Anti-multiculturalism arguments frame European identity as white and Christian

Evidence

Broadly speaking, arguments against the ongoing validity of the multiculturalism model have suggested that its continuation will dilute or even eradicate notions of European identity, an identity that is being increasingly framed in terms that are primarily white and Christian. An interesting insight into this can be seen in rhetoric of both the Austrian Freedom Party leader, Jorg Haider and the Flemish separatist Vlaams Blok (now Vlaams Belang): ‘the increasing fundamentalism of radical Islam which is penetrating [Europe], is threatening the consensus of values which is in danger of getting lost’ whilst Muslims and Islam present ‘a threat to the Flemish people and culture’. — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 576

Categorization

• XREF: Relates to the reader’s prior interest in european identity politics and the white/Christian framing — echoes themes from the dress-modesty moral panics article. — connects to: Religious minorities become politically suspect when religion ties to national identity; European multiculturalism backlash revitalized anti-Muslim racism as cultural racism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 313; Western secularism claims universality while resisting genuine multicultural inclusion — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 296 (+1 more)

Related

• Multiculturalism critiques often function as thinly veiled attacks on Muslim identity (similarity 0.83)
• European multiculturalism backlash revitalized anti-Muslim racism as cultural racism (similarity 0.83)
• Questioning multiculturalism opened a path from policy critique to blaming Muslims (similarity 0.81)
• Perceived Muslim rejection of secularism eroded European faith in multiculturalism (similarity 0.81)
• Critics of multiculturalism deserve reasoned evaluation, not merely rhetorical condemnation. (similarity 0.80)
• As theological critiques waned, cultural difference became the new anti-Islamic frame (similarity 0.79)
• European veil bans rest on cultural racism casting Islam as premodern (similarity 0.79)
• Recourse to Muslim culture masks Islamophobia while homogenizing all Muslims (similarity 0.79)
• Islamophobia rests on a false notion of European ethnic purity (similarity 0.78)
• Halliday argues modern hostility targets Muslims as a people, not Islam as a faith. (similarity 0.78)
• Multiculturalism is abandoned once minority culture stops being market-friendly (similarity 0.78)
• Both Jews and Muslims have been racialized by majority populations in modern Europe. (similarity 0.78)
• Medieval theological justification for opposing Muslims has faded in Europe. (similarity 0.78)
• Anti-Semitism secured pure nation-states while Islamophobia preserves European civilization. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Religious minorities become politically suspect when religion ties to national identity #qualifies (0.75)