On May 4, anti-Muslim activist Lars Hedegaard capitalized on the anniversary of Denmark’s liberation from Nazi occupation to warn of the latest threat he believes is now facing the nation: the Islamic takeover of Denmark.
Hedegaard recently gave a speech at a monument honoring Danish resistance fighters who lost their lives fighting in the second World War. A transcript of the event appeared on his digital publication, Dispatch International. In the speech, Hedegaard compared himself with the modern resistance to an ideology he claims makes Nazism and Communism look like “ripples on history’s surface.” This ideology, of course, is Islam.
“A few decades ago this ideology – and the project of conquest for which it stands – gained a foothold in our country,” he stated. “And here it will have the same consequences as in any other place to which it has spread.”
More so, Hedegaard continued on to say there will be no monuments built in his honor, actually implying that he is on par with those who stood against Nazis. Instead, he says Danes “think they can save their skin by bowing their heads, singing the praise of multiculturalism, showing obeisance to barbarians – and delivering their countrymen to persecution.”
As previously documented, likening Muslims and Islam to Nazis and Nazism is an ongoing phenomenon among far-Right and anti-Muslim activists. Hedegaard’s counterparts in both Europe and the United States unapologetically continue to use such rhetoric:
- After Brandeis University rescinded an award to documented Islamophobe Ayaan Hirsi Ali, anti-Muslim blogger Robert Spencer equated the school’s decision to the tactics used by the “Nazi Brownshirts” who “used to go to college campuses and heckle and intimidate anti-Nazi professors.”
- During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, David Horowitz accused the Left and their “Islamic” allies of stoking anti-Semitism. “The alliance between the American Left and the Islamo — I don’t call them Islamo-Fascists anymore, they’re Nazis. They preach the same doctrine that the Nazis did, they were allied with the Nazis during the second World War.”
- While writing for FrontPage Magazine under the pseudonym Fjordman, anti-Muslim blogger Peder Jensen said Muslims are immigrating to Europe for more Lebensraum, which is the German translation of “living space” and is used to describe the Nazi tactic of gaining more land for the German people.
- Christian Broadcasting Network televangelist Pat Robertson once again compared Muslims and Nazis, saying Islam is “going down” and will collapse like Nazism.
- Marine Le Pen, France’s National Front leader and Geert Wilders ally, is facing charges for comparing Muslims worshipping in the street with being in “occupied territory” similar to that during World War II.
Hedegaard has close ties to those in the international Islamophobia movement. In 2012, he spoke at conference sponsored by Stop the Islamization of Nations (SION), an umbrella organization of anti-Muslim groups founded by bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer. In addition, Hedegaard founded the International Free Press Society, which is a network of anti-Muslim activists from “free speech societies” and includes members such as Frank Gaffney, Brigitee Gabriel and Daniel Pipes.
Comparing Islam to Nazism remains a talking point used internationally by individuals committed to marginalizing Muslims. Hedegaards recent use of this rhetoric to further his own agenda further demonstrates how callous these individuals are.