VERBOTENE LIEBE - Von der Todesstrafe zur Ehe für alle

May 22, 2021 | 50 Jahre nach der Aufhebung des Totalverbots der Homosexualität blickt die neue ORF-III-Dokumentation „Verbotene Liebe“ zurück auf die Geschichte der gleich-geschlechtlichen Liebe in Österreich. Es ist eine Geschichte des Versteckens und Verbergens. Es ist die Geschichte von Menschen, die lange Zeit selbst gar keine Geschichte haben durften. Wie ist es gelungen, dass aus Unterdrückung Selbstbewusstsein wurde und aus Doppelleben Sichtbarkeit? Und ist es überhaupt möglich, dass aus einem Tabu Normalität wird?

In der Dokumentation von Peter Fässlacher kommen prominente Gesprächspartnerinnen und Gesprächspartner zu Wort, die den Weg zur Gleichstellung aus historischer, fachlicher wie persönlicher Sicht kommentieren: Schauspieler und Moderator Günter Tolar, Rechts-philosophin Elisabeth Holzleithner, Co-Leiter von „QWIEN“ (Zentrum für queere Geschichte) Hannes Sulzenbacher, Aktivistin und Autorin Marty Huber, Moderator und Schauspieler Alfons Haider, Film- und Kulturwissenschaftlerin Andrea Braidt sowie Rechtsanwalt und Präsident des „LAMBDA“-Rechtskomitees Helmut Graupner.

How Europe’s Far Right Is Marching Steadily into the Mainstream

THE GUARDIAN: Whether in Italy, Spain, France or Finland, parties that were once outcasts are fast gaining respectability – and power

Brothers of Italy, the party of Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, has neofascist roots. Photograph: Luca Zennaro/EPA
Almost 25 years ago, when Jörg Haider’s far-right populist Freedom party (FPÖ) won just under 27% of the vote and entered government in Austria, the shock waves reverberated around Europe. Diplomatic visits were cancelled and punitive measures imposed.

Not long after, when Jean-Marie Le Pen of France’s National Front (now National Rally or RN) reached the presidential runoff, the eventual winner, Jacques Chirac, refused even to debate with the far-right leader, so abhorrent – and abnormal – were his views.

But now across western Europe, far-right parties are advancing: climbing steadily up the polls, shaping the policies of the mainstream right to reflect nativist and populist platforms, and occupying select ministerial roles in coalition governments.

Giorgia Meloni, whose party has neofascist roots, is prime minister of Italy, and Spain’s far-right Vox, after recently doubling its regional and local vote, could soon be sharing power nationally.

The far right is part of the new coalition government in Finland and, in exchange for key policy concessions, is propping up another in Sweden. Back in Austria, the FPÖ is comfortably ahead in the polls, roughly a year from the next election. » | Jon Henley, Europe correspondent | Friday, June 30, 2023

Ex-Muslim: This Is a Difficult Conversation | Sarah Haider

May 28, 2023 | Sarah Haider is a Pakistani-American writer, public speaker, and political activist. She created the advocacy group Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA), which seeks to normalise religious dissent and to help former Muslims leave the religion by linking them to support networks.

EXMNA.

WIKIPEDIA: Sarah Haider.

Sarah Haider on Substack here.

Across Europe, the Far Right Is Rising. That It Seems Normal Is All the More Terrifying

THE GUARDIAN – OPINION: Austria, France, Germany, Sweden and now Spain – the firewall between the mainstream and the far right is crumbling

Normalisation is the process by which something unusual or extreme becomes part of the everyday. What once provoked horror and outrage soon barely registers. The way the presence of Donald Trump became a mere fact of political life is perhaps the most familiar example. But the normalisation of the far right is happening across the democratic world.

Once Trump became “normal”, events that seemed even more extreme did too. A 2022 survey found that two in five Americans thought civil war was “at least somewhat likely” in the next decade. One political scientist speaks of the possibility of rightwing dictatorship in the US by 2030.

The same creep of normalisation is happening in European politics. At the turn of the millennium, when Austria’s far-right Freedom party (FPÖ) – led by Jörg Haider, who had made comments suggesting he was sympathetic to the Nazi regime – entered a coalition with the conservative People’s party, mass protests not only erupted in Vienna but across Europe and in the US. The EU even imposed diplomatic sanctions on Austria. It was understood that an important red line had been crossed; that given Europe’s blood-soaked history, the far right had to be kept firmly outside the tent. » | Owen Jones | Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Sarah Haider: Ex-Muslim

Nov 16, 2015 | Sarah Haider is a former Shia Muslim. Today, she is an atheist, humanist and activist.

The Apostate Report: Leaving Islam in North America (with Sarah Haider)

Jul 6, 2021 • Sarah Haider, co-founder of www.exmuslims.org, joins us to talk about a just-released survey of North American ex-Muslims and its compelling findings.

Ex -Muslims dot org here.

Apostate Report here.

Ex-Muslim, LGBTQ, Defiant

Omar (not his real name) tells his story of growing up as a gay ex-Muslim in a country where both homosexuality and apostasy can be met by death. Directed by Sarah Haider, produced and edited by Aurora Creative Media.

Ex-Muslims of North America (EXMNA): If you wish to help them, you can donate here ».

Islam, Narratives, And Media Bias - Sarah Haider

Recorded as a part of Ex-Muslims of North America's 'Normalizing Dissent' tour at Virginia Tech Hosted by Campus FreeThinkers of Virginia Tech

The Listening Post - Charlottesville, Trump and the Media

When hundreds of far-right protesters gathered in Charlottesville, Virginia last week, it was ostensibly to protect the planned removal of a Confederate monument. They were also out to assert themselves on the public stage, in front of the news cameras.

Given that the Robert E. Lee monument in question harkens back to the era of slavery in the US, a potent message was being sent. They were met with force that didn't come from the police. And when a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-fascist protesters, killing one and injuring many more, the recriminations were swift.

One of the so-called news sites that has been incubating far-right culture - a favourite of white supremacists, The Daily Stormer, was dumped by its online hosts for its toxic take on what happened in Charlottesville.

But that will hardly shake the confidence of the movement, not with the mixed, coded messaging coming out of President Donald Trump's White House.

Some of the president's comments had voices in the white power movement rejoicing.

"The response of Trump to say that 'we're seeing hatred on many sides' is really conspicuous and I think that people on the right are saying 'We got away with it,' says Shuja Haider, editor of Viewpoint Magazine.

Trump waited another 48 hours to condemn racism.

"Everyone heard that silence as an unwillingness to call out white supremacy and Nazism by name," explains Andrew Marantz, contributing editor for The New Yorker. "I think that the neo-Nazis heard it that way. I think that the far left heard it that way. I think Republican senators heard it that way."

Like many politicians, Donald Trump leaves much open to interpretation.

And for all his bluntness, all the hectic, late-night tweeting, Trump is more skilled at using coded messaging - what's known as dog whistling. It all started with his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again", which is seen by some as a rallying cry for a return to a different America, a whiter one.

"Dog whistle politics is just that. An attempt to convey racialised sentiments without using actual racialised language," says Osamudia James, a law professor at the University of Miami.

"One of the reasons these coded dog whistles are so effective is because while they reach the extremists that they're targeted towards, they kind of escape detection by most people," adds Haidar.

The showdown in Charlottesville took many Americans by surprise. But should it have?

Sarah Haider: Ex-Muslim

Sarah Haider is a former Shia Muslim. Today, she is an atheist, humanist and activist. In this short interview, Sarah speaks about Islam, her apostasy, and her work with the Ex-Muslims of North America.

Inside Story: Can Shia Militias Be Integrated into the Iraqi Army?

Though they've been accused of widespread human rights abuses, the Popular Mobilisation Units or Shia militias, have become a crucial part of the Iraqi government's anti-ISIL staratgey. Now Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi wants to integrate them into the national armed forces. But can the state control them? And where do their loyalties lie?

The Rise Of Austria's Jörg Haider

WIKI: Jörg Haider died in 2008

Sarah Haider: Ex-Muslim

Sarah Haider is a former Shia Muslim. Today, she is an atheist, humanist and activist. In this short interview, Sarah speaks about Islam, her apostasy, and her work with the Ex-Muslims of North America.

Record Result for Austrian Far-right in 'Red Vienna'

YAHOO! NEWS: Vienna (AFP) - Europe's migrant crisis helped Austria's far-right on Sunday post its best-ever election result in Vienna, although its score was weaker than predicted and the centre-left retained power in its traditional fiefdom.

Fifteen years after the Freedom Party (FPOe) under the late Joerg Haider stunned Europe by entering the federal government, the populist party won 32.3 percent of the vote in the city state, preliminary results showed.

The result for the party now led by Heinz-Christian Strache represented a rise of 6.5 percentage points compared to the last election in Vienna in 2010, when their score soared 11 percentage points.

The Social Democrats (SPOe), which have ruled 1.8-million strong "Red Vienna" uninterrupted since 1945, scored 39.4 percent, down 4.9 points, adding to a similar drop in support in 2010. » | Simon Sturdee | Sunday, October 11, 2015

Isa Haider Alaali Case: Bahraini Teen Fears Torture After Losing Asylum Claim

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: A Bahraini teenager fears he will be tortured when he is deported to the repressive Gulf state this week after his asylum application was rejected by the British Government.

Isa Haider Alaali’s deportation comes as the Royal Family have been playing host at the Royal Windsor Horse Show to the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and his son Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who faces a High Court judicial review over whether he has immunity from prosecution for alleged torture.

Activists staged protests over the weekend at an equestrian event as Prince Andrew – long criticised for his cozy relationship with the Gulf state – entertained Bahraini royals at Windsor on Friday.

Home Office documents obtained by The Independent show the 19-year-old is due to be flown back to Bahrain on Thursday morning. Mr Alaali, who was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia by a Bahraini court in March on charges of illegal gathering and rioting, is unable to appeal the decision. » | Alex Delmar-Morgan | Sunday, May 18, 2014

Die Erben von Jörg Haider gestürzt
TAGES ANZEIGER: Im österrreichischen Bundesland Kärnten hatte die FPK bis jetzt eine solide Mehrheit. Nun wurde die Partei des verstorbenen Rechtspopulisten Jörg Haider regelrecht abgestraft. Schuld soll die Korruption sein.

Überraschung im ehemaligen Jörg-Haider-Land Kärnten: Nach Korruptionsskandalen strafen die Wähler die regierende FPK auf bisher in Österreich beispiellose Weise ab.

Die Erben des Rechtspopulisten Jörg Haider stürzten bei den Landtagswahlen am Sonntag dem vorläufigen Endergebnis zufolge auf 17,1 Prozent ab. Bei den letzten Landtagswahlen 2009 hatten sie noch gut 45 Prozent erreicht.

Zahlreiche Korruptionsskandale aus der Ära des 2008 tödlich verunglückten Haider hatten in Kärnten die Koalition aus FPK und konservativer ÖVP brechen lassen. Klarer Wahlsieger ist die sozialdemokratische SPÖ. » | mrs/sda | Sonntag, 03. März 2013

The Forgotten Frontline in Libya's Civil War
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A town in western Libya is coming under almost as much fire as Misurata, writes Andrew Gilligan. But no one is paying much attention.

It is the unknown frontline in Libya's civil war, a rebel town besieged by Gaddafi's forces but almost ignored by the outside world.

Rockets and Scud missiles pour down. Water is running short. Tens of thousands are desperately trying to flee.

But transfixed by the horrors of Misurata, the international community - and the Nato military alliance - have all but overlooked the closely parallel drama in the mountain towns of Zintan and Yafran, little more than an hour's drive from the capital.

"We have been under fire for about an hour and a half now," said one Zintan resident, Mustafa Haider, by telephone from the town on Friday afternoon.

"From the south, from the north, from the east, from everywhere. They fire with Grad missiles, Scud missiles, anything. They have tried to enter Zintan many times but they couldn't." Homes, schools, and the town's main hospital had been hit, causing panic, he said.

A spokesman for Human Rights Watch, Fred Abrahams, accused the Libyan regime of committing "indiscriminate attacks" in the district. "They are firing into residential areas without targeting a military object," he said. "It is in essence the same tactic as in Misurata."

Zintan and Yafran are at the tip of the largest rebel-held pocket in western Libya - a crescent running along the Nafusa mountain range from the towns, south-west of Tripoli, to the Tunisian border. » | Andrew Gilligan, Ras al-Jedir, western Libya | Sunday, May 08, 2011

Sombre Mood in Islamabad after Minister's Murder
Mar 3 - Residents of Pakistan's capital Islamabad say they feel unsafe after the country's Minister for Minority Affairs was gunned down in broad daylight. Travis Brecher reports

REUTERS.COM: Pakistan vows to battle extremism after minister slain: Pakistan must not buckle to extremism, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Thursday, a day after Taliban militants killed his government's only Christian minister for challenging a law on blasphemy toward Islam. >>> Zeeshan Haider | Thursday, March 03, 2011

UNGARN: Schlimmer als Haider
ZEIT ONLINE: Ungarn ist auf dem Weg zu einer autoritären Herrschaft. Die EU muss das Land notfalls zum Austritt drängen.

EU-Ratspräsident van Rompuy (links) und Ungarns Ministerpräsident Orbán bei einer gemeinsamen Pressekonferenz. Bild: Zeit Online
Ein Nebeneffekt von Finanz- und Euro-Krise ist, dass sich die EU-Länder fast ausschließlich mit sich selbst beschäftigen – nur wenn einem Staat die Pleite droht, richten sich plötzlich alle Augen auf ihn.

Dabei sollten doch Wirtschaft und Geld nach dem Willen der europäischen Gründerväter nur Mittel zum Zweck sein: Die europäische Einigung ist seit je ein politisches Projekt, zunächst um Kriege zwischen den Mitgliedsstaaten unmöglich zu machen; seit den achtziger Jahren, als die jungen südeuropäischen Postdiktaturen aufgenommen wurden, fungiert die EU auch als eine Art supranationale Versicherungspolice, um Demokratie und Rechtsstaat zu schützen.

Nicht zuletzt mit dem Argument, dass Brüssel die europäischen Verfassungsstandards garantiere, wurde die große Osterweiterung 2004 gerechtfertigt. Doch angesichts der »nationalen Revolution« in Ungarn, wo die Regierung gerade den Rechtsstaat demontiert und auf eine »gelenkte Demokratie« à la Putin zusteuert, schweigt Europa, jedenfalls das offizielle Europa – und dies ausgerechnet in einem Moment, in dem Ungarn am 1. Januar den EU-Ratsvorsitz übernimmt.

Die Fakten sind inzwischen hinlänglich bekannt: Bei der Wahl im vergangenen April hat die nationalkonservative Fidesz-Partei zwei Drittel der Parlamentssitze errungen – genug, um die Verfassung jederzeit ohne Mitwirkung einer anderen Partei ändern zu können. Der überwältigende Sieg war zuallererst ein Votum gegen die seit acht Jahren regierenden Sozialisten, die das Land an den Rand des finanziellen Abgrunds geführt hatten.

Nichtsdestotrotz behauptete der charismatische Fidesz-Führer Viktor Orbán, seine Partei habe ein klares Mandat erhalten, eine neue Verfassung und ein »System der nationalen Zusammenarbeit« einzuführen. Bereits im Vorfeld der Wahl hatte er versprochen, nun werde endlich Schluss sein mit dem ewigen Parteienhader; eine einzige Partei solle langfristig stabil regieren und den authentischen Volkswillen zur Geltung bringen.

Orbán argumentiert klassisch populistisch: Das ganze komplizierte System von Gewaltenteilung und checks and balances ist angeblich nur ein Hindernis, um effektiv durchzuregieren; Eliten wie Verfassungsrichter und kritische Journalisten stehen einer wahren Demokratie im Wege. >>> Von Jan-Werner Müller | Freitag, 31. Dezember 2010

German Far Right Emerges from Shadows to Join Cologne Campaign Against Mosque
THE OBSERVER: A populist party fighting the building of a Turkish cultural centre has found willing allies among Austrian extremists

Members of the right-wing organisation Pro Cologne protest against plans to build a new mosque in the Cologne in 2007. Photograph: The Observer
The buzz of drills and whine of cranes fill the air as scores of workers in yellow hard hats scuttle around the concrete shell of a building which, even in its unfinished state, dominates the working-class Cologne district of Ehrenfeld. For the thriving local Turkish community, the sprawling complex represents the chance for an entire infrastructure under one roof – from a mosque to a hairdresser's to a travel agency.

But for others in the city the new mosque and cultural centre has provoked fears that the multimillion-euro project will do little to encourage integration and give the Turks free rein to live in their own autonomous world. The right-wing populist Pro Cologne movement has campaigned against the mosque and moved a step closer to its goal last week after joining forces with Austria's far-right Freedom party (FPO [sic]).

"Every new movement needs a unique selling point," said Bernd Schöppe, of Pro Cologne. "Ours is the mosque. If ever you needed a sign of the real threat of Islamisation in Germany, it's that mosque, with its huge dome and 55m-high minarets." Pro Cologne, a small but growing movement which recently won seats on the city council, hopes to boost its profile by associating itself with the FPO [sic], which made its name a decade ago after sweeping to power under the leadership of the late extreme-right firebrand Jörg Haider.

This month the FPO [sic] was celebrating another feat, after securing 26% of the vote in the Vienna elections. One of its slogans urged Muslims to "go home", and among the election paraphernalia it dished out was a computer game where players score points for shooting at mosques and minarets. >>> Kate Connolly in Cologne | Sunday, October 31, 2010