When it comes to far-right, past and future can be interconnected

European parliaments were the first to coin the term "far-right". In 1791, some of the members of the French General Assembly represented this political trend. Peasants and workers sat to the left of the head of the assembly. Those belonging to the aristocracy, the men of the church and the backers of bourgeoisie sat to the right. This was the first time the political classification we know today appeared.

With the emergence of the idealist socialism of St. Simon in the 18th century, which called for the ownership of society by the means of production, capitalist thought was increasingly expanding. Nonetheless, it did not fit the vast majority of peoples. Karl Marx propagated his ideas and principles of scientific socialism. These ideas were based on the ownership of the state of means of production. The same ideas also propagated the domination of the proletariat.

The far-right felt threatened. It took an individual course, focusing on individual ownership. To protect their economic interests, the followers of the far-right worked to integrate their representatives into the ruling class. The ruling regimes granted them broad powers and privileges. They also turned a blind eye to their exploitation of workers in return for meager payments. This deepened monopolies and feudalism, which opened the door wide for social gaps within the same society.

The far-right has been strongly linked to capitalism throughout its history. According to studies, some factors were exploited by the new right-wing forces to emerge and return to political action once again, especially in Europe. The failure of capitalism and feelings of alienation and marginalization contributed to the rise of far-right forces within Europe. These forces are exercising their functions, and spread their destructive ideas clearly between citizens.

An insight into U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign in 2016, shows that he mainly addressed white people, fed their feelings of exclusiveness and considered them first-class citizens. Mr Trump did this by launching a number of programs that enhanced these feelings. He pledged to prevent immigrants from entering the U.S. and talked about the priority that should be given to American citizens as far as jobs are concerned. He also talked about American citizens' right to improving their own economic conditions through the imposition of heavy taxes on goods imported from other countries.

Far-right extremists seek to exploit the difficult events and terrorist attacks that Western countries may face in order to raise their views and bring them back to the surface. All far-right parties in Europe and America agree on several salient points, most important of which are their categorical rejection of immigrants. This is a point that can be seen clearly in Trump's letters to his constituents when he announced that he would place restrictions on the travel of immigrants to America.

The far-right is an ideological phenomenon that denies equality and believes in the existence of racial differences between men. The sovereignty of white men makes their members intolerant of their own race and religion. They are hostile to Muslims in particular and foreigners in general. They consider themselves first class citizens.

For example, far-right followers in America argue that environmental and labor laws do not help corporate growth and reduce the competitiveness of companies. This is why they have to work away from them, which may explain Trump's rejection of the Paris Climate Accord in May 2017, viewing it as an obstacle for US companies.

Some people believe that the 20th and 21st centuries did not witness the rise or domination of far-right parties in Europe. This is not true. Fascism and Nazism took control of countries, such as Italy and Germany. The Vichy government controlled France during the German occupation between 1940 and 1944. It then disappeared to the right for a period after the World War II, for which it was held responsible.

In the second half of the 20th century, the far-right ideology began to emerge again. The French organization OAS, the so-called "Secret Army Organization," which refused to leave France for Algeria, launched terrorist attacks against its own government.

In Germany, the new Nazi party, NPD, took part in the parliamentary elections of the 1960s, winning 5% of the vote. Although a small percentage, it was a strong indicator that this thought still resonates within a section of the public, even if it is a small one.

Despite the spread of awareness and the increase in the general culture of citizens, especially in Western countries, the far-right ideology still resonates widely within the citizens, especially with the opening of European countries to the migration of citizens from some Arab countries like Syria and the migration of a large number of citizens to Europe.

The attack, which took place in New Zealand during the weekly Friday prayer, was only a new episode in a long series of far-right, anti-Islam campaign.  This was clearly demonstrated in the thoughts of the attacker, which he expressed several times on social networking sites.

The dates and the names the attacker wrote on his weapons are all indications that he is a good reader of history, deeply believing in far-right thought.

Most worrying still is that the attack occurred in a country that was considered for long to be far from extremism. Terrorist and extremist thought has become rampant in an unpredictable way around the world.

What is also worrying is that opinion polls in Europe indicate the spread of far-right ideas among citizens. This foreshadows the ability of extremist parties to win a large number of seats in the European Parliament elections, which will be held in the next few months. This can affect the foreign policies of European countries toward the Middle East in particular.

It is therefore naive in the current situation to link extremism and terrorism to a specific state, religion or group. Extremism is a global idea that is widespread among large segments of the population, not based solely on religious factors, but may depend on cultural or Intellectual or national factors.

This makes it necessary for international powers to reach agreement, increase cooperation and reach a clear and comprehensive definition of terrorism and extremism. This will enable the international community to confront extremist groups and prevent them from exercising their ideological and armed terrorism against innocent people.