It is commonly argued in public, media, and political discourse that Muslim religious extremism is the primary form of violent extremism plaguing western nations, thus casting terrorism and political violence in the realm of “Otherness.” With the growth of far-right and white supremacist groups in a number of North American and European societies these arguments become increasingly tenuous and ambivalent. This paper sets out to do a comparative analysis of far-right extremism and Muslim religious extremism to challenge the notion that terrorism and violent extremism is a form of “Otherness.” This article draws parallels between far-right and Muslim religious extremism in the realm of tactics and ideology. By understanding these similarities, holistic and comprehensive policies relating to countering violent extremism can be developed, addressing issues of marginalization, empowerment, and education, which attend to issues affecting individuals inclining towards both forms of extremist thought.
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Ibid.
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Ibid.
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Ibid.
Ibid.
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Ibid., 23.
Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God. (New York: Harper Collins, 2003), 172.
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Simon, Lone Wolf Terrorism.
Ibid.
Ibid.
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Ibid.
Simon, Lone Wolf Terrorism.
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Ibid.
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Stern and Berger, ISIS.
Maher, Salafi-jihadism.
Ibid.
Tabah Foundation, Deviance (Abu Dhabi: Tabah Foundation, 2016).
Ibid.
Maher, Salafi-jihadism.
Tabah Foundation, Deviance.
Ibid.
Maher, Salafi-jihadism.
Tabah Foundation, Deviance.
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Ibid.
Batrawy et al., “Leaked Isis Documents Reveal Recruits Have Poor Grasp of Islamic Faith.”
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Stern and Berger, ISIS, 224-25.
Ibid.
Jean Pierre Filiu, Apocalypse in Islam (London: University of California Press, 2011).
Stern and Berger, ISIS, 224.
Ibid.
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Stern and Berger, ISIS, 231.
Bert Klandermans and Jacqueline Van Stekelenburg, Threatened Identities: The Interaction between Anti-Islam Movements and Radical Islam (Amsterdam: Scientific Research and Documentation Centre of the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice, 2016).
Ebner and Amarasingam, “Calls for a ‘White Jihad’ Show How Terrifyingly Intertwined Islamists and the Far-Right have Become.”
Chermak and Gruenewald, “Laying a Foundation,” 152.
Rizwan Sabir, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism through Civil, Political, and Human Rights (Liverpool: Liverpool John Moores University, 2016), 13.
Joey Green, Jesus and Mohammad: The Parallel Sayings (Berkeley, CA: Seastone, 2003).
Kundnani, The Muslims are Coming.
Sabir, Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism through Civil, Political, and Human Rights.
Chermak and Gruenewald, “Laying a Foundation.”