The far-right anti-immigration populist party, the Perussuomalaiset, is leading the polls. What does the success of an Islamophobic party reveal about Finnish society and how can we contain it?
Tag: extremism
The sooner we admit that the Perussuomalaiset is a far-right extremist party the better for our democracy
Why is it so difficult for the national media in Finland to acknowledge that the Perussuomalaiset (PS)* party is a far-right political fringe group? This was further confirmed on Monday when Italy’s far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini announced a political alliance to challenge the EU.
Being responsible in debates about immigration and extremism
Extremism almost never sees itself as ‘extreme’ When I was young I studied ‘brainwashing’ as part of my studies in psychology. One feature that constantly emerged was how ‘extreme’ interpretations of events typically took a grain of truth and wrapped it up in a generalisation such that it would act as a shield to any…
High time for Western self-scrutiny about our Muslim community
I made in the late-1970s one of the most important decisions of my life. Back then Argentina was ruled by one of the region’s bloodiest dictatorships. Human rights violations, torture and state-sponsored terrorism were the rule. You had three choices: take up arms and join a guerrilla group, shut up or leave the country. Wali Hashi…