Has Islamism Become Europe's Fascism of the 21st Century?

Current manifestations of Islamism in France and Germany eclipse the threat of fascism posed by nationalist movements and national security measures, according to a French political scientist.

Fears of the return of traditional fascism are a result of an obsession among pundits and academics with the idea that "the belly is still fertile from which the foul beast sprang", French political analyst Vincent Tournier told Atlantico.

As a result, Tournier says, the analysts misinterpret key events, such as the revocation of citizenship for terror convicts, as a return of fascism, because of two mistakes.

"The first [mistake] is to believe that history repeats itself, when the current extreme right has nothing to do with the old fascism. The second is to not take seriously the emergence of this new totalitarianism that is Islamism," Tournier said.

Tournier also noted that the attitudes among adherents of Islamism are troubling, which to him is part of the ideology's totalitarian appeal.

"It is also troubling that Islamism arouses complacency, sometimes a fascination (in the case of converts), which is reminiscent of the enthusiasm felt by many people, including intellectuals, toward extremist movements of the interwar period, including the violence."

Old Europe itself, then, is not faced with the threat of fascism, as much as is threatened by Islamism as a totalitarian rather than a religious ideology, according to Tournier.

"We are witnessing in France the emergence of a new type of fascism for which we do not have a good frame of reference. It is a fascism less political, less structured, which manifests itself mainly through individual acts, often intimidation, more or less serious microaggression, crooked looks, things which everyone knows well  can escalate into hyper-violence," Tournier said.

"Cologne's events are an example, but similar phenomena occur elsewhere in Europe and do not concern women alone," he added.

The idea is somewhat of a departure from previous popular interpretations in French political circles. Whereas previously, nationalist, leftist and Islamist anti-American and anti-Israel attitudes were lumped into the "red-green-brown" alliance, the rising popularity of the Front National after attacks on Paris has led to new definitions.

"Strictly speaking, it is difficult to seriously think that we are witnessing the return of fascism, especially when we see that the Front National is now an advocate for women, Jews, homosexuals and even secularism," Tournier added, noting that the party's exclusion from parliament as a result of an agreement by the two main parties to not compete against each other in elections.