After Charlie Hebdo: Breaking the Cycle of Fascism

The Rojava Model

by SALADDIN AHMED

Mardin, Turkey.

With the Charlie Hebdo massacre Europe has entered a new political era, the worst aspect of which could be another rise of right wing forces, and thus another blow to progressive movements. Despite the reassurances of the French authorities to maintain the principles of a free society, a promise Americans also heard from George W. Bush in the wake of 9/11, the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack will lead to more surveillance and the further militarization of French society, just as 9/11 was used to justify extensive surveillance and militarization.

In times of national crisis, especially those caused by what is perceived to be an external enemy, right wing sentiments including nationalism proliferate drastically, the government’s behavior becomes more authoritarian by exploiting the popular feeling of vulnerability, social and political critique on the bases of social justice weakens, and marginalized groups become even more voiceless as the noise of unconditional patriotic unity against what is considered an existential threat to the “nation” dominates the public sphere. These developments present a golden opportunity for the ultra right to gain support among ordinary people and thus gain more political power democratically. Even if ultra right wing parties do not come to power, governmental policies will shift towards the right in response to the mood of the masses.

Fascism thrives under circumstances in which increasing numbers of people perceive themselves as possible victims of an external enemy, an Other that is fundamentally different than “us.” The fascist mentality is obsessed with the self-image of the historical savior of an imaginary homogeneous people who are supposedly under the existential threat of the Other, whose mere existence among “us” is a polluting element to “our” purity. Accordingly, the more imminent the threat, the more essential the imagined historical role of the fascist becomes. The majority’s sense of victimhood, augmented by aggressions of the Other, marks the realization of the fascist prophecy, an opportunity they do not hesitate to capitalize on.

Therefore, conflicting fascist blocks fundamentally serve each other by providing each other with ready justifications for being fascist. Each side points to the fascistic acts of the other to convince more in-groups to join them in their sacred fight to save “our” religion, race, nation, way of life, etc. Fascism is deeply narcissistic and its ideal time to mobilize people is when the mass’s collective narcissism is stimulated through an “externally” inflicted wound on the collective self.

In this sense, Islamism has done European fascism a great favor by providing it with the perfect image of a barbarian enemy attacking “us” in the heart of Europe. Both Islamist fascism and racist European fascism see the millions of “Muslims” as a homogeneous group with one collective identity alien to the European “way of life.” Each side succeeds in continually alienating out-groups, providing the other side with potential recruits. In the relative absence of the kind of popular Left capable of maintaining rational debate in the public sphere centered on questions of social justice, equality and freedom, as opposed to religious and racial myths or festering collective wounds, fascist groups are more likely to continue gaining popularity.

While Islamist fascism and racist fascism spread their polarization across Europe, Leftists must overcome racist, national, and so called cultural borders in their struggle against fascism. In other words, the way out of this cycle of fascism is a progressive international front to fight fascism in all its forms. Fragmenting the conflict against Islamism on the bases of racialization, regionalization, or culturalization will only strengthen the fascist worldview. Just as fascism is an enemy of diversity everywhere, people everywhere should recognize the universality of this threat and fight it accordingly.

In order for this war against Islamism to be truly won, the West must not be intimidated into becoming more exclusive, but rather it must embrace a true enlightenment spirit of cosmopolitanism celebrating freedom and equality more than ever. Only through such inclusiveness can it really free itself from normalized fascistic assumptions of “us” and “them” dualities. This is necessary in order to perceive Islamism more critically: as a force of fascism that targets every group that does not submit to its political agenda. Contrary to what right wing discourse claims, the main target of Islamist campaigns is not the West, but rather Middle Eastern communities and individuals who do not submit to or fit into its fascist vision.

In a complete reversal of dominant right wing discourse, it is Kurds in Iraq and Syria who have been subjected to the most relentless attacks by the Islamic State, whose recruits come from around the world includingEurope. It is to these targeted groups who nonetheless continue to resist Islamist fascism that progressive forces in Europe should turn. Syrian Kurds in particular have not only been fighting the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda for almost three years, but have at the same time built aprogressive, ethnically and gender inclusive model of direct democracy in the region they call Rojava.

As the Rojava experiment has shown us, the most effective antidote to fascist campaigns of destruction and death is to dialectically negate the conditions of the production of fascism, starting from the inequalities institutionalized by the state. In times like these, true progressiveness needs not only a critique of reality, but also a courageous will to utopia; not only a critical awareness of history, but also a strong will to change it.

Saladdin Ahmed is an assistant professor of Philosophy at Mardin Artuklu University in Turkey. His research interests include philosophy of space, Critical Theory, neofascism, and social movements. He can be reached at saladdinahmed@gmail.com.  Twitter: @sKajarvzad

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/01/22/after-charlie-hebdo-breaking-the-cycle-of-fascism/