Whether or not any bomb or stabbing events in the States over the last few days were carried out by Islamic fundamentalists, the scenario is an easy one for the fundamentalists, with a bent for terrorism, to win. Creating chaos with bombs and killings stirs up a hornet’s nest of anti-immigrant, anti-Islamic fear and panic. This fear and panic play into the hands of Trump supporters and a widening support-base, whipping up their phobic behaviour. For those teetering on the edge, it will be enough to draw them in.
This is how it happens, this eventually self-perpetuating tragedy:
- People in society are afraid of terrorists and outsiders.
- Trump plays into this to create a solid niche support base.
- ISIS (and any other nefarious group or individual) recognise this. They realise that creating more havoc will get Trump more support. They want Trump elected because…
- they know that he will be Islamaphobic. Islamophobia plays into the ISIS (etc.) narrative. If people fear Muslims, it creates an “us” and “them” culture. This further alienates Muslims as moderates and liberals are prejudiced against and tarred with the same brush. This is a simplistic good guys/bad guys narrative.
- The victim narrative perpetuated by the more hardline Muslims, claiming oppression, will feed into the moderates’ fears that society really is against them, and in the case of a Trump administration, they really would be against them.
- This drives moderates into fundamentalism, and into the arms of ISIS, and drives liberals to be more moderate and sympathetic of the hardliners.
- Everyone loses.
Hardliners hate Trump by point of fact that he most hates them. But they can most effectively use him, by harnessing the hate he generates and fuels, in order to further their own agenda. Trump is actually the fundamentalists’ best friend. That most terrible of ironies.