THE FIGHT against far-right extremism will not be an easy or a straight-forward one, writes Manal Lotfy. “Europa rises” was the last sentence of the 74-page manifesto sent by the far-right terrorist before he massacred worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, leaving 50 dead and dozens wounded. It was a blatant statement not only against migration and Muslims as such but also against liberal values, multi-racial, religious and cultural societies. Yet, despite the enormity of the massacre, Muslim scholars and community leaders were not entirely surprised. The general feeling was that such a tragedy has been decades in the making: “inspired by Islamophobic media reports, hundreds and thousands of column inches of hatred printed in the press, many Muslim-hating politicians and unchecked social-media bigotry… Muslims have been constantly cast as suspect communities, foreigners who are a threat to our society,” as Muslim leaders from the UK, US, France, Canada, Sweden and many more countries wrote in a joint letter published in Britain's The Guardian newspaper after the attack. Commentators have made connections between the mainstream media, Islamophobia and the increasing attacks against Muslim communities. The carnage in New Zealand raises questions about how to define, measure and understand the threat of ultra-right groups in the West. In recent years most far-right attacks in the West have been carried out not by organised cells like the Islamic State, but by “lone wolves”. Despite consistently reflecting far-right agendas, this has led security authorities to downplay this rising tide and deal with the white supremacy threat at a national level, unlike the way they deal with jihadism. Far-right individuals and organisations are not as closely observed as Muslim extremists. The New Zealand attack can either be a turning point or just another tragedy soon to be forgotten by the press and politicians. It will not be long before we find out.
