America’s home-grown extremism
The writer is former Dean Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Karachi and can be reached at amoonis@hotmail.com
“And now, a rise in political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront, and we will defeat. To overcome these challenges — to restore the soul and to secure the future of America — requires more than words. It requires that most elusive of things in a democracy: Unity. Unity.” President Joseph Biden in his inaugural speech on January 20, 2021.
For years, particularly after 9/11, the United States remained hypersensitive to the threat of “Islamic extremism” and made concerted efforts through its homeland security mechanism to prevent terrorist groups from targeting Americans on US soil. Now, the lethal threat which has emerged in the US is not from the so-called Islamic terrorism but homegrown extremist and violent organisations representing white supremacists. What are the options for the Biden-Kamala administration to weed out intolerance, extremism, radicalisation, violence and terrorism? Homegrown extremism in the US is not a new phenomenon but it was covered up under the garb of Islamic extremist groups which according to former president Donald Trump was a major threat and prompted him in January 2017 to impose a travel ban on seven Muslim countries. Doses of ‘Islamophobia’ were inducted systematically into American society, as according to Donald Trump they were ‘bad people’ and should not be allowed to enter and live in the US. In terms of homegrown extremism, who can forget that the terrorist attack on a federal building in Oklahoma in April 1995, killing 165 people, was the job of a white extremist and not an Islamic fundamentalist as was suspected and propagated after the attack.
Now, following the events of January 6, something different has unfolded in America that the real threat is homegrown extremism and not Islamic terrorism. It means that for years, Americans were misled by those who under the Trump presidency, were patronised and got a free hand to target non-whites with the connivance of the police and law enforcement agencies. Protests and demonstrations held throughout the US under the slogan “Black Lives Matter” were harshly dealt with but white supremacists that unleashed a reign a terror in Capitol Hill, were given a walk over and a free hand. One can visualise a dangerous scenario permeating in American society in the form of white militias and armed groups who will not hesitate to take the law into their own hands and target those who adhere to multiculturalism and opening the US for legitimate immigrants from non-white countries. White extremist groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers along with QAnon cannot be underestimated. They may be in disarray after Trump’s defeat and the failure of the January 6 insurrection, but can regroup with new zeal and motivation backed by their rising following on social media.
Critics of President Biden will certainly oppose his measures to lift the travel ban; reversing the humiliating treatment given to travellers from Third World countries at American airports; and stopping the construction of the wall along the Mexican-American border. Blaming the Biden-Kamala administration for unemployment and the rise in immigrant population because of the reversal of Trump’s anti-immigrant policies will deepen the racial divide in America. Confident that Trump got over 70 million votes, his supporters will not leave any opportunity to embarrass and target the Biden-Kamala administration for opening America to those who were termed as “nasty” and “bad people” by Trump.
What is the strategy and plan of the Democratic Party to cope with the predictable assault by the ultra-right-wing Trump supporters from the Republican Party over measures which may be termed as soft towards non-white immigrants and Muslims? The President in his oath-taking speech talked about reconciliation, tolerance and unity as fundamental measures to counter the surge of extremism in the US but one should not underestimate the nuisance value of Trump supporters or ‘Trumpism’ in the House of Representatives and Senate as they will leave no opportunity to challenge the new administration.
Homegrown extremism in America is thus not a myth but a reality and must be handled by following a three-pronged approach. First, the Democratic Party must maintain unity in its rank and file so that President Biden can focus on forging unity among the American people. A divided party will be a boon for Trump supporters. In that case, the focus of President Biden and his team must be to isolate and expose those groups who have permeated deep inside American society and tend to deepen the level of polarisation. Certainly, in the prevailing difficult circumstances when America is rocked by the deadly pandemic and a ruinous economic crisis, it will be an uphill task for the Biden-Kamala duo to urge the American people to focus on unity, peace and productivity so that the forces of evil and darkness that got an impetus during the Trump administration are neutralised for good.
Second, Trump’s “patriotic education policy” of July 2020 which was an attempt to reject America’s racist past has been reversed by President Biden through an executive order. Criticising the so-called “left-wing indoctrination” in American schools and universities which condemned slavery and racism upheld by the founding fathers of the US, the patriotic education policy made it clear that distortion of American history cannot be tolerated. Had Trump been re-elected for another term he would have certainly embarked on the project of Indian PM Narendra Modi which focuses on rewriting Indian history by erasing its 800 years of Muslim rule. Even then, the damage has been done because of the parochial and inclusive policies by the Trump administration and it will take President Biden several years to reverse the racial prejudice and polarisation in American society.
The worst scenario would be if young minds are poisoned with hate and xenophobia. It will be a hard task for the Democratic Party to reverse the process of right-wing indoctrination which the Trump administration tried to introduce through its education policy.
Third, homegrown extremism in America cannot be handled by rhetoric but a pragmatic and practical approach is required to launch ‘de-radicalisation programmes’ particularly targeting the youths so that the images of Capitol Hill on January 6, which reflected anger, antagonism and hate against democracy and the rule of law are not repeated again. If the Biden-Kamala administration abandons efforts to take to task those responsible for the assault on the seat of American Congress and subvert the confirmation of the presidential elections, one can expect such events to happen again.
The cultural transformation of America which drifted towards a negative direction during the Trump administration is a reality. It is also required that those supporters of Trump who voted for him but are against extremism must come forward and disassociate themselves from the ultra-right-wing racist segment of the Republican Party. This would require screening of those inducted in the police, law enforcement agencies and bureaucracy during the Trump administration and adhere to the extremist white supremacist ideology.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 29th, 2021.
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