Radical Islamists threaten the US and the Constitutional protected American way of life we treasure. Their brand of what is referred to as Islamism, as opposed to classic Islam, is a case of a parasitic political ideology subverting the host religion. The cloak of religion is thus misused as a guise in which to pursue a malign agenda that is antithetical not only to the US, but to Islam, as well.
Classic Islam does not demean a person’s individual path of submission to divine will. Quran 3:113-4 requires that it must respect the religious choices of Christians and Jews, who it refers to as the Ahi al Kitab (People of the Book).
The political theology of Islamism is another matter entirely. It speaks to the goal of conquering the world, converting everyone to Islam even forcibly and denying Judeo-Christian beliefs and ethics. Quran verses like 2:62 expressly assure Christian and Jews who believe in G-d and do good deeds are rewarded and should have no fear. This theme is echoed in Quran 60:8, which notes G-d does not forbid dealing kindly and righteously with those who are not Muslim, so long as they do not actively fight Muslims over religion or expel them, as well as 3:114, which notes sincere Christians and Jews believe in G-d, enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong and hasten to do good deeds, classifying them as righteous.
Islamists misconstrue these and so many other Quranic verses in their biased agenda driven ideology. For example, Islamist cite Quran 2:190 as a source for their right to armed struggle. However, as the noted 9th century Muslim scholar, Quranic exegete, theologian and historian Al-Tabari discusses, the verse speaks about a defensive war, against those who initiate hostilities, and the prohibition against transgressing the laws of war. This includes not being the one starting the war, killing women and children and mutilating bodies. As Hamas demonstrated in practice, Islamist Jihadist intentionally violate these classic principles of Islam, justifying their evil deeds by misinterpreting the verse and turning it on its head.
It is fair to say that Islamism is not Islam and those who support Islamist Jihadists should be reviled. As so many of my good Muslim neighbors recognize, this is not Islamophobia; it is rather philo-Islam.
DNI Tulsi Gabbard presented the issue and our need pro-actively to deal with it, in a speech she gave on December 20, 2025. She said:
“But there is a threat to our freedom that is not often talked about enough, and it is the greatest near and long term threat to both our freedom and our security, and that is the threat of Islamist ideology…it is the ideology that fuels terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS and Al-Shabaab and Hamas and Boko Haram and others, and they must be defeated militarily…”
She goes on to note that the Islamist ideology is a direct threat to our freedom because at its core it is a political ideology that seeks to create a global caliphate, governed by what Islamists call their Islamic principles. They enforce these dictates by any means necessary, which includes violence.
There are also more insidious means being used by Islamists to infiltrate and undermine the US, our freedoms and way of life. DNI Gabbard warned that earlier this year, there was a conference that was held in which CAIR issued a call to action to use American legal and political systems to implement what it refers to as Sharia law.
The concern about aspects of Sharia Law being incompatible with US law is very real. Here's an example of a most disturbing case in New Jersey. It would appear that a lower court judge refused to grant a restraining order against a Muslim husband who was accused by his wife of forcing her to have sex with him. The husband defended himself against the charge of rape by asserting he was just exercising his right as a husband under Islamic law to have marital relations when he so desired. Thus, he was acting in accordance with his religious beliefs, albeit wholly inconsistent with U.S. law that viewed his actions as nothing more than rape. Fortunately, the New Jersey appeals court intervened and overturned the lower court’s decision to deny the wife the protection of a restraining order. The New Jersey appeals court found that the case “presents a conflict between the criminal law and religious precepts.” The appeals court went on to say “In resolving this conflict, the judge determined to exempt (the husband) from the operation of the [s]tate’s statutes as the result of his religious beliefs. In doing so, the judge was mistaken.”
The Islamist movement must be defeated or we risk suffering more attacks like the murderous massacre at Bondi Beach in Australia or the foiled attempt in Manchester, in the UK, to murder hundreds of Jews. Christians have also been targeted by Islamists.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated that would soon effectuate President’s Trump’s Executive order designating branches of Muslim Brotherhood as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Governors DeSantis of Florida and Scott of Texas have already designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR foreign terrorist organizations.
The danger is real and more must be done. It’s time to disband these malign organizations, as well as their cohorts like SJP. This includes sanctioning them, like what was done to Samidoun, as well as their principal actors, sponsors, financiers and supporters. Removing any 501c3 tax-exempt status which permits tax-deductible contributions and stopping the flow of money directly or indirectly to and from these sanctioned parties by enforcing banking sanctions is a good starting point.
The concerns noted above are shared by an overwhelming majority of fellow Americans, including those of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish faith. We are united in our shared and fervent desire to support and defend our Constitution and the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We must preserve our G-d-given and Constitutionally guaranteed rights, including freedom of religion, as well as Constitutional protections such as separation of church and state. G-d bless the United States of America.
Leonard Grunstein, retired attorney and banker, founded and served as Chairman of Metropolitan National Bank and then Israel Discount Bank of NY. He founded Project Ezrah and serves on the Board of Bernard Revel at Yeshiva Univ. and the AIPAC National Council. He has published articles in the Banking Law Journal, Real Estate Finance Journal and more, and is the co-author of "Because It’s Just and Right: The Untold Back-Story of the U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem."