Thread by @David_Jamieson7

Myself and @Jonathon_Shafi discussing the attacks on Mosques in #NewZealand today, and on why the Prime Minister and the right internationally are refusing to admit the Islamophobic nature of the attacks. Thread:
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May's statement doesn't mention the target of the attacks (Muslims) where they were attacked (Mosques) or the reason (#Islamophobia). Why? Simply because, as we know from Hope Not Hate's research, two thirds of Tory voters are Islamophobic 2/

The Tories have consciously constructed Islamophobic constituencies to bolster their electoral position. They have consistently used anti-Muslim fear and enmity to defend the state and the elite. They are therefor unprepared, ill-equipped and ill-disposed to deal with this 3/

That's really something - that the PM won't admit who the victims of this murderous rampage are because she, her ministers, her party and the state apparatus are up to their necks in this racist filth. 4/

But I'm afraid that large parts of the left (particularly the liberal left) are simply not equipped with a serious anti-racism either. Too much talk today of 'a culture of violence', 'young men radicalised by the internet' or even just a free floating 'hatred' or 'bigotry' 5/

Even some rhetorically more radical approaches - the problem is 'white supremacy' or 'white privilege' - are to moralistic, general and apolitical to be useful. The problem is #Islamophobia - which is not *a* racism. It is *the* racism of our times 6/

Far to often people on the left line reactionary ideologies up on their lepel like badges - 'I'm against x,y,z, racism, homophobia, misogyny etc etc etc forever'. That's good. But it's not an analysis of events. It's not politics and it won't lead to serious action 7/

Hegel used to call this kind of thing 'the night in which all cows are black'. Yes - all reactionary ideas are bad. But some are far more instrumental than others. Islamophobia is the spearhead of reactionary thought today. That's how the far right use it with such effect 8/

In the 1930s the fascists used antisemitism *not* because it was their particular obsession. But because it was a very common racism. Today the same is true of Islamophobia. It is used to front up far right programmes because it is common, because you can get away with it 9/

Why can they get away with it? Becuase Islamophobia is part of the state ideology of countries like the UK - it is reproduced through border and police regimes that actively discriminate against Muslims, foreign polices which target Muslim majority countries 10/

Behind Islamophobia, a wider project of authoritarian reaction can be rehabilitated. Islamophobia is the major vehicle for the reverse of women's rights, LGBT rights and the rehabilitation of antisemitism in Eastern Europe for instance 11/

We are badly in need of a radical anti-racism that understands the state and its reproduction of racism as central to the fight against the far right. This tragedy needs to become a tipping point where we start to push Islamophobia back, or further calamity will follow. 12/12