Baby jihad rhetoric links demographic change to Muslim conquest in populist propaganda.

Evidence

White nationalists view demography—whether religious switching, fertility rates, or migration—as a form of jihad. I believe the concept of “baby jihad” can further be applied to analyze the nationalist rhetoric of populist parties across Europe and North America. These right-wing parties include the UK Independence Party, the French National Front, the Alternative fur Deutschland in Germany, the Independent Greeks Party, and the Freedom party of Austria amongst others. Similarly, analyzing “demography jihad” can lend a greater understanding to current events including Brexit, the election of President Trump, and “Muslim Ban 2.0.” The concept of baby jihad plays an important role in anti-Muslim propaganda through both Europe and North America. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 54

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the book’s central concept of ‘baby jihad’ as white nationalist framing of demography as a form of warfare.
• XREF: Connects to literature on the Great Replacement theory and demographic anxiety in the far right. — connects to: White nationalists view demography—whether religious switching, fertility rates, or migration—as a form of jihad.; I will then consider the demographic factors of fertility rates, age distribution, and migration. Much like conversion, white nationalists view high Muslim fertility rates as a form of jihad. White nationalists use violent rhetoric such as ‘literal baby boom’ (Steyn 2008, xviii) and ‘war of the wombs’ (Kilpatrick 2106, 131) to paint Muslim motherhood as weapon wielded against Western society. This concept of ‘baby jihad’ objectifies Muslim women as baby-producing machines. In turn, these babies will bring about the ruin of Western society through stealth jihad to implement Sharia law, amongst other things such as genital mutilation, rapes, and persecution of Christians. These fears are exacerbated by an aging European population in contrast to a young Muslim population. Finally, migration is viewed as another type of demographic weapon. White nationalists write of the ‘hijra’ as a form of stealth jihad (Corcoarn 2105b), a ‘Trojan horse’ (Solomon and Al Maqdisi 2009) to alter the demographic make-up of non-Muslim countries and implement Sharia law.; Similarly, analyzing ‘demography jihad’ can lend a greater understanding to current events including Brexit, the election of President Trump, and ‘Muslim Ban 2.0.’ The concept of baby jihad plays an important role in anti-Muslim propaganda through both Europe and North America. Baby jihad strikes at the heart of white nationalist fears. (+11 more)

Broader Connections

• White nationalists believe this increase in switching to religiously unaffiliated causes lower fertility and birth rates for Western women. William Kilpatrick writes that ‘The decline of… #expands (0.80)
• The demography-as-jihad variant of Islamophobia has been understudied #corroborates (0.70) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 13
• Baby jihad is one strand within a broader web of Islamophobic anxieties. #expands (0.70) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 56
• There is indeed a perceived threat from within Western society due to religious switching, secularism, and lower fertility rates. However, the threat is also viewed as externally imposed on… #corroborates (0.60)
• Islamophobic campaign rhetoric is traded for votes and converted into policy #expands (0.50) — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 57