Concern about the growing threat from the extreme Right-wing has been gaining ground in the UK and Europe as well as in America. However, the threat of far-right terrorism is overstated, according to Sir William Shawcross, who is leading an independent review of the UK government’s anti-extremism strategy Prevent. The leaked excerpts from Shawcross’s draft review instead recommend a renewed focus on Islamic extremism (which is already the primary focus of the program).
Unherd (h/t Gila K) This is no surprise. Shawcross, former head of the Charity Commission, has previously called Islam “one of the greatest, most terrifying problems of our future”. His controversial appointment prompted a mass boycott of the much-delayed review by both human rights groups and Muslim communities.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan wrote recently that the West’s battle against the far-Right is one that we cannot ignore. Khan argues that the threat is an evolving global danger and one which the world needs to wake up to. Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and head of counter-terrorism policing, Matt Jukes, warned that those involved in far-Right extremism were getting younger.
In the final stages of serious attacks, more than a quarter have been linked to neo-fascist and racist groups. Of the 27 terrorist plots that have been thwarted over the last three years, eight came from the far-Right. While these figures may seem shocking, it is important to note that the threat is still second to Islamic extremism.
Take for example, how many individuals have been convicted of terrorism connected offences in the United Kingdom.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) publishes data on terrorist and extremist prisoners on a quarterly basis. The Home Office then classifies these prisoners by ideology in relation to proscribed groups that are believed to be involved in terrorism. The categories of classification are: Islamic extremists, Extreme Right-wing and Other.
From the period between 31 March, 2013 to 31 March, 2021, there have been significantly more people in custody for Islamic extremist connected offences than any other form of extremism. The lowest number of people in custody for Islamisc extremism was 79 in 2014 with an increase of over 100% (164) in 2017. The highest peak came a year later in 2018, with 186 individuals recorded as being in custody for the same connected offence.
IPT Islamic extremism remains the most threatening form of terrorism worldwide by far, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2020 report. Among the top 20 states most vulnerable to terrorism, 19 of them are mainly targeted by armed Islamist actors.
Somemedia outlets, however, chose to report on the GTI study by highlighting a concerning trend of rising far-right terrorist activity in the West instead. But a closer look at the GTI data itself offers a more accurate story.
Though far-right terrorist incidents are increasing, Islamic terrorist attacks in the West on average are considerably more lethal. Since 2002, right-wing extremist attacks have inflicted 0.86 deaths per incident, whereas Islamist groups kill 4.49 people per attack. The study’s findings led the authors to state that “the deadliest form of terrorism in the West over the past two decades has been religious terrorism, which has almost exclusively taken the form of radical Islamic terrorism.”
In the same nine-year-period, there was a 1000% increase of extreme Right-wing connected offences. This may sound alarming, but the reality is different: the number of individuals in custody for extreme Right-wing connected offences rose from 4 to 44. There are therefore significantly fewer extreme Right-wing prisoners in custody than their Islamist counterparts despite the apparent increase in convictions.
Islamic extremist connected offences continue to dominate statistics year on year. Over nine years, the lowest number for all terrorism-related offences was 87 (2013) whereas the highest was 238 (2020). In each year, except 2021, Islamisc extremist connected offences amounted to over three quarters of all offences consistently.
For right-wing terrorism-connected offences to be anywhere near comparable to Islamist terrorism-connected offences, there would at least be sentencing of the former that matches the latter. But as each year passes on, that just isn’t happening.
The attention given to the growing threat from extreme Right-wing individuals appears to be attracting more attention than it deserves. It is simply a fact that more people are consistently sentenced to prison for Islamist extremism than any other form of terrorism connected offences. As concerning as the rise in Right-wing extremism may be, it pales in comparison to the Islamic threat — we must not turn away from it.
Below is a chart of the risk of Islamic terrorism in Europe.
Daniel Erbstoesser says
Boah when you say or write this in germany then you have a problem. Germany sees nothing except the fight against the right. The security in germany is tight in the left antifas hand and they see no islam or any other problem, only the conservativ voter is the problem because he is trying to save his country and we dont want that do we. Billions are thrown out the window for this bull but we are the good ones and we are more and woke and lgbtq….. That will lead us to our downfall and from that we will never be able to get up again, game over.
vtology says
We’ll eventually defend our “Western” nations. It’s the new Crusades.
BareNakedIslam says
WE better hurry up.
Daniel Erbstoesser says
The hurry is over because the enemy sits within in our countries and townships, they even sit in our governments and our own has given them rights that we dont have and that we cant go up against. We are being sold out from our own and that is one side of it the other side is things like omahr in your gov. we here in germany have hundrets of omahrs in our gov. and they make the laws that we have to live after so what should we do with hurry. The train has left the station and we were in the restaurant and missed it.
Linda Rivera says
ANTI-WHITE RACIST. BRITON-HATER. JEW HATER. CHRISTIAN HATER
Pakistani Muslim London Mayor LIAR Sadiq Khan:
The West’s battle against the far-Right is one that we cannot ignore. The threat is an evolving global danger and one which the world needs to wake up to.
The cruel 9/11 slaughter of 3,000 innocents was committed by the far-Right ??????
The Florida nightclub massacre of young people was committed by the far-Right ?????
The Boston massacre was committed by the far-Right?
The Manchester concert slaughter of young people was committed by the far-Right ????
The repeated multiple slaughters of Brits in London was committed by the far-Right ???
The Paris France concert SATANIC RITUAL ABUSE TORTURE/SLAUGHTERS was committed by the far-right ??????
The ongoing Global GENOCIDE of CHRISTIANS especially in Africa is committed by the far-right ??????
Mark says
All ways trying to make out far right is dangerous when you hear nothing about them noticed they keep being portrayed that way on many police tv type shows on British tv it’s total disgrace when we all know clearly that the BIGGEST THREAT TO EUROPE IS ISLAMIC TERRORIST ATTACKS.