The Wake

Words are interesting in that if you say them enough, they lose all meaning. When certain phrases are repeated endlessly, they eventually end up as configurations of letters held in vacuum with no context to give them weight or meaning. To wit: what the hell is Islamo-Fascism? It’s an important question given that October 22-26 was “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” (IFAW) and, believe it or not, our campus was a “participant.”

IFAW is the brainchild of David Horowitz, a neocon writer and activist whose Terrorism Awareness Project (TAP) seeks to bring a right-wing presence to college campuses. Of course, it’s not as simple as that; conservative coming-out day has already been done, and this was definitely not the same.

Instead, IFAW is “a protest against the censorship that has come to America, and whose chief enforcer is the progressive left,” Horowitz said in an editorial in FrontPage magazine. More tellingly, he writes: “The purpose of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is as simple as it is critical: to confront the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the ‘war on terror’ and that global warming is a greater danger to Americans than global jihad and Islamic (sic) supremacism.” The oppression of women is also high on the agenda, with Horowitz and the TAP calling on activists to host sit-ins on inactive women’s studies departments who haven’t fought for Muslim women’s rights.

The speakers and affiliates of the program raise some eyebrows. The list of pundits definitely boasts star power, but with some unavoidable hang-ups. There’s Ann Coulter (who has called Muslims “ragheads” and caught flak for calling John Edwards a “faggot”), Rick Santorum (a pariah among women for his staunchly conservative views on abortion and family structures), Robert Spencer (a noted Islamophobe), Daniel Pipes (who claims that CAIR is a front for militant Islam), and Dennis Prager (who compared the Quran to Mein Kampf) among others.

With such an intolerant group of presenters, many of whom have espoused anti-feminist views, how does Horowitz plan to defend women and espouse truth? Simply put, he doesn’t. All of the energy put forth for the IFAW was focused on slandering Islam, defending conservative rhetoric, and spreading the sort of irrational fear that has distracted the populace and driven America to war, torture, and hate crimes. Fittingly, his first press release on IFAW called out Muslim student associations as “ HYPERLINK “http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6175″ fronts for the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas” and “the most prejudiced people on earth.”

The Terrorism Awareness Project website gives the casual observer an interesting picture of their priorities. Five of the thirteen news posts on the front page deal with semantics and the controversy over the use of the term “Islamo-Fascism.” One post, which quotes Alan Colmes for contrast, goes like this:

“’The words, the phrase ‘Islamo-fascism’ is hate speech. It equates an entire religion with fascism. That’s what people object to. It conflates the two, and it’s wrong.’ In other words, students can’t even hold a discussion about “Islamo-Fascism” because the idea itself is hateful, is forbidden. This argument clearly doesn’t make sense. Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is explicitly designed to raise public awareness about the oppression of Muslim women by Islamic radicals who abuse them. How can that be equating all Muslims with oppressors? The term “Islamo-Fascism” was itself coined by moderate Muslims in Algeria who were being slaughtered in the tens of thousands by Islamic radicals bent on jihad. How does using a term invented by Muslims to describe their oppressors equate all Muslims with the fascists?”

This last point is a key rhetorical strategy utilized by the TAP. One of their goals is to goad Muslim student and cultural groups into signing a petition against “Islamo-Fascism” and to shame those who don’t. What the TAP conveniently ignores in order to push their agenda is the singular and hateful nature of the term. Even in their own articles that claim to separate Muslims from fascists, the TAP and Horowitz decry moderate, philanthropist groups and urge caution when considering “the threats we face from radical Islam.” The only examples of moderate Muslims given are those oppressed into decrying their own people. Of course, Horowitz has no idea whether or not the Algerians believed that their fellow Muslims were oppressing them because of their religion or heritage. Horowtiz’s is a rhetoric of orientalism, wherein Muslims are turned into animals whose “only logic is emotional,” (from a TAP news post) much like the monkey-esque “sambos” of old. Through this worldview, Horowitz and the TAP are attempting to revive the ignorant hatred that fueled slavery and empire-building adventures in the past; an ignorance fueled by vague statements and suspicious assumptions.

The TAP’s assumptions aren’t the only suspicious aspect of the campaign. Equally as troubling is the list of participants, which is seemingly exaggerated. For example, the University of Minnesota is listed as a participant in IFAW, but no sponsor was ever announced and no official events were held. The only confirmation is via those schools who have actually scheduled lectures, which are surprisingly few considering that the campaign claims to have 114 campuses onboard.

Of course, it’s the rhetoric that seems to matter to the TAP and in that regard, the week was a success. Since its announcement, publications have been alight with discussions of the term “Islamo-Fascist” and its implications. Unsurprisingly, most commentators have focused on the terms racist, reductive nature and the anti-feminist slant of many of the campaign’s affiliates. As commentator Ali Eteraz said in an article for the Huffington Post, “this ‘awareness’ week is not about awareness at all, but using anti-Muslim animus to achieve political ends.” The Nation echoed his sentiments: “In this special week, organized by conservative pundit David Horowitz, we have a veritable witches’ brew of Cheney-style anti-jihadism mixed in with old-fashioned, right-wing anti-feminism and a sour dash of anti-Semitism.”

So good on ya, David. We’re definitely aware, although maybe not enlightened.