The English Defence League and Politically Incorrect

The recently-revamped website of the English Defence League carries a prominent news feed from “Politically Incorrect” (PI), a German site which carries some English-language materials. The stories focus on particular incidents which are presented as proof of the essential depravity of Muslims – once again undermining the EDL’s claim that it is opposed to Islamic extremism, rather than Muslims as such. Here’s a recent entry:

While the victims of Catholic child abuse are still in everyone’s conversation, the same human rights individuals have no interest in the victims of Islamic abuse. In Yemen, a 13-year-old girl has now bled to death due to serious vaginal injuries that her perverse 30-year-old “husband” inflicted upon her.

…Aha! Poverty is to blame. And tribal cultures! And – oh yes – a couple of (evil) Islamists. It was certainly not the “example” of the paedophilic “prophet.” Child marriage is Islamic!

The perversity of Muslims is not the site’s sole interest, though: the current top article is an an attack on the Israeli whistleblower Anat Kam, and the German parent site has pieces against the “CO2 religion” of global warming. There’s also merchandise for sale, including items with this English-language logo:

PI is currently co-organising  a demonstration in support of Geert Wilders, having been inspired by the recent EDL rally in Westminster.

PI is run by a certain Stefan Herre (var. Stephan Herre), a former sports teacher, and the site reportedly receives a large number of visitors. In 2008 there was controvery when it took advertising from the Jewish Task Force, a US-based Kahanist organisation, as reported in Der Speigel here. Details about PI in English are scarce, although Google Translate provides some gleanings for those of us who cannot read German. A journalist named Stefan Niggemeier is one prominent critic of the site (Herre reportedly threatened a libel action in 2008 over his remarks on the JTF advertising), complaining in particular of the excesses of the discussion boards. The site has also been studied by Yasemin Shooman of the Centre for Research on Anti-Semitism at the Technical University of Berlin (in 2008 the Centre organised a controversial conference comparing anti-Muslim discourse of today with traditional anti-Semitism). In 2007, a South African writer for the site named Jens von Wicht repudiated his involvement with PI, complaining of its “cultic character”.

PI also berates critics as “Dhimmis”, and, like the EDL, it has particular vitriol for left-wing opponents. Here’s another logo from the site:

11 Responses

  1. You have a typo in your link ‘a demostration’ Richard.

  2. Thanks, fixed.

  3. the EDL are just what england needs

  4. ironic that they should use Dhimmi as an insult. I’m assuming they’re referring to ‘people of the book’ in the Ottoman Empire. Given that being a Christian or a Jew Dhimmi, whilst second class and taxed, was often far better than being a Muslim or a Jew in most of the European states at the time, you’d think that the concept of Dhimmi would be a demonstration of how you can’t essentialise Islam into a medieval brutal and infidel-murdering jihadi tradition.

    My point isnt that Dhimmi lived in a multicultural utopia, but that dhimmi was a specific political response of the Ottoman Empire to different traditions that was probably more accepting and tolerant than other contemporary rules. But you can’t essentialise that, and referring to modern people as Dhimmi if they demonstrate acceptance for people of different creed is just hypocritical. Accepting muslims into Europe can’t ever be equated to degrading yourself into a second class citizen under a system that died a century ago. You’re berating people for being accepting of difference, using the insult of a system that made people second-class citizens because of the religion they chose. Yet these people essentialise all muslims into one character, using the most fundamental to define the whole, using that as a justification for hate and what? extradition of Muslims?

    • I assume they use the term “dhimmi” as others may use the term “useful idiots” or even “Quisling”. It does not relate to its original real situations regarding jizyah taxes etc. I personally do not like the term as it is very “them and us” and takes it away from its original meaning to imply polarisation: “If you are not with us, you are collaborators with the enemy”.

      This is why any group that is “against extreme Islam” should be wary of making any links to other “similar” groups. Where does one draw the line between extremism/fundamentalism and those who are just following a family/cultural custom?

      For a small group, I can see the appeal of linking up with bigger groups, but this linkage is eroding what was left of the EDL’s credibility as a group solely committed to being against “radical/extremist/political” Islam.

      They should sever this link if they want to maintain their position of being “only against extremists”.

      • As a German and frequent visitor of the German version of politically incorrect I can tell you the word ‘dhimmi’ is used on PI in two ways. First is criticism of religious/ethnic/gender inequality and you will find as often criticism of abuse of women as you will find criticism of persecution of atheists and apostates. The second way dhimmi is used is as derogatory term for submission under anything (especially Islam, but acutally anything else as well). Your parents tell you whom you should marry? Then you’re a dhimmi :P Essentially it turn the tables around because dhimmi is a derogatory term for non believers – but since Islam means submission politically incorrect is making fun of it by frequently calling devout muslims dhimmis since they submit and do not revolt.

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  9. It is quite weird that you follow that criticism of abuse of 13 year old muslim children is ‘proof for the essential depravity of muslims’. Even more – the passage you cite clearly is critic of Islam, mentioning the advocacy of slavery in hadiths and Koran. Furthermore you obviously do not notice that Islamophobia is a stained term, putting Islam critics in one row with Iranian woman rights activists, human rights activists, the students which are just now being tortured, killed and raped by the bassij and exemplary people like ‘islamophobic’ Mina Ahadi and Salman Rushdi, Abdel Hamad, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Necla Kelek, Cahit Kaya etc. Other than that I fail to see how the criticism of xenophobia and inherent religious, ethnic and gender discrimination in Islam or the criticism of socialism/national socialism can be seen as *not* important and commendable.

    In case you really *are* socialist(?) let me remind you of the opinion of Karl Marx on Islam who said that Islam cuts the world into the black and white groups of believers and unbelievers, artificially inciting a state of constant war between them.

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