Islam versus Europe

In an article today, Le Monde notes that the far-right is moving from the fringe to the mainstream not only of politics in France but of the political blogosphere too. Accounting for only for 5.2% of all French political blogs in 2009, 'far right' blogs are now said to constitute 12.5% of the whole.

Of course, Le Monde's definition of 'far right' is ludicrously broad. As well as the 'traditional' far right, it includes:

Counterjihadists (classified under the rubric of 'Clash of Civilisations' bloggers). "Hierarchical racism has yielded to a cultural racism that insists on the theory of the clash of civilisations".

"...focusing on Islam and its supposed incompatibility with the values that are said to form the foundation of the European space. For the most virulent a prohibition on the expression of Islam in Europe is seen as a necessity."

Neo-conservatives:

They are at the boundary between the right and the extreme right. Ultra-liberal economically, often invoking the name of the former president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, they support the idea that the West has a civilising mission. Close to the 'Clash of Civilisations' blogs and sites, they support the hard line of the right-wing in Israel, which they consider to be a an outpost in an Islamised Middle East.

Catholic traditionalists and fundamentalists:

If the common foundation is hostility to Vatican II, homophobia, opposition to abortion, euthanasia and the Republic, some tend clearly towards the most virulent and obsessive anti-semitism.

It's interesting that their definition of 'far right' apparently excludes Muslim wackjobs. So let's say, theoretically, that a Catholic in France blogged about his opposition to homosexuality and abortion then converted to Islam and kept saying exactly the same things, his blog would then cease to be classified as 'far right'. Ludicrous.

According to Le Monde, the French intellectual and 'far right' MEP, Jean-Yves Le Gallou, has developed some theories about how the 'far right' can exploit the internet, in Gramscian fashion, to attack the cultural hegemony of the left.

Point one: the instruments used to influence opinion have never been so powerful. Point two: the appearance of the internet is a game-changer faced with the "single ideology". It is a way for the "silent majority" to mobilise against the "elites". It is a means of "countering the media silence and demonisation". In brief, the web allows the "periphery" to take "its revenge on the centre".

His full "Twelve theses for a technological Gramscianism" can be read (in French) here.