The new face of Islamophobia- New Statesman
The far right in Europe is on the rise and supporters are disproportionately young, male and concerned with Islam and immigration.
A study by Demos has collated information on the demographics and attitudes of supporters of the far right online. Given the wide range of groups involved — ranging from France’s long-established National Front to semi-organised street movements such as the EDL — it is difficult to make generalisations.
What most of these groups do have in common is that they have significantly more supporters online and that social networking sites such as Facebook are an important tool for members to swap ideas.
The report looks at 14 parties and street organisations in 11 countries. Using Facebook’s data on around 450,000 supporters of these organisations, Demos found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that more than two-thirds were under 30, while three-quarters were male.
Over 10,000 supporters filled in detailed questionnaires about their attitudes. The main reasons listed for joining the groups were Islam and immigration, which cropped up far more frequently than economic worries. Interestingly, these concerns were often framed as a belief that Islam was incompatible with the traditions of liberal democracy. This marks a shift from the crude racism of the earlier generation of populist, far-right movements. Such an argument has the capacity to appeal to more people than out-and-out racism; this is evident in Holland, where Geert Wilder’s Party For Freedom has become the third-largest party. In contrast to most other surveys, anti-Islamic and anti-immigration feeling rose with younger supporters.