advocate the killing of innocents or pursuing a path contrary to enlightenment, self improvement, social justice and tolerance. Anyone who says to the contrary, especially about Islam, is lying.
The answer for the AFD and their ideological bedfellows like Britain First, Trump and Le Pen's FN is to promote the idea that the West must reject Islam, oppress Muslims and return to the politics of hate, genocide and the terror of the 1930s. Or the Crusades. Or the Berlin Congress. Or the Reconquista.
Hate begets hate. Murder begets murder. Angela Merkel is right - the answer lies not in more hysteria, fear mongering and pandering to those who want to see high walls, religious divisions and brother turning on brother, sister turning on sister. The answer lies not in fear and hostility, but in reaffirming our commitment to democracy, freedom of religion and belief, and maintaining tolerant and mixed communities.
This isn't about Islam. It isn't about Muslims. Even if we assume the attacker is both an asylum seeker and a Muslim - and it's an ugly stomach churning reality that the far right are praying it is - these people are no more a reflection of Muslims and refugees than Anders Breivik represents white European Christians.
Turning against refugees who are desperately escaping the horror of Assad, or demonising Muslims; it's a weak, pathetic and inaccurate conflation. The problem is war and propaganda. The problem is hunger. The problem is poverty. The evil is falsehoods and disinformation. More war is not the answer.
And nor is post-truth politics.
My debate with Maximillian Krah from Germany's AFD who are seeking to oust Angela Merkel and the CDU from power at the next election. A perfect example of post-truth politics as he tries to rewrite the facts. An unthinking, outdated and inaccurate approach for an academic.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b-JLdmzpDZ4
First published 20 December 2016: Medium