I make no apologies for mimicking the title of Arun Kundnani’s excellent book[1], in which he investigates an uninformed ‘war on terror’ which disproportionately targeted our Muslim communities rather than Jihadi Extremists, and only served to further alienate and polarise a faith community already cautious of the government’s CONTEST strategy.
Yet we see the same mistakes being made by the government and the many agencies involved in countering domestic terrorism and violent extremism when it comes to Paganism[2] and its increasingly prevalent relevance to radical ideology and right wing extremism in the UK.
The lack of knowledge about Paganism has already led to mistakes being made which, if not addressed, could lead to law-abiding Pagans being disproportionately affected by the well-intentioned but misdirected efforts of counter-terrorism (CT) agencies and result in the alienation of a minority faith community with which they need to build and maintain bridges if they are to effectively target the right wing extremists who appropriate and misrepresent Pagan iconography as a recruitment platform.
This, along with a number of other societal challenges facing CT agencies when working with Pagan communities need to be addressed if they are to effectively tackle the rising threat of right wing extremism.
The Norse branch of Paganism, known as Heathenry or Asatru, and right-wing extremism in the UK have unfortunately been inexorably linked since Arnold Leese’s Imperial Fascist League (IFL) of the 1920s, influenced by Völkisch ideologies and the concept of ‘Nordicism’.[3]
Whilst examples of extreme right-wing Heathenry can be found in many parts of the world, the fact that Heathenry was the UK’s indigenous faith prior to its Christianisation plays into the racial, ethno-nationalist narrative of the UK’s extreme right, albeit in a traditionally biased format, interpreted to suit the racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and misogynistic values of their ideology.
However, contemporary Paganism is largely ignored as a minority faith adopted only by fringe factions, and its increasing relevance to right wing extremism is often overlooked. The 2011 Census recorded 76,459 Pagans in England and Wales, accounting for 0.14% of the population, so it is easy to see why, in comparison to larger religions such as Christianity (which accounted for 59.3% of the population at 33,243,000), it is not often considered a threat.
However, the increasing popularity of Paganism and its persistent links to the extreme right cannot be ignored. Whilst it is unlikely that Paganism will ever compete with the Abrahamic faiths, it is experiencing a contemporary renaissance; more people – especially younger generations – are seeking out non-hierarchical faiths in which they can express themselves and their interpretation of the divine as individuals; a faith which expresses the ever relevant concern for our environment and our place within it. This, along with the recent popularity in Norse culture in TV series such as Vikings and computer games such as Assassins Creed: Valhalla have all contributed to a growing number of people exploring or seeking out Heathenry.
And, as more people explore Nordic Paganism, more opportunities present themselves to extremist groups to promote their racialised tenets as those of contemporary Heathenry and lure individuals into an increasingly radicalised ideology. Additionally, some organised right-wing Heathen groups boast a variety of outreach projects, including a chaplaincy and prison ministry with which they seek to radicalise or convert a growing number of already radicalised individuals in the prison or probation systems to their extremist interpretation of Heathenry – accounting for the increasing number of referrals relating to subjects who, during their internment or probation claim to have found solace as a Heathen Pagan, or more commonly for those of an extreme right wing mindset, as an ‘Odinist’.
Additionally, groups such as the Asatru Folk Assembly[4] have a programme in which they train ‘folk builders’ to join the armed forces[5] and recruit soldiers with combat and survivalist training to their cause; and extremist neo-Pagan ‘thinktanks’ such as Thule-Seminar and Grece are led by self-styled academics who use their educational credentials to access universities and online learning spaces as guest lecturers, allowing them to introduce a predominantly younger educated audience to their often nuanced ‘soft entry’ theories that inevitably lead into their more radicalised and extreme agendas.
With the addition to a significant online presence with the likes of Folkbook[6] and the more traditional applications, extremist Paganism has access to our younger generations, our prison communities, our educational establishments, and our armed forces, as well as wider society through popular culture and faith communities.
Whilst Paganism as a religion may be small in comparison to others, it cannot be denied that it is disproportionately represented in the ideology of the extreme right in the UK and beyond, and CT agencies need to start taking the threat posed by radicalised Heathenry more seriously.
There are, however, significant challenges that cannot be ignored. Whilst the many CT agencies and departments with whom I have spoken seem eager to learn, it is apparent that there is a distinct lack of knowledge about Paganism – radicalised or otherwise – within our government and CT agencies at a national and local level, and certainly no evidence of joined-up working practice in which such knowledge can be effectively shared between agencies.
The current independent commission[7] on UK Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy, and Practice states:
“The Commission brings together 15 Commissioners who between them have expertise and experience of counter-terrorism law, policy and practice, as well as knowledge and understanding of the groups and communities most directly affected by terrorism and by counter-terrorism measures.”
I opine that none of the commissioners have a knowledge or understanding of our Pagan communities, their complicated historical relationship with policing, nor how they have been affected by the CONTEST strategy;[8] when the Pagan perspective is not represented at national or legislative level it is no surprise that there is no recognition of the value of working more closely with our Pagan communities to better direct and focus intelligence led CT efforts to the threat of domestic right wing extremism and terrorism, whilst minimising the potential impact of proactivity on an already cautious but predominantly law-abiding minority faith community.
This lack of knowledge was exemplified upon the release of a revised PREVENT strategy in June 2011, following which CT agencies started releasing intelligence documents such as ‘right wing signs & symbols’ advising readers that such iconography was indicative of right-wing or extremist ideologies, initially providing no context nor differentiation between Pagan symbols such as Mjolnir, the Valknut, the Othala rune, and solely extremist right wing symbols.
Whilst it is recognised that right-wing extremist groups like Scottish Dawn[9], do utilise Pagan iconography such as the Algiz rune[10], and that the aforementioned Pagan symbols are misappropriated and misrepresented by right-wing extremist groups, acting upon them without context would have resulted in members of the Pagan community being disproportionately targeted simply for wearing symbols of their faith, making an already cautious community harder to work with at a time when their insight and cooperation is invaluable to tackling the rise of domestic right-wing extremism.
Indeed, it was only after the intervention of the Police Pagan Association that future versions of this and other related intelligence documents featured a caveat[11] stating that these symbols were primarily worn by law-abiding Pagans and should be considered in context with other indicators by operatives. However, had the Police Pagan Association not been a government endorsed agency, I fear that no such change would have been forthcoming.
This relates to the second challenge; Paganism is traditionally decentralised, non-hierarchical, and generally unstructured. With the exceptions of established groups such as the Pagan Federation, Asatru UK, and the Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids (OBoD), Paganism is self-deterministic and eclectic, largely a conglomeration of the worship of nature, a recognition of our place within it, and the individuals experience and interpretation of the divine; as a result organising Pagans is likened to ‘herding cats’ and if you ask 10 Pagans to define Paganism you would likely get 10 very different answers, but all would proudly identify as a Pagan, or a branch thereof.
Whilst there are certainly recognised representatives, academics, and faith leaders within the Pagan community, often local groups (Moots) are led by the most engaged or motivated individual, attendance at Moots will wax and wane and individuals may not align to any one group, instead preferring to experience a variety of interpretations provided by the inexorable individuality inherent within Pagan practice.
And like all other faiths Paganism attracts its fair share of self-appointed experts, egos and those who shout louder than others. For this reason, I recognise the challenge for CT agencies when looking to engage with Pagan communities, whether they be looking for a specialist consultant or a representative on an interfaith working group. I will concede here that the caution of the Home Office and our CT agencies is undoubtedly influenced by past mistakes, in which individuals and agencies with their own agendas retarded efforts to engage with faith communities, espousing opinions not necessarily indicative of the wants, needs or expectations of those they purportedly represented.
However, the government needs to pay attention and take the influence of Paganism on contemporary right wing extremism seriously. There are agencies and representatives out there who can provide balanced and invaluable insight into our Pagan communities, who can help build bridges between the police, our CT agencies, and a minority faith community at a time when their intelligence and knowledge is very much needed. No one wants to see those to have misappropriated our sacred iconography prosecuted more so than the UKs Pagan population, now is the time to work together towards the shared goal of targeting and persecuting those who threaten our security with their right-wing extremist ideologies that have no place in our increasingly diverse and inclusive society.
Bibliography
Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, “Independent Commission on Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice” binghamcentre.biicl.org Accessed November 9, 2022. https://binghamcentre.biicl.org/independent-commission-on-counter-terrorism-law-policy–and-practice-?cookiesset=1&ts=1668010990
Extinction Rebellion “Right Wing Signs & Symbols Aid June 2019” extinctionrebellion.uk Accessed November 9, 2022. https://extinctionrebellion.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Counter-terrorism-poster.pdf
Harding, Thomas, “Downing Street confirms ban on Muslim Council of Britain contacts” thenationalnews.com July 18, 2022. https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2022/07/18/downing-street-confirms-ban-on-muslim-council-of-britain-contacts/
HM Government, “CONTEST: The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism” Gov.uk Accessed November 9, 2022. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97994/contest-summary.pdf
HM Government, “Prevent Strategy” Gov.uk Accessed November 9, 2022. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97976/prevent-strategy-review.pdf
Kundnani, Arun, The Muslims are coming! London: Verso Books, 2014
Longstreth, Samuel, “Far Right Usage of Pagan and Nordic Iconography.” GreyDynamics.com April 29, 2022. https://greydynamics.com/far-right-usage-of-pagan-and-nordic-iconography/
Macklin, Graham, Failed Führers: A history of Britain’s extreme right Oxon: Routledge, 2020
Nicolson, Stuart, “Who are the Scottish Dawn neo-Nazi group?”bbc.co.uk September 29, 2017. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41440467
Southern Poverty Law Centre, “Asatru Folk Assembly” splcenter.org November 9, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/asatru-folk-assembly
Wikipedia, “Algiz” en.wikipedia.org Accessed November 9, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algiz
Wilton, Bryan, AFA Soldier’s Edda and Veteran’s resource guide US: AFA, 2017
[1] Arun Kundnani, “The Muslims are coming!” (London: Version Books, 2014) 27-54
[2] Samuel Longstreth, “Far Right Usage of Pagan and Nordic Iconography.” GreyDynamics.com April 29, 2022. https://greydynamics.com/far-right-usage-of-pagan-and-nordic-iconography/
[3] Graham Macklin, “Failed Führers: A history of Britain’s extreme right” (Oxon: Routledge, 2020) 22-68
[4] Southern Poverty Law Centre “Asatru Folk Assembly” splcenter.org Accessed November 9, 2022. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/asatru-folk-assembly
[5] Bryan Wilton, “AFA Soldier’s Edda and Veteran’s resource guide” (US: AFA, 2017)
[6] https://www.folkbook.us/
[7] Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law “Independent Commission on Counter-Terrorism Law, Policy and Practice” binghamcentre.biicl.org Accessed November 9, 2022. https://binghamcentre.biicl.org/independent-commission-on-counter-terrorism-law-policy–and-practice-?cookiesset=1&ts=1668010990
[8] HM Government “CONTEST: The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism” Gov.uk Accessed November 9, 2022. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/97994/contest-summary.pdf
[9] Stuart Nicolson, “Who are the Scottish Dawn neo-Nazi group?” bbc.co.uk September 29, 2017. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-41440467
[10] Wikipedia, “Algiz” en.wikipedia.org Accessed November 11, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algiz
[11] Extinction Rebellion “Right Wing Signs & Symbols Aid June 2019” extinctionrebellion.uk Accessed November 9, 2022. https://extinctionrebellion.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Counter-terrorism-poster.pdf