Daily Times

In recent times, the complexity of global security has led to the rise of an extreme form of nationalism in the Free World that has engulfed the political corridors of certain states in Europe and North America. In the post-9/11 world, the negative perception created by certain sections of the Western media regarding immigrant groups, especially Muslims, has not only led to paranoia but also intense hatred amongst some members of both white and immigrant communities against each other.

Whether it’s people such as Anjem Choudhry or Anders Breivik, extremism has certainly taken its toll in the last few years. White-Supremacist and anti-immigrant groups in the West are gradually entering mainstream politics and even clinching powerto further advance their horrific agendas. Brexit has shown that the labour class population in the United Kingdom can certainly be manipulated by far-right parties and groups such as the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and the English Defence League (EDL).

Similarly, the way things are turning out in the United States clearly show that dark times may be ahead for minority groups. African-American population has already witnessed persecution and discriminatory measuresfor over two centuries. In the modern era, their plights still remain more or less the same. Moreover, 9/11 has led to racial profiling of Muslims and on frequent occasions they are forced to face extra checks or additional questionings on flights originating from or arriving in the US. Detaining international celebrities such as Shahrukh Khan at US airports on multiple occasions is an example of how paranoid certain sections of the western society have become.

George Orwell already predicted the prevalence of totalitarianism and mass surveillance through his critically acclaimed book ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’decades ago. Perhaps, the world needs to redefine the role of governmentsthat have failed to address the valid concerns of those who believed in liberal and tolerant values.

The recent attacks in Paris and Brussels created mass hysteria but who is to blame? The media, the governments or those terrorists who committed such dastardly attacks? More likely a combination of all three for everything is in fact inter-connected on such a large scale that we need to introspect the methods adopted to push one another.

There is no difference between White-Supremacist groups such as Klu Klux Klan or Al-Qaeda/Islamic State for they are the two sides of the same coin.

Collective efforts are necessary to contain their influence otherwise a dystopian era is not far ahead that may soon devour the current international political structure. World leaders need to keep aside their differences and find solution to prevent further expansion of not only religious fundamentalism but far-right nationalism too that stemmed from solely due to the inept role played by the media and political elite.

The writer is a geopolitical analyst at Business Plus. He can be reached at hassankhan440@gmail.com and tweets @mhassankhan06