Hundreds of Muslim men dressed in black, many wearing hoods and masks, stream down East London’s Whitechapel High Street, many chanting Allahu Akhbar (God is Great). They pass by an anti-racist campaigner with a megaphone who can be heard saying: “There’s no need for that, we’re on the same side bro.” One of the Muslim protestors vehemently retorts, “No, we’re not.”
It was a brief exchange, but it spoke to one of the most uncomfortable questions of European politics: Are leftists and Muslims really on the same side? For some, the answer is obviously no. For others, they are natural allies against imperialism, racism, and the far right. The uncertainty over the relationship between Islam as a faith and Islamism as a political movement only compounds the confusion. Yet what ultimately unites Islamism and contemporary leftism is not hope but grievance: Both movements are hostile to the West and have found meaning in its repudiation.