New English Review

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The magazine was funded by Roy Bishko, owner of Tie Rack. [2] Editor Rebecca Bynum was a long-time collaborator with Robert Spencer, a noted far-right Islamophobe activist, before heralding NER. [2] [3]

Reception

Sveinung Sandberg, a criminologist at the University of Oslo, notes Anders Breivik to have been inspired and motivated by anti-Islamic discourse on sites including NER. [4] Sindre Bangstad, a social anthropologist at University of Oslo, described the site as a "counter-jihadist publication" in discussing how the spread of Islamophobia within right-wing political networks of Norway had birthed Breivik. [5] Joel Busher, a sociologist at the Coventry University, found NER to be part of the broader counter-jihad ecosystem which lamented the "failings of Western liberalism" to resist the "cultural loss" of Europe in the wake of increasing Muslim immigration; it hosted content that was sympathetic to the English Defence League, a far-right, Islamophobic organization in the United Kingdom. [6]

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, a sociologist at American University who specializes in far-right extremism, notes the journal to have platformed favorable reviews of Bat Ye'or's works propounding Eurabia — a far-right anti-Muslim conspiracy theory, involving globalist entities allegedly led by French and Arab powers, to Islamise and Arabise Europe. [7] Joe Turner, a political scientist at the University of York, found Peter McLoughlin's monograph on grooming in UK, published by the press in 2016, to be intimately linked with Islamophobia and white nationalism — McLoughlin was more anxious about protecting "white Britishness" from "Islam" than individual bodies. [8] Ella Cockbain, a criminologist at University College London, found the book to be far-right propaganda in that it accused the entire Muslim community of colluding with the groomers and took digs at multiculturalism; NER itself was described as a "conservative magazine heavily involved in the 'counter-jihad' movement". [9]

Bynum's monograph on why Islam is not a religion, published by the press in 2011, has been noted to fuel Islamophobia. [10] Lorenz Langer, a professor of law at University of Zurich, noted her to be among those who made a living by "churning out alarmist accounts of the threat that Islam poses to the Occident". [11] Philip Dorling, while describing the attempts by Pauline Hanson's One Nation to have Islam unconsidered as a religion, found synonymities with Bynum, editor of the "far-right" NER. [12]

Related Research Articles

Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. People who harbour such sentiments often stereotype Muslims as a geopolitical threat or a source of terrorism.Academics, authors and policymakers still continue to debate the exact meaning of the term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurabia conspiracy theory</span> Far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theory

"Eurabia" is a far-right, anti-Muslim conspiracy theory that posits that globalist entities, led by French and Arab powers, aim to Islamize and Arabize Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and undermining its previous alliances with the United States and Israel.

Gisèle Littman, better known by her pen name Bat Ye'or, is an Egyptian-born British-French author, who argues in her writings that Islam, anti-Americanism and antisemitism hold sway over European culture and politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert B. Spencer</span> American anti-Muslim writer and blogger

Robert Bruce Spencer is an American anti-Muslim author and blogger, and one of the key figures of the counter-jihad movement. Spencer founded and has directed the blog Jihad Watch since 2003. In 2010 he co-founded the organization Stop Islamization of America with Pamela Geller.

FrontPage Magazine, also known as FrontPageMag.com, is an American right-wing, anti-Islam political website edited by David Horowitz and published by the David Horowitz Freedom Center. The site has also been described by scholars and writers as far-right and Islamophobic.

Jihad Watch is an American far-right Islamophobic blog operated by Robert Spencer. A project of the David Horowitz Freedom Center, Jihad Watch is the most popular blog within the counter-jihad movement. It was cited 64 times by Anders Behring Breivik, who committed the motivation for the 2011 Norway attacks, in describing his belief that Muslim immigrants were a threat to Western culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Horowitz Freedom Center</span> Non-profit organisation in the USA

The David Horowitz Freedom Center, formerly the Center for the Study of Popular Culture (CSPC), is a conservative anti-Islam foundation founded in 1988 by political activist David Horowitz and his long-time collaborator Peter Collier. It was established with funding from groups including the John M. Olin Foundation, the Bradley Foundation and the Scaife Foundation.

Quilliam was a British think tank co-founded in 2008 by Maajid Nawaz that focused on counter-extremism, specifically against Islamism, which it argued represents a desire to impose a given interpretation of Islam on society. Founded as The Quilliam Foundation and based in London, it claimed to lobby government and public institutions for more nuanced policies regarding Islam and on the need for greater democracy in the Muslim world whilst empowering "moderate Muslim" voices. The organisation opposed any Islamist ideology and championed freedom of expression. The critique of Islamist ideology by its founders―Nawaz, Rashad Zaman Ali and Ed Husain―was based, in part, on their personal experiences. Quilliam went into liquidation in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stop Islamization of America</span> Political advocacy organization

Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), also known as the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel American counter-jihad organization known primarily for its controversial, Islamophobic advertising campaigns. The group has been described as extremist and far-right. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) lists SIOA as an anti-Muslim hate group.

Document.no is a Norwegian far-right anti-immigration online newspaper. Academics have identified Document.no as an anti-Muslim website permeated by the Eurabia conspiracy theory. The website received global media attention in connection with the 2011 Norway attacks due to its association with perpetrator Anders Behring Breivik, a former comment section poster on the website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Geller</span> American activist, blogger, commentator

Pamela Geller is an American anti-Muslim, far-right political activist, blogger and commentator. Geller promoted birther conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, saying that he was born in Kenya and that he is a Muslim. She has denied genocides where Muslims were victims, including the Bosnian genocide and the Rohingya genocide.

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 so on linked by beliefs that view Islam not as a religion but as an ideology 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 in the US, and Geert Wilders and Tommy Robinson in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anders Gravers Pedersen</span> Danish anti-Islam activist

Anders Gravers Pedersen is a Danish anti-Islam activist. He is the chairman and founder of Stop Islamisation of Denmark (SIAD), and leader of Stop Islamisation of Europe (SIOE). He also established transatlantic connections with Stop Islamization of America (SIOA) and Stop Islamization of Nations (SION).

Nina Rosenwald is an American political activist and philanthropist. An heiress to the Sears Roebuck fortune, Rosenwald is vice president of the William Rosenwald Family Fund and co-chair of the board of American Securities Management. She is the founder and president of Gatestone Institute, a New York-based right-wing anti-Muslim think tank.

Islamophobia in Australia is highly speculative and affective distrust and hostility towards Muslims, Islam, and those perceived as following the religion. This social aversion and bias is often facilitated and perpetuated in the media through the stereotyping of Muslims as violent and uncivilised. Various Australian politicians and political commentators have capitalised on these negative stereotypes and this has contributed to the marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion of the Muslim community.

Islamophobia in the United Kingdom refers to a set of discourses, behaviours and structures which express feelings of anxiety, fear, hostility and rejection towards Islam or Muslims in the United Kingdom. Islamophobia can manifest itself in a wide range of ways; including, discrimination in the workforce, negative coverage in the media, and violence against Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WikiIslam</span> Wiki covering selective topics on Islam and owned by Ex-Muslims of North America

WikiIslam is an anti-Muslim and anti-Islam wiki. The website was founded by Ali Sina in 2006. Registered users may modify and edit its content; in 2015, the website was acquired by the Ex-Muslims of North America and underwent a major revision in 2020.

Gates of Vienna is a far-right blog established in 2004 by Edward S. May and his wife. The website has featured the writings of international hardline anti-Muslim writers such as Fjordman and Paul Weston, and "is a central player in the counter-jihad movement within the United States and across Europe".

Bill Warner is the pen name of Bill French, a former physics professor and anti-Islam writer. He founded the Center for the Study of Political Islam International, which is based in the Czech Republic. The Southern Poverty Law Center in 2011 described him as one of a core group of ten anti-Islam hardliners in the United States. He has also been regarded as a part of the counter-jihad movement.

The International Civil Liberties Alliance (ICLA) is an international counter-jihad organization that was originally founded in 2006, and which has spanned over twenty countries. Central to the organization has been Edward S. May of the Gates of Vienna blog, Alain Wagner and Christine Brim.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mission Statement". New English Review. World Encounter Institute. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  2. 1 2 Carr, Julie (February 10, 2021). "Nashville Based New English Review Publisher and Editor Rebecca Bynum Talks Business and Conservative Media". Tennessee Star. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
  3. Smietana, Bob. "Anti-Muslim crusaders make millions spreading fear". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  4. Sveinung Sandberg (2013). "Are self-narratives strategic or determined, unified or fragmented? Reading Breivik's Manifesto in light of narrative criminology". Acta Sociologica . 56 (1): 74.
  5. Bagstad, Sindre (2014). Anders Breivik and the Rise of Islamophobia. London: Zed Books. p. 149.
  6. Joel Busher (October 23, 2015). The Making of Anti-Muslim Protest. Taylor & Francis. p. 85.
  7. Miller-Idriss, Cynthia (2020). Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right. Princeton University Press. p. 181.
  8. Turner, Joe (2020). Bordering intimacy: Postcolonial governance and the policing of family. Theory for a Global Age. Manchester: Manchester University Press. p. 149.
  9. Cockbain, Ella; Tufail, Waqas (January 2020). "Failing victims, fuelling hate: challenging the harms of the 'Muslim grooming gangs' narrative". Race & Class. 61 (3): 9, 25. doi:10.1177/0306396819895727. ISSN   0306-3968. S2CID   214197388.
  10. Ul-Haq, Shoaib; Westwood, Robert (March 2012). "The politics of knowledge, epistemological occlusion and Islamic management and organization knowledge". Organization. 19 (2): 251. doi:10.1177/1350508411429399. ISSN   1350-5084. S2CID   146456601.
  11. Langer, Lorenz (2014), "Defining defamation", Religious Offence and Human Rights: The Implications of Defamation of Religions, Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 245, ISBN   978-1-107-03957-5
  12. The American far-right origins of Pauline Hanson's views on Islam. The Australia Institute, 29 January 2017