Thread by @benjaminhaddad

Some context on this concept of Islamo-leftism on which the French government communicated very poorly (especially when it gave the impression it was opening an investigation that could restrict academic freedom). It would be useful however to trace its actual origins.

https://twitter.com/ishaantharoor/status/1363715446646661122

This is *not* a formula that started with the far-right, it is the invention of an academic specialized in antisemitism, Pierre-Andre Taguieff. He has written numerous books on the new antisemitism, but also books on the threat of the National Front.
lejdd.fr/Societe/islamo…

The argument was to denounce a form of convergence between parts of the far-left and Islamist groups' rhetoric in their denunciation of Israel and the United States in the 2000s, that had led to a refusal to address the sharp rise in antisemitism in France at that time.

It's easy to pretend now this never happened but there was for years a large media and intellectual blackout of the new form of antisemitism coming from Islamist circles (which led to violence and murders). This also explains a rightwing shift of French Jews in the mid-2000s.

There are electoral reasons for this in parts of the far-left, and a form of intellectual complicity for others. This isn't linked to debates over post-colonial studies or American wokeness,etc. And it's incredibly bold to link that to "judeo-bolchevism" when the formula...

... was invented by people who were very lonely for years in the French intellectual world in denouncing antisemitism. With all that being said, a debate is healthy, but not giving the impression to go after academic independence. Open the debate, don't restrict it.

For what’s it worth, a recent poll shows 60% of the French thinking this concept is a reality. And this is quite transpartisan with 53% of socialist voters for ex. agree with the statement that “parts of the left minimizes the threat of radical Islamism”.
google.com/amp/s/www.cnew…