Nationalism and islamism meet in a bar..
I have said this so many times in the past 10–15 years and it’s so incredibly obvious. The best way to defuse the conflict between extreme nationalism and radical islamism is to acknowledge that
a) they are two sides of the same coin: radical conservatism
b) critique on islamism is not the same as critique on islam and that neither is a critique on muslims
c) similarly, islamism is an ideological issue that should be separated from the followers,
d) protecting muslims against the results of free speech is condescending and counter-productive
e) well-constructed critique is not a sign of disrespect but a sign that one gives a damn. I would even dare to say that the absence of critique of the liberal left is a result of a discriminatory bias towards western ideological frameworks.
So, it is well-time for the liberal left to start with their well-constructed critique:
We have been stifling free speech in the past two decades because we see it as the cause of conflict but that is a clear falsehood. People with conflicting ideas are able to meet and discuss their differences BECAUSE of free speech, it is not because of free speech that they have conflicting ideas.
The most peaceful resolution can be found at the end of relentless discussions with a lot opinions that will be considered ‘hurtful’ and ‘abusive’ (regardless how they are expressed) but nevertheless this option is much better than both violent conflicts and parallel societies (that inevitably result in violent sectarian or territorial conflict anyway as history has demonstrated).
