@ Anon-e-moose
As always; You are awesome.
I also feel that if Western Europe was heavily educated about Muslims and Islam and how they are varied and not a threat, the European Far-Right would greatly lose support.
I have a theory about the majority of Europeans concerning Far-Right parties. I refuse to accept that they're all jonesin' for Fascism and oppression (they are also better-educated, have had 'Fascism=BAD' drilled in their heads since birth and live where there's censorship of hate speech).
I feel most of European wingnuttery is not like American wingnuttery. I believe it's a misguided drive to keep Europe the Modern, Liberal, Progressive, Sex-Positive, Secular, etc. place it is.
In other words; Europeans....at least Western ones....are freaked out about a huge bunch of people from very Conservative societies with old-timey and oft-Puritanical social mores becoming citizens, voting in super-conservative ways and stifling Free-Wheelin' European life.
Many who vote for Far-Right parties probably could care less that they're voting Far-Right. They're just voting for "These new guys coming in might change our free, open, secular culture into the opposite! We'll cease being COOL!".
They never consider that many refugees are fleeing the same Puritanism that Europe despises.
They never consider that voting in Far-Right parties will cause the very thing they're trying to prevent (that's the whole point of stoking Islamophobic fears, so the REAL oppressive/anti-Enlightenment/Regressive/Fascist freaks can impose their will on the laws and culture).
And otherwise Progressive/Lefty societies are capable of bigotry. Look at many Nordic countries and their complete obliviousness to the fact that "Blackface" is a bad thing.
....Also; A few bad apples blowing up stuff, running over people, preaching hateful garbage in a few mosques, and beheading servicemen on the street is something that makes people lose all semblance of good sense.
I am NOT excusing the Islamophobia, I'm just explaining it.
Another thing; A lot of Europeans who know better probably don't bother to vote.
There needs to be a Progressive, Pro-Islam source that explains the Islamic faith (in all it's variations) and answers/refutes all the propaganda and other issues folks bring up (like Aisha's age when wed to Mohammed, the whole 'Later Quran verses supersedes the earlier verses thing', not all Muslims see the Quran as infallible, there are pro-LGBTQ/Feminist Muslims, etc.).
The problem is is that Islam is a big mystery to non-Muslim Westerners. Some Muslim converts turn to crappy Wahhabi because that's all they know.
Educate the people and there will be less Islamophobia. Less Islamophobia and the Far-Right loses steam.
Also; Teach people to not be so darn susceptible to the oldest tricks in the tyrant's playbook!
