"When I was growing up in the 1980s the concept of a ‘radical in a Muslim context meant someone who was a militant secularist, someone who challenged not just racism but the power of the mosques too. Someone like me.
Today, of course, it means almost the opposite – a ‘radical’ is a religious fundamentalist. Why the shift? Largely because of disenchantment with the secular left, on the one hand, and the institutionalisation of multicultural policies, on the other. Disenchantment with secular politics, the disintegration of the left, and the abandonment by the left of the politics of universalism in favour of ethnic particularism, has helped push many young, secular Asians towards Islamism as an alternative worldview. At the same time, the emergence of multiculturalism, and of identity politics, has helped create more tribal societies and eroded aspirations to a universal set of values."
True dat!
Today, of course, it means almost the opposite – a ‘radical’ is a religious fundamentalist. Why the shift? Largely because of disenchantment with the secular left, on the one hand, and the institutionalisation of multicultural policies, on the other. Disenchantment with secular politics, the disintegration of the left, and the abandonment by the left of the politics of universalism in favour of ethnic particularism, has helped push many young, secular Asians towards Islamism as an alternative worldview. At the same time, the emergence of multiculturalism, and of identity politics, has helped create more tribal societies and eroded aspirations to a universal set of values."
True dat!
