Group with ‘hate in their hearts’ gains traction

The rise of radical Islamist groups such as ISIL has provoked a deep and genuine fear, says HA Hellyer

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. (Brian Snyder / Reuters)

The UK saw a second launch for the UK branch of Pegida, the anti-Muslim group, this week. The leadership team brought people together from the Labour left and the Conservative right of British politics and its future should concern all in the UK and far beyond.

Pegida, which is an acronym of a phrase meaning “Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident” began in Germany, but now has chapters in other parts of Europe.

The former head of the far-right English Defence League, who sometimes uses the name Tommy Robinson, tried launching it earlier this year with Timothy Scott, a former British soldier. But Mr Scott quit after an interview on Channel 4 television that exposed not only his bigotry against Muslims writ large, but also ignorance about how to present himself on national television.

Mr Scott’s replacement, Paul Weston, is far more slick with the media.

Mr Weston isn’t more favourable towards Islam – in fact, his anti-Muslim sentiment is far more pronounced. He comes from the far-right of British politics – the leader of the Liberty Great Britain party – and stood for election in 2015, but came in last in his constituency, after mustering only 156 votes.

The third member of the management team of Pegida UK is someone who used to be in the centre-left Labour party, and later defected to stand as a candidate in the right-wing UK Independence Party. Anne Marie Waters, founder of the now-defunct website Sharia Watch, however, also lost that election.

It is sometimes the case that prejudice against Islam and Muslims will be shrouded in exhortations against Islamism as a political ideology rather than Islam as a religion.

There is no such subterfuge in the case of someone like Mr Weston. When asked recently if he was against Islam or Islamism, he made it clear that he was against Islam, which he described as savage, backward and intolerant. Ms Waters is not particularly enthusiastic about Muslims or their sensibilities either. She once tried to arrange an event to draw the Prophet of Islam, precisely to provoke Muslims.

It would be comforting to think that a group put together by two failed politicians consumed by bigotry and a far-right activist with a criminal record such as Mr Robinson would be irrelevant to the UK’s future political arena.

That may well be the case, but Pegida UK is part of a wider European lobby, and in February chapters in different parts of Europe will hold events.

In the UK, Mr Robinson has put together a number of anti-Muslim and anti-Islam groups to participate in a march in Birmingham, where there is a large Muslim population.

The propensity for divisive damage against Britain’s social cohesion by initiatives such as Pegida is significant.

In Germany, where Pegida was formed, the German chancellor Angela Merkel has denounced its members as having “hate in their hearts”.

But in other parts of Europe, some leaders are not so forthcoming with their denunciation of a group that is clearly striking against European pluralism.

For example, the Czech Republic’s president, Milos Zeman, spoke at a Pegida rally in November – the same rally at which Mr Robinson was feted.

Mr Zeman is not only the Czech president, he’s also a left-winger. His discourse shows that it is not only the right wing that can harbour deeply negative sentiments around Islam and Muslims.

Some of these groups have been active in Europe for many years, and have never found much of a voice.

In 2016, however, the scene is a bit different. Social media allows for connectivity in a different way altogether, and someone like Mr Robinson can become a “figure” simply by activity on mediums like Twitter, even without any achievements to speak of.

The rise of radical Islamist groups such as ISIL has provoked a deep and genuine fear, which demagogues will tap into to justify prejudice and bigotry against all Muslims, not simply violent extremists. The now-infamous proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States by Republican Party candidate Donald Trump is only one example.

In Europe, there are many who would seek to exploit the current climate of fear.

There is also one other factor that needs to be understood. For years, British politicians failed to show leadership around critical issues of the day such as immigration or British identity.

They are still not doing so, even though they may be talking about it more. In the absence of truly inspiring interventions on such topics, the field is wide open for simplistic and crude formulations by the likes of Pegida UK.

Politicians all over the UK and Europe must not allow that to continue. The lack of real leadership has led to the likes of Pegida, and it will only be by exhibiting true leadership that will lead to the end of prejudice in Europe.

Dr HA Hellyer is an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, and a non-resident senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC

On Twitter: @hahellyer