White nationalists frame Muslim fertility and motherhood as weapons of war

Evidence

William Kilpatrick builds upon Ibrahim’s description of baby jihad in A Politically Incorrect Guide to Jihad. Kilpatrick uses the term “war of the wombs” along with baby jihad. He coins the terminology “war of the wombs” from a quote attributed to Algerian President Houari Boumedienne. Kilpatrick writes that “In 1974, when Algerian president Houari Boumedienne predicted mass migration from the Southern to the Northern hemisphere ‘to conquer it,’ he also made an additional threat: ‘And they will conquer it with their sons. The wombs of our women will give us victory.’” (Kilpatrick 2016, 131). The language used by Kilpatrick turns Muslim babies into instruments of war. Fertility rates become weapons. Steyn echoes this argument in America Alone, writing that “those self-detonating Islamists in London and Gaza are a literal baby boom” (2008, xviii). Steyn thus links the demographic concept of a baby boom with violent extremism. Another example: “over the next generation, that population of excitable young men will explode—demographically I mean, though very literally if the more severe mullahs have their way.” (Steyn 2008, 19). These quotes clearly show that white nationalists view demography— specifically motherhood, fertility, and babies—as a form of violent jihad. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 28

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to work on demographic panic and the ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy; the framing of fertility as warfare echoes nationalist rhetoric examined elsewhere. — 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.; 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 Christianity in Europe led to a loss of cultural confidence and a loss of will. This loss of faith also translated into a declining birth rate.’ (2016, 131). As stated above, Pew Research Center (2107) confirms that religiously unaffiliated women are projected to have lower fertility rates than religiously affiliated women. However, religiosity is only one factor impacting fertility rates, and is intertwined with educational opportunities, economic development, and age of marriage amongst other factors. However, here begins a shift from internal factors within Western society to external threats. 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 Western society in the form of ‘baby jihad.’ As shown above, religious switching has little impact on demographic changes. Therefore, white nationalist fears of religious switching impacting demography indicate greater fears about national security and cultural values. However, there are data to support large demographic shifts due to differing fertility rates and age distributions. White nationalists view demography as a form of jihad, and thus fear these projected changes. (+6 more)
• SEED: An article tracing how ‘war of the wombs’ rhetoric migrated from 1970s Algerian geopolitics into contemporary white nationalist discourse.

Broader Connections

• White nationalists fuse fears of immigration with fears of fertility #expands (0.75) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 29