Israel’s war with Hamas may have ended with a cease-fire, but the greater struggle — the one that defines our generation — has only begun. And it is not confined to Gaza or Lebanon, or Syria.
It is a global civilizational conflict between the free world and the forces of Islamism — a movement that seeks not coexistence, but domination.
Islamism takes many forms. Its most violent expression erupts in the bloodlust of Hamas, ISIS, or al-Qaeda.
Yet its more patient, insidious face belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates – groups that have mastered the art of slow infiltration, cultural manipulation, and institutional takeover.
Imposition of Sharia
Their weapon is not the suicide belt but the ballot box. But their ambition is the same: the imposition of Sharia and the submission of free societies.
I have seen both worlds. Born in Jerusalem and raised in Malmö, Sweden, I watched firsthand the quiet surrender of a liberal Western city to Islamist intimidation.
Today, similar scenes unfold in London, Paris, Toronto, Sydney, and New York. Since October 7, 2023, Islamists have marched openly through Western capitals, waving the flags of terror movements and calling for “global intifada.”
The response from many Western governments has been paralysis: fear of being called “Islamophobic” outweighs the courage to name the threat.
Like blindfolded observers describing an elephant, Western elites still refuse to recognize what stands before them.
Listen carefully to what Islamists say in their own rallies and mosques. They are not shy. They boast of taking over Western institutions “from the bottom up.”
They preach that democracy is a tool to be exploited until the day it can be replaced. They view liberal tolerance not as a virtue but as a weakness to be exploited.
This is the “war after the war.” The same ideology that sent Hamas terrorists across Israel’s border on October 7 now works methodically to seize student unions, civil-society groups, and local councils across Europe and North America.
Ballots, not bullets
Muslim voter turnout is often double the national average. In Britain, dozens of municipalities are now governed by officials who declare loyalty not to the United Kingdom but to the Ummah, the global Islamic nation.
Ballots, not bullets, are shifting the balance of power. The Muslim Brotherhood’s strategy has always been generational. It avoids confrontation, choosing instead to infiltrate media, academia, and politics while masquerading as “charities” or “educational institutions.”
In the process, it has fueled a resurgence of antisemitism and social fragmentation in the West. Jews once again conceal their identities out of fear. Universities, once bastions of free inquiry, are now staging grounds for Islamist-inspired intimidation.
What can be done?
First, we must acknowledge reality: the war is not over. It will not end with a cease-fire or the toppling of Hamas. It will only end when Islamism — violent and non-violent alike — is defeated intellectually, financially, and politically.
Second, education must be our front line. As my colleague Mariam Wahba of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies recently wrote, we must expose the propaganda that radicalizes young Arabs and Muslims worldwide.
That begins with dismantling UNRWA, whose curriculum perpetuates hate and martyrdom in Gaza’s classrooms. A generation taught that killing Jews is holy cannot build peace.
Third, legislation must follow. Governments should outlaw Islamist organizations where evidence ties them to terror networks. The Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates should be designated terrorist entities. Qatar and Turkey – state sponsors of this ideology – must face consequences, not indulgence.
Al Jazeera, the Brotherhood’s global mouthpiece, remains banned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Why should Western democracies, supposedly more enlightened, give it license to poison their societies?
Narrative warfare
Fourth, we must reclaim the information battlefield. For decades, Israel has under-invested in narrative warfare. Imagine what could be achieved if even 2% of our intelligence capabilities were devoted to exposing Islamist disinformation online and in global media. Words can be weapons, too – and we have ceded that arena for too long.
Fifth, fight back politically. Islamists understand the power of democratic participation; so should we. Pro-freedom citizens – Jews and non-Jews alike – must vote, volunteer, and organize to defend Western civilization from within. Complacency is complicity.
Finally, hold the enablers accountable. Journalists, academics, and politicians who normalize Islamist ideology or accept money from its patrons must be exposed.
It is absurd that someone like Mehdi Hasan – a former propagandist for Al Jazeera – was granted a US visa and a path to citizenship while using his platform to whitewash Hamas atrocities.
The West cannot claim to fight extremism abroad while rewarding its apologists at home. The task ahead is daunting, but not hopeless. Israel, battle-hardened and clear-eyed, has already learned that survival requires moral clarity. The rest of the West must learn the same lesson – quickly.
The threat we face is not distant, and it will not be solved by diplomacy alone. The Islamists see this as a divine mission. We must meet it with our own: to defend liberty, pluralism, and truth.
Europe still has a chance to save itself. America still has the strength to lead. But time is running short, and political correctness is a luxury we can no longer afford.
The war after the war is here. It will decide not only Israel’s future, but the fate of the entire free world.
Jonathan Conricus is a retired IDF lieutenant colonel and senior fellow at the DC-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). He served as a combat commander in Lebanon and Gaza and was the IDF’s international spokesman. He is politically unaffiliated.