parties. This stance doesn't prevent accusations of "racism" (this accusation has now been so cheapened as to be rendered worthless) and "right wing" being levelled at SIOE. Its web pages ask the question "Is stoning a woman for being raped left wing or right wing?". Maybe Soumaya Ghannoushi could provide an answer. Also, it questions whether leaving Islam should be a capital offence, as is the case in Saudi Arabia. SIOE also observes that Turkey, Malaysia and Egypt have all elected Islamist governements and suggests that the Islamic world is gravitating towards the doctrines of Saudi Arabia and Iran - and dragging Europe along in its wake. Simply braying "right wing" is no longer sufficient. Open and honest discourse is imperative, so perhaps Soumaya Ghannoushi would be better off talking to SIOE rather than resorting to sloppy journalistic labels. I'm sure the first thing to be debated would be whether Sharia law is left wing or right wing. I agree with some of the points made in this article, but it strikes me that comparing the right of the postwar period (anti-Gastarbeiter etc...) with 'Islamophobia' (I'd be very careful with this term) nowadays is somewhat misleading. The postwar period was a direct continuation of racist discourses from the early half of the century. What is happening now is far more complex. It's a mixture of religious, political, social, cultural issues and yes racism, too. But I do not think it is merely the intolerance of western tolerance that is at