David Myatt

David Wulstan Myatt (born 1950), also known as Abdul Aziz and Abdul-Aziz Ibn Myatt, is a British neo-Nazi, founder of the National Socialist Movement and author of numerous pamphlets and articles advocating neo-Nazism, radical Islam, occultism, and what he calls "The Numinous Way of Folk Culture".

The Observer has described Myatt as the "ideological heavyweight behind the ultra-violent British neo-Nazi gang Combat 18". [1] (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,891761,00.html)

Following his conversion to Islam in 1998, Myatt became an advocate of suicide attacks, which he calls "Martyrdom Operations" [2] (http://website.lineone.net/~davidmyatt/operations.html) and expressed his support for Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. His work has been included on the website of the radical Palestinian group Hamas.

Contents

1 Early years 2 Religious and political involvement 3 Critics 4 The Numinous Way of Folk Culture 5 References 6 Further reading

Early years

Myatt grew up in Africa where his father worked as a civil servant. He moved to England in 1967 to complete his schooling, and has said that he began a degree in physics though did not complete it, leaving his studies to focus on his political activism. [3] (http://www.geocities.com/davidmyatt/notes1.html)

He joined Colin Jordan's British Movement, a neo-Nazi group, in 1968.

Religious and political involvement

Throughout the 70's, 80's and 90's, Myatt was involved with paramilitary and neo-Nazi organizations such as Column 88 and Combat 18, and following his conversion to Islam in 1998, he was active in trying to bring National Socialists and radical Muslims together to fight what he regarded as their "common enemy," which he has called the "Zionist-Crusader alliance," a term used by Osama bin Laden.

Myatt was the founder and first leader of the National Socialist Movement and was regarded as the mentor of David Copeland, the London nailbomber, who was also a member. A pamphlet written by Myatt, A Practical Guide to Aryan Revolution, which advocated political violence, is said to have inspired Copeland, whose bombing campaign against London's black, Asian, and gay communities in April 1999 killed three, including a pregnant woman, and injured over a hundred.

Myatt also founded and leads the neo-nazi Reichsfolk organization, which advocates a new racialist philosophy called "The Numinous Way of Folk Culture". Myatt writes:

"For nearly forty years I have been on a Promethean-like quest to answer such questions as "What is the meaning of life?" In the course of this quest I have studied, and acquired practical experience of, many religions and ways of life, including Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, paganism, Hinduism and Christianity. I have learnt a great deal from this quest and have concluded that only the natural, honourable, folkish, reasoned, Numinous Way which underlies what I have called Folk Culture fully answered all the questions about the meaning and purpose of our lives. Thus, The Numinous Way, of Folk Culture, with its Cosmic Ethics, represents my own world-view, and I believe this Way is the means to create a civilized, free, society, of honourable men and women, which will enable us to begin the next stage of our human evolution: the exploration and settlement of Outer Space." [4] (http://www.geocities.com/davidmyatt/jstatement_new.html)

The neo-nazi Aryan Nations organization have promoted Myatt's National Socialist and Islamist writings, while the latter have been used by Hamas. Using his Muslim names of Abdul Aziz and Abdul-Aziz Ibn Myatt, he has written articles advocating Islamic fundamentalism and suicide attacks and has openly supported Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

In addition to his articles about National Socialism and The Numinous Way, Myatt has translated works by Sophocles, Sappho, Aeschylus, and Homer, and has written several collections of poems, and some science fiction stories, using the name D.W. Myatt.

Critics

Myatt has been accused by political groups such as Searchlight of being a satanist, a founder and leader of the Order of Nine Angles, and of being insincere in his commitment to Islam. [5] (http://www.geocities.com/davidmyatt/myatt_islam_conversion.html) Myatt has denied any involvement with the Order of Nine Angles or with satanism in general.

The Numinous Way of Folk Culture

Myatt regards what he calls The Numinous Way of Folk Culture as a step towards combating the so-called "Zionist New World Order":

One way of effectively combating the Zionist New World Order is by creating new rural communities inspired by honourable, rational pagan/heathen beliefs — and the Numinous Way of Folk Culture is a step toward this. [6] (http://www.geocities.com/davidmyatt/dm_interview.html)

Myatt sees The Numinous Way as a form of heathenism, and portrays it as a way of life based on an understanding of, and respect for, the natural world. The Numinous Way seeks to create a society where there is freedom and harmony, and where personal honour is the most important virtue. The bases of The Numinous Way are the principles of personal honour; loyalty to family and clan; duty, or service, to the folk and the community; and respect for nature. The lifestyle is distinguished by the desire for personal freedom; the desire to learn; and a willingness to do one's communal duty.

It is clear from Myatt's other writings that the term "community" is defined in racial terms. He has written that those who uphold The Numinous Way should respect diversity and enhance their own culture while respecting the cultures of others, but this should not lead to integration.

The foundation for The Numinous Way is what Myatt has called Cosmic Ethics, which is centered around the notion of individual honour. According to articles on one of Myatt's websites, these ideas have recently led him to reject fascism, and the concepts of the nation, the State and government in favour of small rural folk (ethnic) communities. He has also embraced vegetarianism on ethical grounds. [7] (http://www.geocities.com/dwmyatt/ethics3.html)

References

• "Right here, right now" (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,891761,00.html) by Antony Barnett, The Observer, February 9, 2003
• Julie Wright's website about David Myatt (http://www.geocities.com/davidmyatt/)
• Myatt's The Numinous Way of Folk Culture (http://www.geocities.com/dwmyatt/)
• Neo-Nazi writings of David Myatt (http://www.geocities.com/myattns/)
• Abdul-Aziz ibn Myatt's Islamist website (http://website.lineone.net/~davidmyatt/)
• BBC Panorama program involving Myatt and Copeland (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/events/panorama/811720.stm)

Further reading

• Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right, Edited by Jeffrey Kaplan (Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc., 2000; AltaMira Press, 2000, ISBN 0742503402 pp.216ff; pp.235ff; pp.512ff
• Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity (Chap. 11 in particular) by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, 2001, ISBN 0814731554
• White Riot: The Violent Story of Combat 18 by Nick Lowles, Milo Books, England, 2001; 2003, ISBN 1903854008
• Homeland: Into A World of Hate, by Nick Ryan, Mainstream Publishing Company Ltd., 2003, ISBN 1840184655.
• "Religiosity and the Radical Right: Toward the Creation of a New Ethnic Identity" by Jeffrey Kaplan, in Kaplan and Tore Bjørgo (eds.) Nation and Race: The Developing Euro-American Racist Subculture, Northeastern University Press, 1998, ISBN 1555533310.
• The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature by Bron Taylor and Jeffrey Kaplan (eds.), Continuum International Publishers, 2003; Thoemmes Continuum, 2005, ISBN 1843711389
• Searchlight, April 1998
• Searchlight, July 2000
• Cosmic Reich: The Life and Thoughts of David Myatt , Renaissance Press, New Zealand, 1995
• Independent on Sunday, February 1, 1998