Fascism: When the State Becomes an Instrument of Oppression
In modern political history, fascism emerges as one of the most dangerous ideologies humanity has ever confronted. It was not merely a system of governance, but a totalitarian movement seeking absolute control over the individual and society elevating the state above law, rights, and even human dignity itself. Although fascism is most closely associated with the 20th century most notably under Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany its roots are not confined to a specific era. Its symptoms resurface whenever democracies weaken and public consciousness declines, revealing the ever-present danger of nationalism when it transforms into a tool of domination and exclusion.
What Is Fascism?
Fascism is an extremist nationalist ideology that glorifies the state and its leader while rejecting pluralistic democracy and labeling any form of opposition as treason. It is built on the belief that the nation is a superior organic entity that requires absolute authority to enforce order. Under fascism, personal freedom is seen as an illusion something to be sacrificed for the so called “supreme interests of the state.”
Core Pillars of Fascism:
1. The Cult of the Leader
The leader is portrayed as the nation’s savior and visionary beyond questioning or accountability. His words are treated as sacred law, and loyalty to him becomes synonymous with loyalty to the nation.
2. Rejection of Democracy
Fascists view democracy as a source of weakness. They replace it with a single party system that claims exclusive representation of the “will of the people,” eliminating political competition and dissent.
3. Aggressive Nationalism
Fascism denies cultural and ethnic diversity, imposing a rigid national identity that glorifies one group while excluding or suppressing others.
4. Militarization and Authoritarian Control
Fascist societies are built on the ethos of perpetual struggle. Military values such as discipline, obedience, and force become central to governance and social life.
5. State Control of the Economy and Media
While private ownership may be allowed, the state maintains tight control over economic activity, directing production for national goals. Media is transformed into a propaganda tool, shaping public opinion and suppressing independent thought.
Fascism in Practice: From Power to Ruin:
Fascist regimes often rise to power on the wings of grand promises strength, prosperity, national pride, and dignity for the citizen. Yet history shows that these regimes inevitably lead their nations into wars, destruction, and economic collapse. The world paid a devastating price for the rise of fascism during World War II, a conflict that claimed the lives of tens of millions and reshaped the global order forever.
Has Fascism Truly Ended?
While the great fascist regimes of the 20th century have fallen, the fascist mindset has not disappeared. It continues to resurface in modern forms under different labels, including:
• Extreme Nationalism
• Militant Populism
• Calls to Dismantle Democratic Institutions in Favor of “Strong Rule”
This is the true danger of fascism today: it rarely returns wearing the same uniform or name. Instead, it infiltrates public discourse through economic slogans, religious rhetoric, or nationalist appeals slowly normalizing authoritarianism under the guise of protecting the nation.
Societal Fascism: When Hatred Becomes a Public Act Without Accountability:
The persecution of Christians in Egypt stands as one of the most alarming manifestations of hidden fascism. A Christian home is burned based on a rumor; a church is forcibly closed under the pretext of “preventing sectarian strife”; a Muslim girl is prohibited from visiting her Christian friend in the name of “protecting religious purity,” with the girl’s brother falsely accused in advance of trying to convert her. An innocent human relationship between children or young people is transformed into an ideological battlefield where fear replaces trust, and enforced separation replaces coexistence and natural social ties.
At the same time and while these actions do not reflect the entirety of society a radical faction continues to practice another face of fascism: specifically targeting underage Christian girls, coercing them into converting to Islam through what is known as “systematic Islamization.” This is carried out using psychological pressure, social manipulation, and religious intimidation to strip these girls of their identity and forcibly redirect the course of their lives.
The contradiction is stark: a Muslim girl is prevented from becoming “Christian” out of fear and suspicion, while real, organized pressure is exerted in the opposite direction to convert Christian girls to Islam. This double standard exposes the deeply rooted nature of societal fascism a fascism that monopolizes religion and imposes it by force or fear. It is not the behavior of the majority, but rather of a faction shaped by distorted education and closed, regressive culture one that has instilled generations with ideas of supremacy and religious hostility, often without awareness of the harm and division they inflict upon the nation’s social fabric.
Confronting this reality requires more than denial it demands educational reform, conscious cultural renewal, and the upbringing of new generations who respect religious and cultural diversity as the foundation for building a nation that embraces all its citizens without discrimination or exclusion.
These practices are often presented as necessary for “national security,” yet in truth, they represent the most dangerous form of fascism one that suppresses human beings based on religious identity and strips an entire community of its fundamental rights to citizenship and safety.
The danger goes beyond hateful rhetoric or social exclusion it manifests in public acts of violence carried out without fear of the law: women are assaulted and stripped in the street; homes are burned; families are forcibly displaced from their villages; and innocent people are subjected to both physical and psychological abuse in acts that reflect alarming moral and intellectual collapse among those who commit or justify them.
What is even more alarming is that these crimes often pass without any real accountability. Perpetrators are rarely prosecuted. Instead of formal legal proceedings, “customary reconciliation sessions” are imposed sessions that end not with justice, but with the expulsion and punishment of the victim, as though the Christian citizen is a threat to be removed rather than a victim whose rights deserve protection. It is a disturbing portrait of societal fascism enforced under the protection of official silence and social complicity that legitimizes injustice and perpetuates it.
These are not isolated incidents or fleeting disputes they are the direct expression of an entrenched ideology built upon:
• Criminalizing religious difference
• Passing down hatred through education and popular culture
• The complicity of institutions that should be protecting citizens, but instead allow their humiliation, forced displacement, and punishment while the aggressor walks free
When Nationalism Becomes a Cover for Oppression
Modern fascist ideology no longer waves only the banner of nationalism; it now claims to defend religion and cultural identity. This is where the danger lies:
The Egyptian Christian whose ancestors helped build the nation over millennia is portrayed as the “other” or a mere “guest,” while the extremist is glorified as the “guardian of faith and identity.” These narratives are not mere rhetoric; they are the seeds of chaos and the prelude to a societal eruption.
The Absence of Justice: The First Stage of State Collapse:
The strength of a state is not measured by the size of its army or the power of its economy, but by its ability to protect its citizens and uphold their rights without discrimination. When the perpetrator escapes accountability while the victim is forced into humiliating “reconciliation sessions” that end with the expulsion of his family from their home and their town this is not justice. It is state enabled persecution. It is the triumph of fascism over the rule of law, and the demise of the civil state in its truest form.
How Do We Protect Societies from Fascism?
• Enforce the rule of law without exception. Justice must be blind to identity, status, or affiliation.
• Cultivate political awareness. Democratic literacy and human rights education are shields against authoritarian manipulation.
• Empower a free press. An independent media is not a luxury it is the frontline defense against propaganda and systemic discrimination.
• Transform education. Schools and universities must instill values of diversity, tolerance, and respect for the dignity of every citizen.
• Encourage civic participation. When citizens disengage from political life, tyranny does not wait it advances to fill the void.
Fascism Is Not a Past Mistake It Is a Future Warning:
Fascism is not confined to the history books. It reemerges wherever collective awareness fades and democratic institutions weaken. It reminds us that freedom is never granted it is defended. And the greatest threat facing any nation is rarely an external enemy, but an internal authoritarian mindset cloaked in the language of nationalism.
Today, some societies continue to suffer from deep-seated prejudice passed down across generations particularly in the form of religious intolerance. This reality is painfully visible in the marginalization of Christian citizens in Egypt, where justice is too often absent and the voices of fairness and constitutional equality remain faint.
This persistence of discrimination is not merely a social flaw it is a national crisis. It erodes civic unity, undermines the rule of law, and signals a dangerous decline in national consciousness and values.
A Turning Point for the Nation’s Conscience:
The continuation of such practices fuels social tension and entrenches injustice. It reflects the absence of decisive action to confront extremist ideology at its roots. A strong nation does not ignore such dangers it confronts them courageously through reform in thought, education, and law enforcement.
What Egypt needs today is a clear and uncompromising stance one that restores the supremacy of justice and protects the dignity of every citizen equally. Only then can the nation preserve its stability and uphold its reputation before the world.
Nation Building Begins from Within:
While the efforts of state institutions and civil society are acknowledged and respected, true national transformation must begin from within the individual. Egypt urgently needs a long-term national project to rebuild consciousness nurturing two or three generations on the principles of genuine citizenship, human dignity, and equality.
A society does not rise through slogans, but through the internal conviction that respect, justice, and equal rights are the foundation of civilization.
We must also cultivate individuals who exercise freedom responsibly, uphold the law for all without bias, and understand that accountability is not a punishment but a pillar of national strength.
The Path Forward:
Such change will not happen overnight. It requires time, perseverance, and the courage to begin with ourselves to act as living examples for our children and grandchildren. Nations do not ascend when their external image changes, but when their inner conscience awakens.
“A nation does not rise when its circumstances change it rises when its conscience awakens from its slumber.”
“A homeland is but a mirror of its people; if their awareness is elevated, its glory ascends. If they fall, it falls with them.”
God does not reform a nation whose people have not reformed themselves. No homeland can rise unless its people choose to elevate their own values, actions, and moral compass. Revival is not an event it is a human awakening that builds a new nation from within.
When the individual stands upright, the state is strengthened. When justice prevails, the nation rises just as the sun rises from the heart of darkness.
Nations are not built with stone alone they are built first by human beings. Every true reform begins internally, before it ever appears on the surface of public life.
With Respect,
Wael Loutfalla
May you remain in peace and conscience.
