This is in response to the defense that the Burke society offered for David Horowitz’s recent talk (“Pre-disposed to prejudice,” Oct. 29). I went to the presentation and approached it with an open mind. Yet, I left thinking that I just witnessed a hate speech.
At his speech, I asked myself why use the term “Islamofascism”? Islamofascism as defined “as manipulation of Islam by a terrorist elite for political gain” has severe limitations. Two of them are: (1) It is difficult to define what a “terrorist” is. Consider the case of Arafat being a Nobel Peace laureate and remembered as a terrorist. If we think he is one or the other, than our choice reflects only our biases. But the point of critical reflection is to question the obvious. Instead of doing that, Horowitz simply claims the Palestinians belong to a “sick fascist culture.” Real analysis proceeds by way of distinctions. He doesn’t mention the divisions within Hamas or between Hamas and Islamic-Jihad. He just labels a whole people fascist! (2) “Political gain” presupposes that the terrorists are somehow part of the political process. Yet, textbooks describe “terrorists” as those outside the political process. When Horowitz lumps Al-Qaeda, the Iranian government, Palestinians, the Taliban, and Hezbollah together, he fails to make basic distinctions that even novice students of the Middle East are aware of. These groups relate very differently to the political process and thus their vision of “political gain” is frequently at odds with each other. Given these limitations and after listening to him, I was convinced that his usage of “Islamofascism” has to do with his understanding of what counts as an explanation. From what I can gather, Horowitz views references to “culture” as having necessary and sufficient explanatory power. Many see terrorism as multi-causal phenomena, in which culture plays a part. However, Horowitz seems to think of terrorism as driven by a single cause – culture. Their “sick-fascist culture!” Thus given their culture, non-fascist Palestinians are an aberration! The rest are fascists because they are the product of their culture! If this does not count as slander and hate, then I am not sure what does.
Sena Aydin
CLAS III
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