The Voldemort effect is a social phenomenon where people are fearful of naming someone, to speak of something or acknowledge it exists, and therefore derail any attempt to confront it. [1] [2] The phrase takes cue from the line associated with Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series: 'he who must not be named', because they are terrified to name him or they deny his existence. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The expression was popularized by British activist Maajid Nawaz in 2015, where he applied it for analysts, experts, social commentators and politicians, among others, who are fearful or hesitant to call out the ideology of Islamism as the underlying cause of Jihadist terrorism. [7] Nawaz stated that people refusing to acknowledge radical Islam are comparable to members of Hogwarts who refuse to mention Voldemort's name, and by declining to name him, they forestall an open discussion from taking place about an accomplishable solution, which therefore exacerbates the situation, causes more dread and panic, and further glorifies the myth of his powerful nature. [8] As Majid puts it, "Refusing to name a problem, and failing to recognize it, is never a good way to solve it". [6]
The earliest usage of "Voldemort effect" was in an Australian infant health research in 2008 which reported that formula feeding was seldom named in publication titles or abstracts as a health risk factor for babies. [9]
The term was used in 2011 for American politics, which had a different meaning, and was used to describe politicians who point out their favorite political figures just to ardently cite the ability to "drive the other side crazy." [4]
In a 2013 Christian book Holding Your Family Together by Dr. Rich Melheim, the term was used for those who do not want speak the name of something that is frightening them or causing problems to them. The author encouraged the reader to "to name that sucker out loud...We are going to call him what he is and who he is so that we can deal with real problem, not the myth", because after mentioning the unspeakable name, "The moment the silence is broken, the power starts to drain away from its sinister source and move in the direction of those who dare deal with it. [10]
The term was used for COVID-19 during the pandemic in 2020, as people began to ignore the social distancing rules and even dismissing the existence of the virus. The term was applied in this context because COVID-19 is a serious issue that threatened peace in the world, in addition to people treating like it did not exist, just the same way Voldemort was a menace to peace and continued to be a serious problem for years, despite the fact that many in the Wizarding World chose to deny his return. [11]
"I call this the Voldemort effect, after the villain in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. Many well-meaning people in Ms. Rowling's fictional world are so petrified of Voldemort's evil that they do two things: They refuse to call Voldemort by name, instead referring to 'He Who Must Not Be Named,' and they deny that he exists in the first place. Such dread only increases public hysteria, thus magnifying the appeal of Voldemort's power."
Maajid Nawaz, My Origin, My Destiny Christianity's Basic "Value Proposition" [8]
After Nawaz's vulgarization of the phrase in 2015, it has since been used to criticize mainly left-wingers who vociferously condemn any legitimate criticism of Islam and instead bring up whataboutisms such as the Crusades, with some even going far as blaming those who have fell victim to Islamic extremism after mocking the religion (such as the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists). This position has influenced the term 'Voldemort effect'; in the Harry Potter series it is a taboo to mention the Dark Wizard's name, and the taboo in this situation is to merely state that Islamic fascism is a "politicized religion" that should be open for criticism. [12]
In 2015, the term was used by British counter-terrorism expert Haras Rafiq, who remarked that Islamic extremism is treated like a "Lord Voldermort" taboo topic in the United Kingdom, whereby, according to him, the failure to label and condemn Islamist ideology (by western leaders) for what it is has encouraged young people to join ISIS. Rafiq stated, "it has so far very much been a Voldemort effect – he who shall not be named – with no-one actually coming out and saying it is an Islamist ideology." [13]
The Obama administration in particular has been criticized for not acknowledging radical Islam, and instead opting for the "violent extremism" rhetoric. An example of the obfuscation was after the Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016, the administration released highly redacted transcripts of the shooter's conversation with 911 dispatchers; his sworn allegiance to ISIS and his self-description as an "Islamic soldier" were omitted from the transcripts. [6]
Severus Snape is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is an exceptionally skilled wizard whose extremely cold and resentful exterior conceals deep emotions and anguish. A Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Snape is hostile to Harry due to his resemblance to his father James Potter, who bullied Snape during their time together at Hogwarts.
Draco Lucius Malfoy is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. He is a student in Harry Potter's year belonging in the Slytherin house. He is frequently accompanied by his two cronies, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, who act as henchmen. Draco is characterised as a cowardly bully who tricks and hurts people to get what he wants; he is also a cunning user of magic. He was played by Tom Felton in the Harry Potter film series.
Lord Voldemort is a character and the main antagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of Harry Potter novels. The character first appeared in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which was published in 1997, and returned either in person or in flashbacks in each book and its film adaptation in the series except the third, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in which he is only mentioned.
The Death Eaters are characters featured in the Harry Potter series of novels and films. They are a radical group of wizards and witches, led by the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who seek to purify the wizarding community by eliminating wizards and witches born to non-magical parents. They attempt to create a new order within the Ministry of Magic by spreading fear through the wizarding community and murdering those who speak out against them. Their primary opposition is the Order of the Phoenix.
The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation in the Harry Potter series of fiction books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the fifth book of the series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The original members of the Order of the Phoenix include Sirius Black, Emmeline Vance, Benjy Fenwick, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Edgar Bones, Lily Potter, James Potter, Sturgis Podmore, Caradoc Dearborn, Alice Longbottom, Frank Longbottom, Dorcas Meadowes, Albus Dumbledore, Rubeus Hagrid, Hestia Jones, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, Aberforth Dumbledore, Dedalus Diggle, Minerva McGonagall and Marlene McKinnon.
In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, magic is depicted as a supernatural force that can be used to override the usual laws of nature. Many fictional magical creatures exist in the series, while ordinary creatures sometimes exhibit magical properties. Magical objects are also described. Witches and wizards refer to the rest of the population, who are generally unaware of magic, as "Muggles" in the United Kingdom and "No-Maj" in the United States.
Dumbledore's Army is a fictional student organisation in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series that is founded by the main characters, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, to stand up against the regime of Hogwarts High Inquisitor Dolores Umbridge, as well as to learn practical Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was founded in the fifth book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered to be far outside the mainstream attitudes of society. It can also be used in an economic context. The term may be used pejoratively by opposing groups, but is also used in academic and journalistic circles in a purely descriptive and non-condemning sense.
Harry James Potter is a fictional character and the titular protagonist in J. K. Rowling's series of eponymous novels. The majority of the books' plot covers seven years in the life of the orphan Harry, who, on his eleventh birthday, learns he is a wizard. Thus, he attends Hogwarts to practise magic under the guidance of the kindly headmaster Albus Dumbledore and other school professors along with his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry also discovers that he is already famous throughout the novel's magical community, and that his fate is tied with that of Lord Voldemort – the internationally feared Dark Wizard and murderer of his parents, James and Lily Potter. The book and film series revolve around Harry's struggle to adapt to the wizarding world and defeat Voldemort.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the seventh and final novel in the Harry Potter series. It was released on 21 July 2007 in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury Publishing, in the United States by Scholastic, and in Canada by Raincoast Books. The novel chronicles the events directly following Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2005) and the final confrontation between the wizards Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort.
The following is a list of Hogwarts staff in the Harry Potter books written by J. K. Rowling.
There are many published theories about the politics of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling, which range from them containing criticism of racism to anti-government sentiment and the books have argued to contain both liberal and conservative themes and viewpoints. According to Inside Higher Ed, doctoral theses have been devoted to the Harry Potter books. There are also several university courses centred on analysis of the Potter series, including an upper division political science course.
Maajid Usman Nawaz is a British activist and former radio presenter. He was the founding chairman of the think tank Quilliam. Until January 2022, he was the host of an LBC radio show on Saturdays and Sundays. Born in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, to a British Pakistani family, Nawaz is a former member of the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir. His membership led to his December 2001 arrest in Egypt, where he remained imprisoned until 2006. While there, he read books about human rights and made contact with Amnesty International who adopted him as a prisoner of conscience. He left Hizb-ut-Tahrir in 2007, renounced his Islamist past, and called for a secular Islam. Later, Nawaz co-founded Quilliam with former Islamists, including Ed Husain.
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.
Mohammed Shafiq is a British media personality known for his commentary on Islam in the United Kingdom.
Radical: My Journey out of Islamist Extremism is a 2012 memoir by the British activist Maajid Nawaz, who is also a former Islamist. First published in the United Kingdom, the book describes Nawaz's journey "from Muslim extremist to taking tea at Number 10". The United States edition contains a preface for American readers and a new, updated epilogue.
Islam and the Future of Tolerance: A Dialogue is a 2015 book collaboration between American author Sam Harris and British activist Maajid Nawaz. The book has been subsequently adapted into a documentary film of the same title.
Regressive left, also referred to as regressive liberals or regressive leftists, is a pejorative term to describe by its proponents a branch of left-wing politics that is accused of being accepting of, or sympathetic to, views that conflict with liberal principles, particularly by tolerating Islamism and other authoritarian positions, like promoting censorship. Among those who have used the term are the British political activist Maajid Nawaz, American political talk-show hosts Bill Maher and Dave Rubin, and New Atheist writers, such as Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins.
This is a list of individual liberal and progressive Islamic movements in Europe, sorted by country. See also Islam in Europe and Euroislam.
Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) is a fictional character in the Harry Potter book series written by J. K. Rowling. She evolved from an unnamed peripheral character in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire into a major antagonist in subsequent novels. In the final installment of the story, Rowling established her as Lord Voldemort's "last, best lieutenant". Bellatrix was the first female Death Eater introduced in the books. Bellatrix had a fanatic obsession with the Dark Lord although she was clearly fearful of his magical abilities and absolute power over his forces. She is almost as sadistic and homicidal as Lord Voldemort, with a psychotic personality.
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