Clear Definitions Help Countries Identify Extremists

THE mass shootings at sheesha bars in Hanau, Germany, and the stabbing of the muezzin of London’s Regent’s Park mosque have put far-right extremism back in the headlines. For too long extremism was intrinsically linked with violent extremist Islamists, while attacks such as the Hanau tragedy were dismissed as the acts of a crazed loner. That has changed. But the continuing lack of precise definitions continues to muddy public discourse on extremism, with serious implications for policy and law.

The multitude of labels applied to the Hanau gunman demonstrates the difficulty of articulating far-right extremism: neo-Nazi, anti-immigrant, Islamophobe, white supremacist, white nationalist, incel, terrorist, etc. But there is an urgent need to better define far-right extremism because consistent language is the first step towards generating coherent policy responses and proportionate legal outcomes. Read More https://newageislam.com/radical-islamism-and-jihad/huma-yusuf/clear-definitions-help-countries-identify-extremists/d/121137