Islamophobic Remarks :
Dr. Pipes supports the concept of ‘civilizationalism’:
I take special interest in civilizationism, the drive that has just begun to save Western mores and culture. Contrary to the Middle East’s predominant inertia, it is highly dynamic. Studying this represents a major shift for me – away from scrutinizing a distant region to focusing on my own precinct, all in the slightly desperate hope to help save it from a medievally-inspired ideology.[1]
Pipes defines and defends ‘civilizationalism’ due to its anti-Muslim/anti-Islam elements and considers its far-right and populists elements tolerable:
An initial problem is how correctly to name them in general. The media lazily lumps these parties together as far-right, ignoring their frequent leftist elements, especially in economic and social policy. Calling them nationalist is wrong, for they neither bellow calls to arms nor raise claims to neighbors’ lands. Populist misses the point because plenty of populist parties such as La France Insoumise (Rebellious France) pursue nearly opposite policies.
Best is to focus on their key common elements: rejecting the vast influx of immigrants and especially Muslim immigrants. Non-Muslim immigrants also cause strains, especially those from Africa, but only among Muslims does one find a program, the Islamist one, to replace Western civilization with a radically different way of life. Turned around, these parties are traditionalists with a pro-Christendom, pro-European and pro-Western outlook; they are civilizationist. (This definition also has the benefit of excluding parties like the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn in Greece, that despise traditional Western civilization.)
Enlightened opinion generally reacts with horror to civilizationist parties, and not without reason, for they carry a lot of baggage. Some have dubious origins. Staffed mainly by angry political novices, they feature dismaying numbers of anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim extremists, Nazi nostalgists, power-hungry cranks, economic eccentrics, historical revisionists, and conspiracy theorists. Some proffer anti-democratic, anti-European Union, and anti-American outlooks. Far too many – and especially Orbán – have a soft spot for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
….
But civilizationist parties also bring critical benefits to the political arena: realism, courage, tenacity, and a civilizational critique necessary if the West is to survive in its historic form. Therefore, contrary to many friends and allies, I favor working with most civilizationist parties, advocating critical co-operation rather than rejection and marginalization.[2]
This has led Pipes to support specific xenophobic policies, such as the expelling of Muslim migrants from Poland:
Why have Poles responded so differently from Western Europeans to Muslim migration? The homogeneity of the country and its precarious history (it disappeared from the map for over a century) are both factors but what I found decisive was Poles coming late to the game, seeing the massive errors of their western neighbors, and resolving not to repeat those.
What are the long-term implications of excluding Muslim migrants? That Poland avoids Western Europe’s looming crisis. As countries, starting with Italy, try to control their borders and expel illegal migrants, tension, insurrection, and violence will follow. In contrast, Poland (and its former Soviet-bloc neighbors) will sit out that crisis and may take in expatriates from Western Europe.
Though those expatriates head primarily to Australia, Canada, and the United States, Poland might soon – given its proximity, personal security, and inexpensive cost-of-living – become an attractive destination, especially for pensioners and for Jews, singled out as targets in Europe’s West but increasingly safe in Poland.
So, while the EU won’t be re-Christianized anytime soon, neither will Poland be Islamized.[3]
Pipes has made several stereotypical anti-Muslim statements on social media, including proclaiming “typical” Muslim sentiments based on small sample sizes, claims that hatred of Muslims/Islam can be “rational”, and citing the anti-Muslim website run by Robert Spencer (Jihad Watch) in support of his ideas. He also holds to conspiracy theories, such as Jeremy Corbyn being a secret Muslim convert, that Muslims celebrating political victories in the United States is “threatening”, and that Muslims who call for respect for non-Muslims is a lie “because Erdogan”: [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
Overview :
Daniel Pipes is president of the Middle East Forum. His bi-weekly column appears regularly in the Washington Times and in newspapers around the globe, including the Israel Hayom (Israel), La Razón (Spain), Liberal (Italy), National Post (Canada), and the Australian. His special interests include the role of Islam in public life, Turkey, Syria, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and U.S. foreign policy.
His website, DanielPipes.org, offers an archive of his work and an opportunity to sign up to receive e-mails of his current writings. With 69 million page visits, it is one of the Internet’s most accessed sources of specialized information on the Middle East and Muslim history.
He received his A.B. (1971) and Ph.D. (1978) from Harvard University, both in history, and spent six years studying abroad, including three years in Egypt. Mr. Pipes speaks French, and reads Arabic and German. He has taught at Harvard, Pepperdine, the U.S. Naval War College, and the University of Chicago.
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