Laying The ‘Islamist’ Bogeyman To Rest

TY - ADVS

T1 - Laying The ‘Islamist’ Bogeyman To Rest

A2 - Krieg, Andreas

PY - 2019/10/10

Y1 - 2019/10/10

N2 - When I was contacted by the quite wordy “European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands” (E.C.C.I.) a few weeks ago, I was curious why an allegedly ‘European’ research center would use a logo in Arabic with a red-headed falcon on top—a symbol widely used in the Persian Gulf. At a closer look the ‘E.C.C.I’ had linkages to another research centre that had recently popped up in Europe, the ‘European Eye on Radicalisation’ (EER)—an outlet funded by Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a former Emirati intelligence officer, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based Hedaya Forum and close confidant of UAE strongman Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ). Publications by both the ‘E.C.C.I.’ and the ‘EER’ follow the Emirati narrative, which takes a zero-tolerance approach to Islamism. For Abu Dhabi, the demonization of Islamism is based on a deeply-rooted fear within the centre of power around MbZ—a fear of civil societal activism legitimized not by secular power but religious belief. Since the Arab Spring, UAE officials have been on the forefront of using their narrative of ‘anti-Islamism’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ as a means to clamp down on civil-society at home and across the region. To facilitate this effort, they have partnered with dubious allies in the West: right-wing groups that make a living out of Islamist fear mongering.

AB - When I was contacted by the quite wordy “European Centre for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, Germany & Netherlands” (E.C.C.I.) a few weeks ago, I was curious why an allegedly ‘European’ research center would use a logo in Arabic with a red-headed falcon on top—a symbol widely used in the Persian Gulf. At a closer look the ‘E.C.C.I’ had linkages to another research centre that had recently popped up in Europe, the ‘European Eye on Radicalisation’ (EER)—an outlet funded by Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, a former Emirati intelligence officer, CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based Hedaya Forum and close confidant of UAE strongman Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ). Publications by both the ‘E.C.C.I.’ and the ‘EER’ follow the Emirati narrative, which takes a zero-tolerance approach to Islamism. For Abu Dhabi, the demonization of Islamism is based on a deeply-rooted fear within the centre of power around MbZ—a fear of civil societal activism legitimized not by secular power but religious belief. Since the Arab Spring, UAE officials have been on the forefront of using their narrative of ‘anti-Islamism’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ as a means to clamp down on civil-society at home and across the region. To facilitate this effort, they have partnered with dubious allies in the West: right-wing groups that make a living out of Islamist fear mongering.

KW - United Arab Emirates

KW - Fake News

UR - https://lobelog.com/laying-the-islamist-bogeyman-to-rest/

M3 - Web publication/site

PB - LobeLog

ER -