Nazism, Malaysian Style

(patches used by Malaysian neo-Nazis)

Hitler’s belief in a dominant race can be transformed to fit any number of neo-fascist hate groups around the world today. You see it in how Modi twists the Nazi flare to turn the focus from race to religion while still maintaining nationality as the core of his Hindu nationalist platform. India's take on a Nazi like state still needs the issue of nationality, often associating Islam with other ethnicities outside of India, to drive the fanaticism behind making a state based on radical Hinduism. But take a little trip over to Malaysia and you find Nazism alive and well in a nearly perfect transplant of the German version. That is because Malaysia’s nationalists have a very diehard focus on race that, like Germany, uses religion as a prop. When Malaysian Nazis speak about their brand of nationalism, they are solely speaking about the white supremacist style “blood and soil" brand of it.

Malaysia as we know it today was formed on the racist belief that the dominant Malay ethnicity had a right to all of Malaysia. This was in spite of the fact that Malays are not the Indigenous Peoples of Malaysia but rather, given a more accurate and much longer timeline, relatively new to the migration of peoples who have swept over the lands that currently comprise Malaysia and Indonesia. Yet with the focus of nationality being the present, and only on the states formed out of colonial maps, the justice for Indigenous Peoples who have been made second class citizens by Malaysia is not of concern for the nationalists of today. The Malaysia they know is one where the Malay is king and all others are either to be subjects or driven out. That not so pleasant aspect of post-colonial Malaysia, one intentionally overlooked by racists like Malaysia's PM Mahathir, gives the roots of radical nationalism like that seen among Malaysia’s neo-Nazis. It is the racist foundation of society that feeds the “fringe" by allowing them to tap into what the rest of society has conveniently ignored but so frequently benefited from.

Mahathir’s own written works could be dissected to show how political power in Malaysia has only ever been harnessed through the deliberate and skillful manipulation of Malay privilege as well as both overt and outright racism towards other ethnic groups. Mahathir gained much of his influence via grievance politics and promises of securing the privileged status of Malays while offering justification for the discrimination faced by minorities in Malaysia. While Malaysian politicians have often pretended to be working on behalf of all ethnic groups in Malaysia, they more often than not have served the interests of the dominant ethnic group at the detriment of minorities. This persistent pandering to the racist views of the majority has engendered a climate in which the most depraved of extremists can find fertile soil and feel comfortable growing without fear of being cut down. From jihadists to Nazis, Malaysia’s problem with radicals is one of its own making and a direct consequence of society’s willingness to look the other way.

Malay Power

(Hitler salutes at a Malaysian Nazi concert)

In the early 2010’s the political movement Perkasa was compared to the American Tea Party by Malaysian commentators as the Malaysians watched their own far-right take to the streets. One striking indication of how little Malaysians wanted to deal with their own racism was in how commenters repeatedly whitewashed the blatant racism of America’s Tea Party movement in hopes of diminishing the equally Nazi-like racism of Perkasa. While political commentary did often admit that Perkasa had racist motivations behind its fascist politics, the comments were always immediately followed up with explanations for why Malays could magically not be racists. Around the same time the Nazi music scene in Malaysia was kicking off as far-right groups found a soundtrack for their Nazi inspired movements. The band Boot Axe, taking direct inspiration in its name from white supremacist terminology and references to Nazi “jackboots", rose to the forefront of the skinhead style scene. Swastikas, deaths head emblems and the Nazi SS were all on clear display as the skinheads ignored the fact that they were all far too brown to have ever been accepted as Nazis by the originals. Hate filled lyrics showed that they irony of their Nazi fetish didn’t matter much to the Malay supremacists. Hate was all they had and all they needed.

A hatred of minorities among the Nazi scene in Malaysia uses events like the pogroms of Chinese communities in Malaysia during the 13th of May, 1969 ethnic violence. The racism of Malaysian society as a whole was on full display on that day in 1969. The Malaysian majority used ethnic Chinese communities as scapegoats for a political loss suffered by the politicians who had spent their time race baiting the ethnic majority. Nazis in Malaysia today view themselves as the next batch of storm troopers prepared to dish out the same violence upon any and all minorities in Malaysia, regardless of the fact many ethnic minorities they hate are the actual Indigenous Peoples of Malaysia. Their belief that they are defending the socioeconomic interests of their race (which technically is a hodgepodge of ethnic groups that passed through the region over time) shows the racially inspired hatred of the movement. But there is another aspect to Malaysian Nazism… religion.

(Malaysian Nazis, note the SS death's head shirt)

When Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir calls Jews “hook-nosed” and “the source of all the world’s problems" he is not just appealing to the anti-semitism that is so prevalent in Malaysia but is directly appealing to Malaysia’s neo-Nazi movement. His hate filled literature and speeches are lapped up by Malaysia’s Nazis because their brand of Nazism uses a view of Jewish people that is filtered through German Nazism as well as less than moderate interpretations of Islam. Just as how Mahathir views Malay identity as being intertwined with Islamic identity in the Middle East, Malaysia’s Nazi movement views Hitler’s Final Solution as a key part in dealing with the people Mahathir claims are “the source of all the world’s problems.” Largely due to the fact that this view of Malay identity does not limit Malaysia to its borders but extends it to Jerusalem and all of the Islamic world. The irony of including Muslims on the basis of their faith, ignoring their racial diversity, as allies while excluding minorities in Malaysia solely on the basis of ethnicity is not lost on the Nazis though. Many of Malaysia’s neo-Nazis bridge the gap here by tweaking Malay identity to include the jihadist mantra of defending the ummah as something of their sacred duty. 

Religion is frequently used as a intoxicant among extremists regardless of political leanings, ethnocentric views or outright hatred of their targeted victims. The love and peace of the faith itself is discarded in favor of cherry picked verses that would otherwise justify the violent ends of the radicals when interpreted as they wish. Malay Nazism is no exception. By relying on Islamic verses that profess less than tolerant views of homosexuality and non-Abrahamic faiths, Malay Nazism draws a hard line that mirrors that of Islamic extremists of any other background. Taking a page from their Christian Nazi comrades, the Malay Nazis use scripture to justify their hatred of LGBT communities by claiming homosexuality threatens their view of a “pure Malay race". Many of these deviate along the same lines that white supremacists do by once again circling their hate for LGBT people back to their hatred of Jewish people by claiming Judaism is the root of homosexuality (yet Judaism is equally intolerant of LGBT people). This illustrates rather well the method in which religion, all religion, is frequently used to insulate the group and encourage the otherizing of groups deemed unworthy or outcasts. Which is why Nazism, everywhere, so often relies on religion as a method of securing its prospective followers and hardening its existing extremists.

How Can Asian Nazis Even Exist?

(Nazi tattoos in Malaysia)

This question has been asked by many articles written by Malaysian authors wishing to push the notion that Nazism is a whites only problem. That somehow Malaysians are incapable of being rabidly racist to the point of adopting one of Europe’s worst sins as their own. Yet Nazism does not grow out of nowhere. This brand of extremism needs specific conditions to be met before it can spring up like a weed that can never fully be exterminated. Neo-Nazism thrives when society’s majority decides to secure their own interests at the expense of all others. It takes root in a climate of hostility towards those perceived to be outsiders, when nationalism dictates who is a member of the group and who must go away. Nazism is a byproduct of the indifference society shows towards the most vulnerable and the most easily scapegoated. When Malaysia permits the ethnic majority to dictate who is and is not Malaysian, it feeds the growth of extremists like the Malaysian Nazis. When Malaysia goes looking for minorities to blame for the ineptitude of its government, it raises a generation of potential skinheads. Mahathir’s time as Prime Minister has been a godsend to the growing Nazi movement in Malaysia. But no one politician is to blame. Instead it is Malaysian society as a whole, the same as American society shares collective blame for Nazis on its streets, for the rise of Nazism in Malaysia. Malaysians have tolerated and frequently coddled its extremists because these skinheads are no threat to the Malay majority. And yet Nazism in Malaysia is no less a threat to the global community than White Supremacy is. When Americans ignored neo-Nazis during the 1980s and 1990s the consequences were felt in Oklahoma City and later around the world. Malaysia’s neo-Nazis are not isolated. Their music, their symbols and their chants are shared with their white counterparts. The internet has made the world smaller in a million ways and one of those has been that hate can spread from fingertips on iphones and be around the world in a blink of an eye.

From Cultural Appropriation To Using Us As Props

Jewish people of African descent have been in the United States just as long as Jewish people of European descent. Both communities have deep roots with cultural practices and beliefs shared across racial distinctions between them. However both have different experiences when talking about antisemitism and the appropriation of their culture and identity by racial extremists and Christians masquerading as Jews. We also have different ways of identifying and different words used for doing so. This last point is where the rise of black nationalists coopting the identity of Jews of color comes in.

“Hebrew Israelites”

Cultural Appropriation To Get Closer To God

There are authentically Jewish communities across the United States which happen to be Jews of color which identify as Hebrews and/or Israelites. These communities are Jewish in the same way non-Jews view European Jews as being Jewish. Their connection to our shared heritage, ancestry and religion should never be diminished nor should they face discrimination on the basis of their skin color. When others claim to support Jews and fight antisemitism, these communities must also be included in the discussion and the challenges and oppression they face must be addressed – regardless of how uncomfortable that might be for anyone else.

Then there are the racists who have continued to appropriate the identity of African-American Jews by attempting to redefine what being Jewish means so that it includes them and excludes all the diverse communities of Jews around the world who don’t fit their prejudiced views. These imposters take portions of Judaism and Jewish culture and blend it with cultures completely alien to Jewish tradition (of any background). The other cultures they exploit range from indigenous and tribal cultures across the globe which happen to be people of color and a skin tone they approve of. Some take the identity of Aetas in the Philippines and mischaracterize the indigenous group as a fabled “lost tribe" so that they can claim ancient origins while ignoring the entirety of Aeta culture and history. Others point to random black communities in China to once again exploit and mischaracterize the histories of these peoples to the benefit of the exploiters. This behavior is seen in regards to Judaism by how these groups also fail to even learn Hebrew before calling themselves “Hebrews", instead mixing languages to come up with gibberish sounding like “ancient Hebrew" they claim to have rediscovered. The complete disregard for the cultures they are appropriating comes from the fact that the intent behind this behavior is that of seeking a sense of superiority to others. There is no need to study the people you are attempting to dispossess of their identity when you already view them as subhuman. A view clearly seen in their frequently violent street preaching attacks.

Jewish identity among Christian extremists is viewed as a way to get higher up the ladder and closer to an imagined god. It elevates the extremists, if only in their own eyes, above others by claiming to be “God’s Chosen  People” (a phrase that is often the source of debates among actual Jews anyway). For black nationalists like the Black Hebrew Israelites groups this also helps elevate their cult above others on the basis of race in addition to religion. By appropriating Jewish identity they view themselves as superior to whites, all Christians and Muslims, and Jewish people not of their select skin color. It is an attempt to assign power to themselves and enhance their self worth. The racism within it is fed by the belief that this one act of cultural theft will give them power over others either in this life or the one they imagine comes next. 

Violence within the movement is a natural outcome of the movement’s own preaching. Adherents can no more be expected to remain peaceful indefinitely in the Black Hebrew Israelites movement than can be expected from the Atomwaffen Division members. When the underlying message of the movement carries the belief that other human beings are evil incarnate and that evil must be fought against, at some point blood will be spilled. And even if the violence does not materialize in physical aggression from every member, passive aggression and tacit support of all active members enables it. Members of hate groups are never innocent of the crimes they helped create. Simply belonging to the group is an act of enabling it and does carry some guilt with it. When a member or an attacker inspired by the group carries out an attack like that in Jersey, the entire group deserves no protection from condemnation and its leaders must face accountability for the crimes they have encouraged. However doing this means once again segregating the hate groups, the imposters who appropriate Jewish identity and culture for their own gain, from the actual Jewish communities of color. Something some white Jews are having a hard time doing.

Hate Preachers 

Farrakhan Spent 2019 Spreading Hate Speech

Islam, like Christianity, has a less than peaceful history with Judaism. The fact that it claims to have branched off, and this is the nicest way it can be worded, from Judaism so as to use the connection to extend its existence beyond its prophet has lent to much of that hostility, arising from both Jews and Muslims alike. Nobody ever likes being used as a prop in somebody else’s story. And at times there are those who grow tired of keeping the token around. These hate preachers decide that the prop has outlived its usefulness and instead need replaced by the faithful of their own religion. While the Islamic prophet frequently preached of tolerance towards “the people of the book", men like Louis Farrakhan preach that “the Synagogue of Satan" (borrowed from Christian antisemites) need destroyed. 

Farrakhan has often been shielded by liberals because the man has worked his way into the establishment. His ability to use incredibly violent hate speech towards Jewish communities while being protected by liberal celebrities and politicians (such as when he called Jews “cockroaches" only to be protected by members of The Women’s March in 2019) has shown followers that hatred of American Jews has a certain threshold of acceptability among leftists. As long as the group is willing to be used by leftists, there is no limit to the amount of abuse they can heap upon minorities not willing to be used as props. This is the same behavior you see among minorities who seek out rightwing fame knowing full well that doing so could encourage violence against members of their own community. Tokenism has its perks for those willing to play the role for either side. Farrakhan knew this all along and has exploited it for his own gain. Now he operates with impunity as the establishment seems willing to take whatever pushback comes with his constant incitement of violence against American Jews. 

The consequences of allowing men like Farrakhan to obtain and exploit the platforms they have is the generational divides between communities that they create. When Farrakhan and his followers push conspiracy theories and hate speech towards Jewish communities they make it increasingly hard for communities to come together and work towards common goals. This divide has been exploited by Trump’s regime as the rightwing portion of American Jews use it to exploit tensions and pull moderates to their side. Christian extremists use it as justification to play the saviors they see themselves as while pushing policies that harm both people of color and Jewish communities as well. Yet there has been no significant call to ostracize Farrakhan and his cult. Instead his protectors have spent all of last year circling the wagons and pretending that Farrakhan is being used as a scapegoat. Without holding hate preachers, regardless of color or religion, accountable the left shows that they are just as willing to exploit minorities as the Republicans are.

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The recent attacks and street preaching incidents raise the stakes in deciding how to isolate the extremists and unify Jewish communities in the face of such parasitic hate groups. It also brings up the issue of racism and how Jewish communities should react. Yet for all these questions there is one clear statement to be made: it is not the place of non-Jewish communities to dictate to us how we should answer any of these. It will also mean that white Jewish communities need sit down and allow Jewish communities of color to speak out about how these attacks affect them, as they experience this in ways we do not. This is a subject in which many of us who are used to speaking will have to shut up and listen instead. Any account of how these issues are faced by Jewish people of color will require anyone reading this to find and listen to somebody from the community as this blog does not and cannot speak for them.

Antisemitism and Our Fake Friends

Thoughts...

What is antisemitism? Any post about this topic seems to need that defined since so many people seem unaware of what actually is antisemitic and how often they tolerate, even condone, antisemitism in daily discourse and their daily lives.

Antisemitism for the sake of this post is defined by the prejudiced views of Jewish identity, Judaism as a faith and cultural aspects of Jewish communities around the world. This includes, but is not limited to, the clear hatred of any and all three aspects listed above and expressions of that hatred both verbally and physically. It entails the applied prejudices of what you expect a Jewish person to be when that view is applied to the detriment of Jewish people. This includes what could be perceived as positive views that, when applied, strip Jewish people of their agency and right to self-determination and the ability to define for ourselves what our identity means. It also includes the appropriation of Jewish identity by people who are not Jewish, regardless of the reasons given. Though all these listed, and those touched on below, are not rigid in definition since intent and context always must be applied to show the harm of the actions/words deemed to be antisemitic.

Now to illustrate some forms of antisemitism…

The Fetishized Jew

A fetish is an inanimate object to which the observer attaches meaning, attributes and meaning which otherwise do not exist without the application of the observer's views. When an entire people are turned into a fetishized object for the sake of another group it should be clear how this is detrimental to the targeted community. It can be argued that Islam and Christianity do this to Jews in the many interpretations of the two religions. The need to “branch out" from Judaism to add credibility and a sense of antiquity to the newer Abrahamic faiths has meant pigeonholing Jews into characters meant to play a secondary role to their prophets/messiahs and the adherents of the newer faiths. Jewish resentment for this behavior is then ignored or, historically speaking, punished. The roles cast for Jews in the two faiths also are less than favorable and, from the view of the fetish, insulting and dehumanizing. It should be clear to anyone that this behavior creates divisions that cannot be ignored indefinitely. Especially when those perpetrating this behavior have so often found themselves in the majority and therefore without any compulsion to stop it, let alone apologize for it.

Fetishized views of Jewish people also appear in secular culture when the “good Jew" image is applied in how society dictates what Jewish people should say, think, look like and what views we should support or oppose. The fetish is not permitted to actually live as an individual but rather expected to conform to the prejudices of the observer. Individuality is prohibited through the constant application of negative responses to it and latter enforced by outright abuse. The latest example of this is the politicized charges of antisemitism against Bernie Sanders simply because he does not fit the “good Jew" image a sizable portion of society holds.

When applied to the Orthodox Jewish community the fetishized view of them becomes even more abusive in that this time the fetish exist only as an outlet for the aggression of the observer. They can neither achieve the status of a “good Jew" or strive for acceptability once fetishized in America since the prejudices against them have no favorable application. So once applied these prejudices serve to isolate the community and enforce their segregation via the application of the observer’s prejudices and thus abuse follows. Then when the targeted community complies, the prejudices become more hostile and abuse becomes even more aggressive. This is an example of how the stripping of our humanity and replacing it with prejudiced views of what we should be often manifests and is experienced differently given other aspects of our identity. Orthodox Jews experience antisemitism differently than reform Jewish communities in the same way Jewish people of color experience antisemitism differently. Each of our diverse communities therefore experience this form of antisemitism differently.

The Evangelicals and Their Savior Complex

The image of solidarity in America is frequently portrayed far differently than it is applied in real action. After every antisemitic attack there are always Christian leaders who rush to express their undying support for us poor downtrodden Jews. It is a mad rush to speak over Jewish anger so that the images of Orthodox Jews praying can be seen in new articles and TV broadcasts as Christians talk for us. Instead of lifting up Jewish views of what drove the latest attacks on us, people like Donald Trump decide to shed some crocodile tears before thumping their chests and talking about how much they love Israel. Our blood is cheap in the eyes of those who spend their time chasing ambulances to the next synagogue massacre. 

We are not lambs to be sacrificed for the gains of Christian leaders or politicians of any party. Your support of Israel means nothing when you stand atop the graves of Jewish Americans just to shout out praise for Tel Aviv. This form of antisemitism not only cheapens the value of our lives but also places a bulls eye on our backs as you pretend to grieve. We are Americans and yet the fetish mentioned above is one that assigns us loyalty to a country to which we do not belong. It excludes us from American society while pretending to protect us. 

Solidarity is only ever achievable if both parties can shoulder the burden equally. This is impossible when the burden is applied by the Evangelical leadership in America. When your view of us hinges on stories in which we are vilified in one verse than turned to saints the next only to end with our ultimate destruction by fire, chances are you can never shoulder the burden of antisemitism but rather are a source of it. But the failure to address antisemitic passages in the Christian bible isn’t the only problem here. The overwhelming sense of needing to rush in and save us is just as damaging. 

It is impossible to pick apart the depths of antisemitic views held by large portions of Evangelicals in America. That alone could be saved for another post. But I will say this: the belief that “standing with Israel" after each attack on Jews in America is antisemitic. American Jews are not represented by some foreign government. Playing savior to us will not bring you closer to any god. When this is the motive for denouncing attacks, you can skip it. It is obvious that there is no sincerity in it. And the motive behind it is insulting, not loving.

The “Hebrew Israelites" and Other Fakes

I will address the appropriation of Jewish identity by non-Jews in the same way one would when talking about white people appropriating cultures they have historically colonized: Do not do it. It is really that simple. You can enjoy bagels, attend a Hanukkah celebration and not try to pretend to be Jewish. But really if those are the ways you are doing it then you are still not as monstrous as the next lot…

Black Hebrew Israelites and other versions of this cultish crowd are all antisemitic. All forms are potentially violent as well, regardless of what their apologists claim. There is no expression of their beliefs in which the adherent is not guided towards violent dispossession of Jewish identity from actual Jewish peoples. Their beliefs also rob actual Jewish people of color of their heritage, culture and identities by stripping them of their identity and applying it to Christians of color who fetishize Judaism. Not only do these groups not understand Hebrew or Jewish customs and culture, they refuse to admit the extent of Jewish diversity. Diversity that includes Jewish communities of Asian, Hispanic, European, African and Middle Eastern ancestry. With that in mind it is impossible to not label these groups as equally antisemitic as white nationalists movements that also target Jewish peoples with violent hate speech and dehumanizing characterizations. 

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These posts will continue as I have time to put them together. Like I have said above, antisemitism is difficult to define and there will be plenty of people who don’t like or agree with how I have used it. But it is important that society takes a long hard look at what forms of antisemitism exists and are expressed in both the mainstream and in the shadows alike.