Inayat Bunglawala and I have been discussing his support for the clerical fascist parties, Jamaat-e-Islami and the Muslim Brotherhood.
He objects to the use of the term “clerical fascist”. This description has been applied, since the 1920s, to religious political movements with a fascist ideology, and was used by the founder of the Socialist Workers Party, Tony Cliff, to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Inayat, however, misunderstands the phrase. His key objection is not that the parties which he supports are not fascist. It is that they are not “clerical”:
As for your beloved phrase ‘clerical fascists’, you may not be aware that the movements you are denouncing, the Ikhwan and the Jamaat-i-Islami, are actually mainly led by lay people, professionals such as teachers, doctors, engineers, not clerics.
Inayat is a bit of an expert on fascism. Read the following sentence from his post:
I said on R4 that I wanted to see the faith of Islam spread in this country peacefully. Islam is not a racial cult – it is a faith that calls upons its adherents to share their belief in God with others. Isn’t that one of the great points about living in a free society?
“Racial cult” is an odd phrase.
Which religion do you think he is contrasting with Islam
Here’s a clue. It is a religion which peculiarly preoccupies Inayat.
Do a Google search for “Judaism” and “racial cult” and see what comes up.
You’ll notice that pretty much all the results which come up are Neo Nazi websites.
In fact, you will find the phrase “racial cult” in the 10 Commandments of Neo Nazidom; the 14 White Nationalist Principles
Theology: White Nationalism is not a religion, but its adherents are devoted to it with a religious passion. It is compatible with many religious beliefs, the most glaring exception being Judaism, which is actually a racial cult. White Nationalists are a wide spectrum of individual religious beliefs, including Christianity and its numerous denominations, agnostic, atheist, pagan, and Nietzcheist.
Here it is again, on National Vanguard, a White Nationalist neo nazi site, which published a speech by the neo-nazi Kevin Alfred Strom:
“I urge all of you to study these issues. An excellent way to begin is by reading Jewish Supremacism by David Duke. In this new work, Mr. Duke rips away the shroud of pretended morality from the ugly body of Jewish hate. He reveals the Jewish establishment for what it is: a maniacal racial cult based on hate, exploitation, and genocide of other peoples — and a cult which is directing its considerable resources against the very survival of White European peoples. “
Inayat counters, weakly, with a posting on the fascist website, Stormfront, in which a poster pleads for tolerance of the BNP by religious leaders on the grounds the IRA a clerical fascist group.
The problem for Inayat is put well by poster “Igorsfriend”:
‘Clerical fascist’ is used by lots of people from across the political spectrum – for instance Tony Cliff of the SWP used it to describe the Muslim Brotherhood. It’s a fairly common phrase when discussing Islamists. The only people who describe Judaism as a “racial cult” are you and a bunch of neo-Nazis on Stormfront. So either you are trawling neo-Nazi websites, or you came up with the phrase all on your own – in which case you just think like a neo-Nazi, rather than plagiarising their words.
My money is on Inayat being an avid reader of Neo Nazi material.
Which is why it is excellent news that the Government has dropped him, and his Muslim Council of Britain, as advisors.