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Overview

A lot of people are asking how politics have become so divisive. Is it a new thing, or has there always been a level of extremism? To find the answer to that question, journalists like Sasha Polakow-Suransky are looking at Europe’s immigration crisis and its political reactions.

The author says that the political climate in our country is similar to what it was like in Europe around 1930, and he believes that we could be heading for tough times.

There are several key points that you can derive from this passage. First, right-wing political parties have been successful in Europe because of their ability to tap into general fears about immigration and integration. Second, these parties might pose a threat to democracy and human rights in the future.

In this passage, you will learn how the events of 2015 and 1938 are similar. You’ll also discover what a counter-citizen is and how that type of person can lead to extremist recruitment. Finally, you’ll find out how identity has become so closely intertwined with politics in today’s society.

Big Idea #1: Since 9/11, Muslims have been seen as a group that threatens democracy and Western culture.

The effects of September 11, 2001 are still being felt today. In particular, we can see how the attacks negatively impacted Muslims and Muslim migrants.

Although terrorist acts are committed by only a small minority of Muslims, the entire Muslim population suffers.

The Muslim population in Western Europe has increased dramatically since 2015. However, due to lingering suspicions that have been growing since 9/11, Muslims are not accepted into European societies.

Meanwhile, immigrants from Eastern Europe and other parts of the world are not seen as a threat.

Westerners are worried about Muslim immigrants because they believe that their religion is a threat to Western culture and democracy.

People believe that Muslims coming to Western Europe will try to impose Sharia law, which is a strict adherence to the Koran. This would lead to subservience of women and other practices that conflict with liberal values.

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front party, has been vocal about her views on secularism. She believes that Muslim immigrants are threatening French secularism and she thinks that more should be done to protect it. Soren Espersen from Denmark’s People’s Party also agrees with this view and says that every immigrant should have to publicly declare their allegiance to the Danish constitution because they must place it above their religion in order of importance.

Big Idea #2: The left has also fueled Islamophobia, while the right has adopted some liberal issues to gain credibility.

It would be wrong to think that only conservatives are responsible for the negative perception of Muslims. Liberals who support gender equality and freedom of speech have also contributed to this view.

In January 2015, a terrorist group with links to Al-Qaeda attacked the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo magazine. The attack killed 12 people and was motivated by cartoons that were considered disrespectful toward the prophet Mohammed. After this tragedy, there were two groups within society who reacted in different ways: those on the left said it proved how dangerous Muslims are because they’re ready to violently censor anything they disagree with; and for those Muslims who weren’t offended by these cartoons, liberals described them as being “not proper Muslims,” reinforcing hurtful stereotypes about what makes someone a “proper Muslim.”

The far-right believed they were the protectors of society, here to uphold hard-won social equality.