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Concept
Counter-jihad
Summary
Counter-jihad, also known as the counter-jihad movement, is a self-titled political current loosely consisting of authors, bloggers, think tanks, street movements and campaign organisations all linked by beliefs that view Islam not as a religion but as a worldview that constitutes an existential threat to Western civilization. Consequently, counter-jihadists consider all Muslims as a potential threat, especially when they are already living within Western boundaries. Western Muslims accordingly are portrayed as a "fifth column", collectively seeking to destabilize Western nations' identity and values for the benefit of an international Islamic movement intent on the establishment of a caliphate in Western countries. The counter-jihad movement has been variously described as anti-Islamic, Islamophobic, inciting hatred against Muslims, and far-right. Influential figures in the movement include the bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer.
While the roots of the movement go back to the 1980s, it did not gain significant momentum until after the September 11 attacks in 2001, the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. As far back as 2006, bloggers such as Fjordman were identified as playing a key role in forwarding the nascent counter-jihad ideology. Bat Ye'or's Eurabia theory published in her eponymous book in 2005 also played an important factor in influencing the movement. The first official counter-jihad conferences were held in 2007. The movement received considerable attention in 2011 following the lone wolf attacks by Anders Behring Breivik, a neo-Nazi who disguised himself with a manifesto that exploited and extensively reproduced the writings of prominent counter-jihad bloggers, and following the emergence of prominent street movements such as the English Defence League (EDL) and Pegida. The movement has adherents both in Europe and in North America. The European wing is more focused on the alleged cultural threat to European traditions stemming from immigrant Muslim populations, while the American wing emphasizes an alleged external threat, essentially terrorist in nature.
Official source
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