643
Views
6
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Articles

Something Varied in the State of Denmark: Neo-nationalism, Anti-Islamic Activism, and Street-level Thuggery

Pages 208-233 | Published online: 21 Jun 2013
 

Abstract

The article argues that categories such as ‘Islamophobic’ and ‘Right Wing’ are inadequate and even misleading descriptors of reactions to Islam in Europe, and should be replaced by a distinction between neo-nationalism, anti-Islamic activism, and street-level thuggery. Neo-nationalism is a well-established but underused descriptor; anti-Islamic activism and street-level thuggery are more novel and are explored in the article. The article applies this three-fold distinction to the case of Denmark. It is argued that the neo-nationalist Danish People's Party can be understood as a response to neo-nationalist views that are widespread among the Danish population. It is then argued that street-level thuggery, of which a small movement called Stop the Islamisation of Denmark is taken as an example, may be eye-catching, but is ultimately unimportant. Anti-Islamism, in contrast, may be important. Two Danish examples are examined: the very Danish Tidehverv movement, which shows how Christianity can still matter even in an apparently secular society, and the Free Press Society, a more influential Danish organization that is shown to be part of an international movement.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Pernille Ammitzbøll, Brian Arly Jacobsen, Shenaz Bunglawala, Anders Klostergaard Petersen, and Jørgen S. Nielsen for their helpful comments on the draft of this article, and also to Anders Klostergaard Petersen for drawing my attention to the importance of Tidehverv in the first place.

Notes

1André Gingrich and Marcus Banks, Neo-nationalism in Europe and Beyond: Perspectives from Social Anthropology (New York: Berghahn Books, 2006), p. 3.

2This article follows standard English usage in translating the Danish prefix folke- as ‘people's’ in the name of the party. However, in actual usage rather than etymology, the prefix signifies ‘national’ more than ‘people's’.

3Arun Kundnani, ‘Islamism and the Roots of Liberal Rage’, Race and Class, 50:2 (2008), p. 43.

4Wajahat Ali, Eli Clifton, Matthew Duss, Lee Fang, Scott Keyes and Faiz Shakir, ‘Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America’, Center for American Progress, 2011, http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf.

5José Pedro Zúquete, ‘The European Extreme-right and Islam: New Directions?’, Journal of Political Ideologies, 13:3 (2008), p. 323.

6John Bowen, ‘Commentary on Bunzl’, American Ethnologist, 32:4 (2005), p. 524, quoted in Zúquete, ‘The European Extreme-right’, p. 324.

7This was well illustrated by the range of views expressed in Fascism Past and Present, West and East: An International Debate on Concepts and Cases in the Comparative Study of the Extreme Right, ed. Roger Griffin, Werner Loh, and Andreas Umland (Stuttgart: Ibidem-Verlag, 2006).

8Gingrich and Banks, Neo-nationalism in Europe and Beyond, p. 3. They also distinguish neo-nationalism from regional secessionism, which is not an issue in Denmark. This distinction may not work equally well in some of the newer EU countries.

9See especially Jørgen Nielsen (ed.), Islam in Denmark: The Challenge of Diversity (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012); Peter Hervik, The Annoying Difference: The Emergence of Danish Neonationalism, Neoracism, and Populism in the Post-1989 World (New York: Berghahn Books, 2011); Peter Hervik, ‘The Rise of Neo-nationalism in Denmark, 1992–2001’ in Gingrich and Banks, Neo-nationalism in Europe and Beyond, pp. 92–106; Tom Bryder, ‘The Xenophobic Theme in Danish Politics 2001–2005’ in Pascal Delwit and Philippe Poirier, Extrème-droite et pouvoir en Europe (Brussels: Editions de l'Université de Bruxelles, 2007), pp. 291–308; Karen Wren, ‘Cultural Racism: Something Rotten in the State of Denmark?’, Social and Cultural Geography, 2:2 (2001), pp. 141–162.

10Danish Government, ‘En ny udlændingepolitik’, 17 January 2002. Available at: http://www.nyidanmark.dk/NR/rdonlyres/442728D5-C3FA-4CD8-8557-7350ECD53745/0/en_ny_udlaendingepolitik.pdf (accessed 6 February 2012). The policy made it much more difficult to claim asylum in Denmark, lengthened the period needed for refugees to gain permanent residence on the basis that they should normally return to their place of origin when possible, reduced welfare benefits for refugees and immigrants, placed severe limits on granting residence permits to foreign spouses, and tightened requirements for permanent residence and naturalisation, requiring both better knowledge of Danish and of ‘Danish society, principles and values’.

11Hilmar Vester, ‘Udlændingelov ændret hvert halve år’, DR Indland, 17 November 2010, http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2010/11/17/222723.htm. The forerunner of these laws was passed in 1998 by a Centre-Left coalition government under the Social Democrats (SDP; Socialdemokraterne) in an unsuccessful attempt to stem the rise of the DPP in opinion polls ahead of the 2001 election (Hervik, ‘The Rise of Neo-nationalism in Denmark’, p. 101). The law was first negotiated and put forward before the 1998 election and Brian Arly Jacobsen argues that the SDP partly won that election because of the law (personal communication).

12‘Nævnet for Etnisk Ligestilling nedlægges’, Ritzaus Bureau, 5 March 2002.

13Natalie J. Doyle, ‘Islam, Depoliticization and the European Crisis of Democratic Legitimacy’, Politics, Religion and Ideology 14:2 (2013), pp. 265–283.

14Wren, ‘Cultural Racism’, pp. 142, 152.

15Hervik, ‘The Rise of Neo-nationalism in Denmark’, p. 95.

16Ibid., pp. 95–96.

17Palle Svensson, ‘The Danish Yes to Maastricht and Edinburgh. The EC Referendum of May 1993’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 17:1 (1994), p. 78.

18Symbolic in that what really matters is still national citizenship. Despite this opt-out, Demark – like other EU countries – still allows citizens of other EU states to vote in local and EU elections. Denmark, however, applies special residence rules to citizens of other EU states, which other EU countries do not.

19Bryder, ‘The Xenophobic Theme’, p. 296.

20Eugenio Domingo Solans, speech, the ‘Euro and Denmark’ exhibition, Aalborg, Denmark, 10 September 1999, http://www.ecb.int/press/key/date/1999/html/sp990910_1.en.html.

21Roger Buch and Kasper M. Hansen, ‘The Danes and Europe: From EC 1972 to Euro 2000: Elections, Referendums and Attitudes’, Scandinavian Political Studies, 25:1 (2002), p. 12.

22Buch and Hansen, ‘The Danes and Europe’, pp. 17–18. One study emphasised worker/white-collar, while another found that ‘if private/public-sector employment is included it cancels out the effect of worker/white-collar’.

23Bryder, ‘The Xenophobic Theme’, p. 293.

24Susi Meret, ‘The Danish People's Party, the Italian Northern League and the Austrian Freedom Party in a Comparative Perspective: Party Ideology and Electoral Support’ (PhD dissertation, Aalborg University, 2009), pp. 227, 234.

25Source: Aalborg University Danish Election Project, Valgundersøgelsen 2001 and Valgundersøgelsen 2007 – foreløbig, http://bank1.surveybank.aau.dk (accessed 14 March 2012). Data for similar figures below is taken from the same source. Meret uses similar data in ‘The Danish People's Party’, pp. 252, 254, 277.

26Meret, ‘The Danish People's Party’, p. 241.

27S. Pedersen, ‘Overførselsindkomster til indvandrerne’ in G.V. Mogensen and P.C. Matthiessen (eds) Integration i Danmark omkring årtusindskiftet. Indvandrernes møde med arbejdsmarkedet og

Velfærdssamfundet (Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 2000), quoted in Pedersen Immigration and Welfare State Cash Benefits: The Danish Case, Rockwool Foundation Study Paper 33, Odense: University Press of Southern Denmark (2011), p. 19.

28Denmark, Ministry of Finance, Velfærdskommissionen, Analyserapport: Fremtidens velfærd og globaliseringen (Copenhagen: Velfærdskommissionen, March 2005), p. 123. That is, a negative NPV of DKK280,000 and DKK4,400,000, taking into account all varieties of benefit received and taxes paid. Converted at 2005 rates and rounded.

29Also, kontanthjælp is a benefit that is received only by those who do not qualify for the more generous primary benefit, unemployment insurance. Many immigrants (but few non-immigrants) do not qualify for unemployment insurance.

30Peder J. Pedersen, Immigration and Welfare State Cash Benefits, p. 35.

31Pernille Ammitzbøll, personal communication, 17 March 2012.

32Aalborg University survey, National identitet – ISSP 2003, http://bank1.surveybank.aau.dk (accessed 14 March 2012).

33Denmark's People's Movement against the EU and Britain's UKIP of course emphasize three of the standard four planks of neo-nationalist policies – national identity, opposition to the EU, and lack of trust in mainstream politicians – more than the other two planks – welfare and immigration.

34The exceptions were during the Second World War under German occupation, and on two occasions when the Liberals did extremely badly, 1968 and 1982.

35‘Dansk NS-Historie’, DNSB website, www.dnsb.info (accessed 13 March 2012).

36‘Nazister stiller op til valg’, Ritzaus Bureau, 28 September 2005.

37‘Hvad vil Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevægelse?’, DNSB website, www.dnsb.info (accessed 13 March 2012).

38Ibid.

39‘Jonni Hansen trækker sig som nazileder’, Ritzaus Bureau, 19 October 2010.

40Jakob Sheikh, ‘Han passer på danskheden – og sig selv’, Politiken, 19 September 2010, p. PS-7. Press reports of the time confirm the murder of the son and the conviction of the murderer, whose name indicates Danish ethnicity. Curiously, the former wife was identified by Sheikh as a Christian Lebanese, and in press reports of the time as a Greenlander.

41‘SIAD's politik’, SIAD website, http://siaddk.wordpress.com/siads-politik/; (accessed 13 March 2012).

42SIAD supporters interviewed during Aalborg demonstration in 2008. I did not attend the demonstration. The interviews are heard on an amateur video posted on YouTube, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWiQwanh7Yo (accessed 13 March 2012).

43Pernille Ammittzbøll, ‘Demonstration: Nazi-demo betyder ro i Århus’, JP Århus, 10 June 2006, p. 2; ‘Krav om strenge straffe efter optøjer mod politiet’, Ritzaus Bureau, 26 October 2006.

44TV2/Nord News, 14 March 2008, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCHQhgx1_5k (accessed 13 March 2012).

45This description is based on the amateur video posted on YouTube.

46‘Højreekstremister i Danmark: Hærværk, bomber, vold og trusler’, Ekstra Bladet, 25 July 2011, p. 10.

47The word præst is sometimes translated as ‘minister’, ‘vicar’ or ‘clergyman’. Given the use of ‘minister’ in a political context, the etymologically closer translation ‘priest’ has been preferred.

48Doyle, ‘Islam, Depoliticization’.

49Søren Krarup, ‘Tidehverv’, Tidehverv, 2006, p. 114.

50Christian Houlberg Skov, ‘Tidehverv’, Danmarkshistorien, http://danmarkshistorien.dk/leksikon-og-kilder/vis/materiale/tidehverv/; (accessed 7 February 2012).

51Søren Krarup, ‘Tidehverv’, pp. 113–114.

52Ibid.

53Skov, ‘Tidehverv’.

54Søren Krarup, ‘National værnepligt’, Tidehverv, 2009, pp. 69–70.

55Krarup, ‘National værnepligt’.

56Mette Klingsey, ‘Den danske forening: Dansk Folkeparti i strid om Den Danske Forening’, Information, 20 March 2007, pp. 6–7.

57Søren Krarup, ‘Kirke og folk i Danmark’ in Krarup, Kristendom og danskhed: Prædikener og foredrag (Højbjerg: Hovedland, 2001), pp. 84–85.

58Krarup, ‘Kirke og folk i Danmark’, p. 86.

59Ibid., p. 83.

60Ibid., p. 89.

61Ibid., p. 89.

62Ibid., p. 90.

63Krarup's objections to Islam should logically apply also to Judaism, and indeed in 1960 he did write of Judaism as un-Danish. Rasmus Lindboe and Sandy French, ‘Krarups dans om antisemitismen’, Information, 12 January 2004, p. 5. His subsequent statements on Judaism have, however, generally been uncontroversial.

64Søren Krarup, ‘Hvem er konservativ?’, Berlingske.dk, 6 October 2010, http://www.b.dk/kronikker/hvem-er-konservativ.

65‘Ich beschwöre euch, meine Brüder, bleibt der Erde treu und glaubt Denen nicht, welche euch von überirdischen Hoffnungen reden!’ Friedrich Nietzsche, Also sprach Zarathustra (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1968), p. 9. Pointed out by Hans Hauge, ‘Den sorte fætter’, Information, 5 June 2002, p. 8.

66‘Beboet af et folk, ikke af en befolkning’. Søren Krarup, ‘Vestlig/ikke-vestlig’, Tidehverv, 84:8–9 (October 2010), p. 145.

67Søren Krarup, quoted in Else Marie Nygaard, ‘Søren Krarup: Disse ord betyder noget for mig’, Kristeligt Dagblad, 8 November 2011, http://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/artikel/439551:Seniorliv-Soeren-Krarup-Disse-ord-betyder-noget-for-mig.

68Krarup, ‘National værnepligt’.

69Hervik, ‘The Rise of Neo-nationalism in Denmark’, pp. 98–99.

70Krarup, ‘National værnepligt’.

71Mona Kanwal Sheikh and Manni Crone, ‘Muslims as a Danish Security Issue’ in Nielsen (ed.) Islam in Denmark, pp. 174–176.

72Lars Hedegaard, ‘Frikadellens flugt’, Berlingske Tidende, 1 October 1999, p. 18.

73Lars Hedegaard, ‘Tid til besindelse’, Berlingske Tidende, 13 September 2001, p. 8.

74Lars Hedegaard, ‘Midt i en krigstid’, Berlingske Tidende, 20 September 2001, p. 12.

75The earliest, tone-setting article by Brix that I have found is Helle Merete Brix, ‘Svaret fra Gud’, Information, 20 January 1999, p. 8.

76Helle Merete Brix and Torben Hansen, Islam i Vesten – på Koranens vej?: en antologi (Copenhagen: Tiderne Skifter, 2002).

77Søren Krarup, ‘Mediestorm’, Tidehverv, 2002, pp. 157–158.

78Bat Ye'or, ‘European Fears of the Gathering Jihad’, FrontPageMagazine.com, 21 February 2003, http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=19633.

79As reported by Lexis-Nexis.

80Kundnani, ‘Islamism and the Roots of Liberal Rage’.

81See Mark Sedgwick, review of God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis by Philip Jenkins (Oxford University Press, 2007), Nova Religio, 13:3 (February 2010), pp. 134–137. A forthcoming argument in the opposite direction is Brian Arly Jacobsen, ‘Projections of Muslim Populations in Europe: A Danish Case Study’.

82Hervik, The Annoying Difference, p. 172.

83Brix, Hansen and Hedegaard, I krigens hus, pp. 164–165.

84It is possible that an extremely ignorant Muslim might think that Islam's goal was a universal Caliphate, and be unable to distinguish between a Caliphate and a Caliph, and it is just about conceivable that an extremely ignorant Muslim might think that ‘unclean’ girls were not protected from rape, but even the most ignorant Muslim could hardly make the mistake of understanding the Quran as the work of the Prophet Muhammad rather than of God, as this alleged fatwa does. Hellig Jihad Danmark, ‘Meddelelse til alle muslimske indvandrere, muslimske kulturcentre, moskeer og muslimske støtter i Danmark’, http://www.7xs.dk/diverse/muslimsknoerrebro.htm and quoted in part in Brix et al., I krigens hus, pp. 164–165.

85The authors of In the House of War admit that the fatwa's authenticity had been questioned, but dismiss these questions. Brix et al., I krigens hus, p. 165.

86Alex Ahrendtsen, review of I krigens hus, Tidehverv, 2004, p. 19.

87Jesper Langballe, ‘Når Gud vækker os’, Tidehverv, 2001, pp. 194–196.

88Søren Krarup, ‘Neutralitetens umulighed’, Tidehverv, 2004, pp. 113–114.

89Claus Thomas Nielsen, ‘Postkort fra Eurabien’, Tidehverv, 2005, pp. 153–156; Monica Papazu, ‘Islam’, Tidehverv, no. 7 (September 2006), pp. 87–108.

90Marianne Juhl, ‘Det frie ord: Værn for ytringsfriheden’, Jyllands-Posten, 2 November 2004, p. 12.

91Marianne Juhl, ‘Ytringsfrihed: Til kamp mod tabuer’, Jyllands-Posten, 17 March 2005, p. 16.

92Source: Infomedia analysis.

93There may, of course, have been other motivations as well, but the origin of the Cartoons Crisis was an invitation to 42 cartoonists to contribute cartoons of the Prophet for publication in Jyllands-Posten. 12 accepted, 3 declined, and 27 did not respond. Jytte Klausen, The Cartoons That Shook the World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), pp. 14–15.

94Source: Infomedia analysis.

95‘Trykkefrihedsprisen’, Trykkefrihedsselskabet, http://www.trykkefrihed.dk/trykkefrihedsprisen.htm (accessed 7 February 2012) for the Free Press prizes; ‘Om Sappho’, http://www.sappho.dk/om-sappho.htm (accessed 7 February 2012) for the Sappho prizes.

96Carina Fogsgaard Jacobsen, ‘Omstridt tegning sælger godt’, Kristeligt Dagblad, 18 April 2009, p. 3. Bent Blüdnikow, ‘Europa – et kontinent uden identitet’, interview with Bat Ye'or, Berlingske Tidende, 19 September 2005, section 2, p. 14. Michael Enggaard, ‘Wilders: For mange svage ledere’, Jyllands-Posten, 15 June 2009, p. 5.

97‘The International Free Press Society: Policy Statement’, Sappho, 1 January 2009, http://www.sappho.dk/the-international-free-press-society-policy-statement.htm. Internet caches confirm that the same list was formerly given on the main IFPS website, but has now been removed.

98‘Board of Advisors’, IFPS-Canada, http://www.ifpscanada.com/about-ifps-international/board-of-advisors/ (accessed 7 February 2012). Internet caches confirm that the same list was formerly given on the main IFPS website, but has now been removed.

99In 2011, Gates of Vienna came 59th in Technorati's list of the 100 most influential blogs on world politics, and Jihad Watch came 79th; http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/politics/world/ (accessed 16 February 2012). For the identity of ‘Baron Bodissey’, ‘Ned May’, FrontPage, http://frontpagemag.com/author/ned-may/ (accessed 7 February 2012).

100‘Staff’, David Horowitz Freedom Center website, http://www.horowitzfreedomcenter.org/about/staff/; (accessed 7 February 2012).

102Born in 1920, he was 84 in 2004.

104‘Frank Gaffney’, Center for Security Policy website, http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/1231.xml (accessed 7 February 2012).

105‘Center Staff’, Center for Security Policy website, http://www.centerforsecuritypolicy.org/staff.xml (accessed 7 February 2012).

106Ali et al., ‘Fear, Inc.’, pp. 15–16.

107Ali et al., ‘Fear, Inc.’, pp. 15–16, 17–19.

108Center for Security Policy, Shariah: The Threat to America: An Exercise in Competitive Analysis – Report of Team B II (Washington: Center for Security Policy Press, 2010), pp. vi–vii, xxiv. Book downloaded from http://shariahthethreat.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Shariah-The-Threat-to-America-Team-B-Report-Web-09292010.pdf (accessed 7 February 2012).

109 Shariah: The Threat to America, pp. 15–16.

110Ali et al., ‘Fear, Inc.’, pp. 15–16, 45, 70.

111Andrea Elliott, ‘Behind an Anti-Shariah Push’, New York Times, 31 July 2011, section A, p. 1.

112In July 2011, three states had passed laws on the model proposed by the American Public Policy Alliance. Elliott, ‘Behind an Anti-Shariah Push’, p. 1.

113‘List of Supporters’, American Public Policy Alliance website, http://publicpolicyalliance.org/?page_id=464 (accessed 7 February 2012).

114Ali et al., ‘Fear, Inc.’, p. 63.

115‘Speaker Biographies’, CounterJihad Europa, http://counterjihadeuropa.wordpress.com/conferences/counterjihad-brussels-2007/counterjihad-brussels-2007-biographies/ (accessed 7 February 2012). ‘September 11th Ten-Year Anniversary Memorial & SIOA Freedom Rally’, Urban Infidel, 11 September 2011, http://urbaninfidel.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-11th-ten-year-anniversary.html (accessed 7 February 2012).

116Andreas Lindqvist, ‘Lars Hedegaard: Muslimer er voldtægtsmænd og løgnere’, Politiken, 21 December 2009, http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE865702/lars-hedegaard-muslimer-er-voldtaegtsmaend-og-loegnere/. Re-translated into English from the Danish translation of the interview, which was conducted in English, and is no longer available on the internet. He is still appealing against his conviction at the time of writing.

117Under §266b of the criminal code (straffelov). This is often called the ‘Racism paragraph’, but in fact criminalises denigration on grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, faith, or sexual orientation.

118Michael Engaard, ‘Lars Hedegaard dømt for racisme’, Jyllands-Posten, 4 May 2010, p. 17. Also DKK5000, at 2010 rates.

119The verdict was reversed on appeal on the basis that Hedegaard had never intended his comments to be made public. Pia Buhl Andersen, ‘Lars Hedegaard bliver frifundet for udtalelser om muslimer’, Politiken.dk, 20 April 2012, http://politiken.dk/indland/ECE1602017/lars-hedegaard-bliver-frifundet-for-udtalelser-om-muslimer/; (accessed 22 April 2012).

120Andreas Lindqvist, ‘Naser Khader forlader Trykkefrihedsselskabet’, Politiken, 22 December 2009. ‘Pind forlader også Trykkefrihedsselskabet’, Ritzaus Bureau, 22 December 2009.

121Helle Merete Brix, ‘Biografi’, http://www.hellemeretebrix.com/biografi/; (accessed 13 February 2012).

122‘Trykkefrihedsselskabet har tabt det hele på gulvet’, 180Grader, 23 January 2010, http://www.180grader.dk/Leder/trykkefrihedsselskabet-har-tabt-det-hele-paa-gulvet (accessed 7 February 2012).

123Jesper Langballe, ‘Islams formørkede kvindesyn’, Berlingske Tidende, 22 January 2010, http://www.b.dk/kommentarer/islams-formoerkede-kvindesyn.

124Marianne Fajstrup, ‘Jurist: Langballe-dom er tegn på skærpet praksis’, Berlingske Tidende, 4 December 2010, p. 7. DKK5000 at 2010 rates.

125Krarup, ‘National værnepligt’.

126Anne Barnard and Alan Feuer, ‘Outraged, and Outrageous’, The New York Times, 10 October 2010, p. MB-1.

127Hans Bjerregaard, ‘Klar udmelding’, Ekstra Bladet, 25 March 2002, p. 15.

128‘DF-medlemmer melder sig ud af Den Danske Forening’, Ritzaus Bureau, 19 March 2002.

129‘Professoren med bombeopskrifterne’, Ekstra Bladet, 16 August 1991, p. 4.

130Søren Krarup, ‘Sin egen fjende’, Ekstra Bladet, 7 January 1993, p. 20.

131‘Tegning: Muhammed i fogedretten’, Information, 14 March 2008, p. 10.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 294.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.