I have covered Christian fascism in great detail because it is my cultural heritage. And for other obvious reasons. But rest assured, if I was raised in a Muslim country, or in China, I would be talking about my lived experience. Fascism and authoritarianism are not restricted to a particular culture, it is a global phenomenon.
Let’s take Turkey as an example. The president, Recep Erdogan, has been in power for 22 years and just arrested his biggest political rival, Putin style. He has slowly but surely moved the country away from secularism and towards Islam. Turkey is unique amongst Muslim countries because they are secular, and have been for over a hundred years. Not anymore.
Every strongman leader eventually gains full control over society. Elections are no longer free or fair. The judiciary is non existent. The media parrots whatever the regime desires. Police and military personnel are used to control the unruly masses. No checks and balances, and ultimately capturing the state and committing fraud and corruption on a truly epic scale. Putin is the best example, but so is Orban in Hungary and Modi in India. In fact MAGA learned a great deal from Orban regarding the dismantling of a democratic nation.
It generally helps when there is some ideal to rally behind, religion being the easiest target. Exploit their fears, inflame their passions, and convince them of some massive conspiracy that only you and your party can successfully resist and defeat. Everyone loves a hero.
Only problem, 10 out of 10 times the hero is the villain in disguise.
Modi uses Hindu nationalism. Erdogan uses Islamic nationalism. Putin uses Orthodox nationalism. Netanyahu uses Jewish nationalism. Poland uses Catholic nationalism. America uses Christian nationalism.
Religious fascism coupled with nationalism/ethnicity. White Christian Nationalism.
It really becomes a huge problem when these different fascist regimes start fighting amongst themselves over which one of them is the most fascist of all. Unfortunately in this dynamic, the God they purport to worship is often portrayed as the Almighty Fascist.
The God of the Old Testament is pretty full on, one of the main issues Jesus set out to change. A Wrathful and Jealous Deity that thrives on fear, punishment and obedience, was transformed into a God of Love and Compassion.
MAGA loves Trump because he reminds them of the Old Testament God the Father figure. Omnipotent, absolute, the ultimate strongman authoritarian that will save them from the Devil. In times of manufactured crisis, who you gonna call, the baddest mthfckr you can find. That’s why they had to make it seem like it was going to literally be the end of the world if they didn’t elect him. The threat was so overblown that many fell for it, and still do.
They honestly believe Elon is rooting out fraud, dismantling the so called Deep State, and draining the Swamp. Police will attack innocent protesters because they have been convinced that what they are doing is right, not wrong. Instead of protecting freedom, they’ve been trained to fear it.
UPDATE: 23/3/2025 – Earlier today, supporters of Imamoglu gathered outside Istanbul’s Çağlayan courthouse. The opposition candidate appeared there yesterday before being moved to a prison outside the city.
“I am incredibly scared right now,” Mevlüde Karataş told the Reuters news agency. “We have already seen formal arrests have started. This is oppression.”
Another Imamoglu supporter, Cumali, who gave only his first name, said after recent events he felt too restless to stay at home.
“I think a lot of Turkey is this way,” he said. “We are maybe living the most important days of our democracy in the last 100 years.” – BBC
Iconic images of an unarmed women in a red dress being tear gassed by Turkish riot police.
Mar 19, 2025 7:38:55 pm