排外主義與極端主義同樣可怕

Acontinent that not so long ago thought its modernity eternally secure now finds precious liberties under siege. In France, the attack by Islamist extremists on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo marked an assault on the pivotal Enlightenment value of freedom of expression. Elsewhere — most recently in Germany — Islamophobic extremists are challenging the tolerance on which Europe has built its peace. This is an unholy alliance against democracy.

不久前還自認爲其現代性永久穩固的歐洲大陸，如今發現其所珍視的自由受到了圍攻。發生在法國的伊斯蘭極端分子對諷刺雜誌《查理週刊》(Charlie Hebdo)辦公樓的襲擊，標誌着一次對啓蒙運動核心價值觀——言論自由的攻擊。在其他地方（最新的例子是德國），具有伊斯蘭恐懼症的極端分子正在挑戰社會寬容，而歐洲和平正是基於寬容而建立起來的。這是一個反民主的邪惡聯盟。

The response to the killings in Paris was heartening. Leaders found the right words. François Hollande looked uncommonly presidential as he said that France had been attacked because it was a nation of freedom. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who seems to have been making the important connections between the various threats to Europe’s democratic order, talked of an assault on the “values we all hold dear”. Days earlier she had called on her compatriots to boycott the swelling protests in some German cities orchestrated by the self-styled Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West.

對此次發生在巴黎的殺戮慘劇，國際社會的反應令人欣慰。各國領導人發表了恰當的言論。法國總統弗朗索瓦•奧朗德(François Hollande)說，法國之所以受到攻擊，是因爲它是一個自由的國度；他說出這話的那一刻看起來異乎尋常地有總統氣派。德國總理安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)似乎在逐漸認清危及歐洲民主秩序的各種威脅之間的重要聯繫，她說這是一次對“我們共同珍視的價值觀”的攻擊。幾天前，她還呼籲她的同胞共同抵制在一些德國城市不斷蔓延的抗議活動。這些抗議是由一個自稱“愛國的歐洲人反對西方世界伊斯蘭化”(Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West)的組織所策劃的。

The crowds pouring into the squares and streets of Paris holding aloft Je Suis Charlie placards, and the vigils in cities across Europe, were a reminder that, for all their disenchantment with ruling elites, people will not lightly surrender their liberties. From time to time you hear it said that we are living in an age when authoritarianism will flourish at the expense of democracy. I am not so sure that freedom and human dignity will be so easily given up. As Mr Hollande said, liberty will always be stronger than barbarism.

在巴黎，人羣涌入廣場和街頭，高舉“我是查理”的標語牌。遍佈歐洲許多城市的守夜活動則提醒我們：儘管對統治精英不抱有任何幻想，但人民不會輕易放棄屬於自己的自由。你會不時地聽到有人說，在我們所生活的這個時代，威權主義會以犧牲民主爲代價蓬勃發展。我則不太相信自由和人類尊嚴會被這麼輕易放棄。正如奧朗德所說，自由將永遠比野蠻更強大。

The purpose of the murderers in Paris, of course, was to frame a different conflict. They are as eager as the thugs and neo-nazis behind the demonstrations spreading out from the German city of Dresden to light fires of hostility between Islam and the west. Nothing better suits the followers of al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State than talk of a clash of civilisations. What they pray for as they go about their murder is that they will provoke a backlash against all Muslims.

當然，巴黎慘案行兇者的目的是要製造一種不同的衝突。他們與煽動德國遊行示威（從德累斯頓蔓延到德國其他城市）的那些惡棍和新納粹分子一樣，急切地想要在伊斯蘭世界與西方之間點燃敵對之火。沒有什麼比談論文明衝突更讓基地組織(al-Qaeda)和所謂伊斯蘭國(IS)的追隨者稱心如意的了。他們在實施屠殺時滿心希望的就是，自己的行爲能夠引發針對所有穆斯林的對立情緒。

On the other side, the populist right casts Islam as a threat to what they say is Europe’s uniquely Christian heritage. This is a battle between fundamentalists jointly wedded to pre-Enlightenment intolerance and united in their social conservatism. The jihadis want sharia; the xenophobes ethnic and cultural homogeneity. In the clash of identity politics, neither side has time for ideas, for debate or diversity.

另一方面，右翼民粹主義將穆斯林描繪成對他們所謂歐洲獨特基督教傳統的威脅。這是一場不同原教旨主義者之間的鬥爭，他們都吸收了啓蒙運動前的那種不寬容，又團結於他們的社會保守主義思想。伊斯蘭聖戰分子(Jihadis)想要伊斯蘭教法(sharia law)；而排外主義者要的是民族和文化的純粹性。在身份政治(identity politics)的衝突中，雙方都沒有時間思考或辯論，也無暇顧及多元化。

The task for mainstream political leaders is to ensure that the outpouring of solidarity with the murdered journalists and police officers, and an implacable defence of freedom of expression do not tip over into ugly nationalism. Most obviously, the danger in France is that this week’s outrage will confer respectability on the Islamophobia of Marine Le Pen’s National Front. The polls already suggest she could win the first round of a presidential contest.

主流政治領導人的任務是要保證，記者和警察被殺後社會展現出的團結一致以及對言論自由毫不妥協的捍衛，不會異化成醜陋的民族主義。最明顯的是，法國面臨這樣一種危險，即近期的憤怒情緒可能爲馬琳•勒龐(Marine Le Pen)領導的國民陣線(National Front)的反穆斯林宣傳博得好感。民意調查已經顯示，勒龐有可能在第一輪總統選舉中獲勝。

Europe’s populist right comes in all shapes and sizes. The National Front in France was rooted in anti-semitism before Ms Le Pen judged Islam a better target. In countries such as Hungary, where an authoritarian prime minister publicly disdains the liberal democratic tradition, old anti-Jewish hatreds are allowed to flourish. In Britain, the chosen scapegoats of the UK Independence party are imm-igrants from the post-communist east.

歐洲有形形色色的右翼民粹主義。在勒龐發現穆斯林是一個更好的“靶子”之前，法國國民陣線曾堅定地宣揚反猶太主義。在匈牙利，威權主義的總理公開鄙視自由民主傳統，古老的反猶仇恨則獲准肆虐氾濫。在英國，英國獨立黨(UKIP)選擇的替罪羊則是來自後共產主義東歐的移民。

The protests in Germany, amplified by the darker chapters in the nation’s history, notionally have been directed against Berlin’s generosity in welcoming refugees from the wars in the Middle East. Yet they risk throwing struggling members of a fearful working class into the arms of racists and neo-Nazis.

德國的抗議活動（被該國曆史中的黑暗時期所放大）名義上是反對德國政府慷慨接納中東戰事帶來的難民。然而，這些抗議有將膽怯的工薪階層中的貧困成員推入種族主義者和新納粹分子的懷抱的風險。

Another important connection well drawn by Ms Merkel in her recent warnings about the myriad threats to European democracy has been the way these groups draw succour from Moscow.

在其近期針對危及歐洲民主的種種危機發出的警告中，默克爾強調的另一個重要聯繫是，這些極端羣體從莫斯科方面汲取幫助。

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, condemns alleged “fascists” in Kiev but bankrolls the far right elsewhere. Mr Putin’s ambitions, as Ms Merkel has observed, reach beyond Ukraine into the weak states of the Balkans. Shared xenophobia, reverence for a strong state, and cultural conservatism are indifferent to left-right divides.

俄羅斯總統弗拉基米爾•普京(Vladimir Putin)譴責基輔的所謂“法西斯主義者”，但卻資助其他地方的極右勢力。正如默克爾曾說過的，普京的野心超越了烏克蘭，直指巴爾幹半島的弱小國家。共同的仇外心理、對強大國家的敬畏以及文化保守主義是不分左右的。

Europe does not have “a Muslim problem”. It has failed to integrate properly many of its immigrants, and a big proportion of those left on the margins are Muslims. The march of Islamophobia into the social democratic bastions of the Nordic states sounds a serious alarm. The thousands of young Europeans fighting in Syria point up an undeniable threat from the radicalisation of the dispossessed. Islamist fundamentalism offers them an identity absent in their own communities.

歐洲不存在“穆斯林問題”。歐洲有很多移民沒有充分地融入社會，社會邊緣羣體中很大部分是穆斯林。社會民主黨影響力強大的北歐國家也患上了伊斯蘭恐懼症，這拉響了高級別警報。成千上萬的歐洲年輕人到敘利亞參戰，清楚地表明瞭一無所有者走向極端帶來的威脅。伊斯蘭原教旨主義爲他們提供了他們在本國社會無法獲得的身份認同。

On the other side of the fence, economic stagnation and austerity serve as a powerful recruiting sergeant for the extremist right. European history is littered with the corpses of scapegoats.

另一方面，經濟停滯和緊縮政策有力地推動了極右勢力的發展壯大。歐洲的歷史到處是替罪羊的屍首。

There is no quick fix, even if I wish Ms Merkel’s insights extended to a more urgent appreciation of the need to restore economic growth. The most important thing, though, is to hold on to those values. Ideas are what count.

現在沒有什麼速效對策，即使我希望默克爾能夠同樣明智地意識到，歐洲更迫切需要的是重啓經濟增長。不過最重要的是，我們要堅持自己的價值觀。觀念纔是最重要的。

When Charlie Hebdo was firebombed some years ago Stephane Charbonnier, its leading journalist, reflected that it was not the work of French Muslims but of “idiot extremists”. Charbonnier perished in the latest attack. The rest of us should hold on to his reflection.

當《查理週刊》幾年前被投擲燃燒彈時，該刊主編斯特凡納•沙博尼耶(Stephane Charbonnier)反思說，這不是法國穆斯林乾的，而是“愚蠢的極端分子”所爲。沙博尼耶在最近這次襲擊中遇害。我們生者應該銘記他說過的話。