“What he overlooks, along with many others who use the term Islamo-fascism, is how little relevance these mass political movements and their capture of the state have to Islamist terrorism – let alone the enormous exaggeration required to liken the threat of a few hundred potential terrorists in the UK with a sustained world war in which hundreds of thousands of Britons died fighting a hugely powerful, highly organised nation state. The real beauty of the Nazi analogy is that it provides a valuable political opportunity to define yourself and ensure a damaging definition of your opponent. Positioning in an argument is key, and the Islamo-fascism analogy enables the appeasement slur to be used against any ‘who try to explain jihadist violence’, as Cameron put it.”
Madeline Bunting responds to would-be Tory leader David Cameron.
A prominent Islamic scholar who has been banned from the US is to teach at Oxford University. Professor Tariq Ramadan, who lives in Geneva, was named as one of the 21st Century’s great innovators by Time Magazine last year for his work. St Antony’s College says he is due to begin a Visiting Fellowship in October.