Jewish and Muslim 'Dual Loyalty' in the West
Jewish and Muslim 'Dual Loyalty' in the West
In Western countries, we often group religions together, but this is a monumental mistake — because all religions are not “created” equally.
Please consider supporting our mission to help everyone better understand and become smarter about the Jewish world. A gift of any amount helps keep our platform free of advertising and accessible to all.
You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, YouTube, and Spotify.
The issue of dual loyalty has long been a sensitive and complex topic within Diaspora Jewish communities.
For some, the fear of being perceived as having dual loyalty — to both Israel and, say, the United States or Canada or South Africa or France or Australia or Argentina — has led Jews to distance themselves from Zionism or reject it altogether.
This concern stems from a historical context where Jews have often faced accusations of being more loyal to their religious or ethnic group than to the countries in which they live. Such allegations have roots in antisemitic tropes, which have portrayed Jews as inherently foreign or as a “fifth column” working against national interests.
While many Jews identify strongly with Israel and support its right to exist as a Jewish state, others may feel that their primary allegiance is to another country’s principles, which they might perceive as being in conflict with certain aspects of Zionism.
Some Jews also find themselves torn between Israel’s more Right-wing governments and their Left-wing views, without understanding that Right-wing in Israel and Right-wing in another country are two very different positions based on two very different premises.
The bottom line is that Israel shares much in common with Western countries, and so subscribing to Zionism while being a productive citizen of one of these countries is not mutually exclusive. If anything, it is complementary because:
Zionism ensures indigenous rights (a hot topic in many Western countries) of Jews in our historical homeland.
Israel as the Jewish state keeps other countries honest about protecting their Jews (if for no other reason than countries do not want Jewish brain-drain if they feel it is much safer for them to immigrate to Israel).
Israel is on the West’s literal front lines, defending it against Islamist death cults which want to enslave the Western world and either convert or obliterate it.
Of course there are evil Jews who manipulate Judaism to do perverse things, but I have yet to hear about a place (outside of Israel and the Palestinian Territories) which feels remotely threatened by them.
Then then are Muslims living in the West, enjoying all that comes with Western rights, liberties, and freedoms — while devoutly practicing Islam.
On the surface, the comparison between Jews and Muslims living as citizens or residents in Western countries seems reasonable. Both groups can practice their religion and be productive citizens of whatever country they reside in, without any harm or foul, right?
Well, not entirely.
In the West, we often group religions together, but this is a monumental mistake — because all religions are not “created” equally. There are some religions which are “better” (i.e. less harmful) than others, just like there are some fruits which are “better” (i.e. healthier) than others.
Unlike many other religions, Islam encompasses not only spiritual beliefs and rituals but also a comprehensive system of laws and governance known as “Sharia.” This intertwining of religion and politics is evident in the foundational texts of Islam, including the Quran and Hadith, which provide guidance on both personal conduct and societal organization.
Political Islam, or Islamism, is another manifestation of Islam as a political doctrine. Islamism refers to movements that seek to integrate Islamic principles into government and public life. Groups like the Muslim Brotherhood or the Ennahda Movement have sought to achieve political power through democratic means, advocating for the implementation of Islamic law in the state.
One of the clearest examples of Islam functioning as a political doctrine is the concept of the Caliphate, which historically represented a unified Islamic state under the leadership of a Caliph, who was considered both a political and religious leader. The Caliphate, as established after the death of the Prophet Muhammad, was designed to govern the Muslim community by implementing Islamic law (Sharia) across various aspects of life, including economics, social justice, and international relations.
Indeed, we already have at least one Caliphate in our world: the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran’s government, following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, is based on the principle of Velayat-e Faqih, or the guardianship of the Islamic jurist, where the Supreme Leader has both religious and political authority.
That said, anyone who has any understanding of this Iranian dictatorship knows that it has about a five-percent approval rating amongst Iranians because of how oppressive, violent, ideological, genocidal, and misogynistic the Supreme Leader’s regime is. Hence why many Iranians who have escaped this bitter, harsh reality not only detest the Ayatollahs but also strongly support Israel (Iran’s self-professed arch-enemy).
And yet, many millions of Muslims across the world, including plenty who live in Western countries, explicitly and implicitly desire a world in which there is a larger, more imposing Caliphate. These Muslims see the West as a bunch of values-poor, superficial, defective societies which should be replaced as soon as possible by Islamism.
Interestingly, and frighteningly, the word “Islam” literally means submission, and the Quran dictates repeatedly that its followers must convert you to Islam or kill you if you refuse to convert. For example, Surah 3:151 says: “We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve…” And according to Surah 2:191, “Kill them (non-Muslims) wherever you find them … kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.”
Much of the Quran speaks not about religion but about how believers must submit, and it commands how they must live, dress, treat women and slaves, and practice Jihad.
Two things can be true: Parts of Western societies are indeed values-poor and superficial, and replacing them with Islamism would be a disaster for humanity.
However, this is precisely what is happening.
Islamic organizations and states deliberately encourage emigration from the Middle East, North Africa, and other Muslim-majority countries to Western ones — with the goal of proliferating “home-grown Islam” (which tends to manifest itself in home-grown terrorism).
What’s more, Al Jazeera (the Qatari governments’ obnoxious Islamist mouthpiece) is broadcast to over 150 countries and territories in more than 430 million homes.1
And Islamists regularly exploit nonprofit organizations established in Western countries to recruit operatives, “do business” and fundraise in the millions (billions?) of dollars for terrorism.
Conversely, you don’t really see Jewish organizations proliferating “home-grown Judaism” via emigration from Israel, nor do you see Jewish TV channels promoting and celebrating Judaism’s extremist elements, nor are Jews exploiting nonprofit organizations for financing and conducting terrorism. Like I said, all religions are not “created” equal.
As a result of these deliberate strategies, Muslims are rising to power in Western democracies to represent the increasing numbers of Muslims in these countries.
To be sure, some of these Muslims are fine law-abiding citizens who simply want to live in peace and quiet, make an adequate living, and ride off into the sunset like a lot of us. But many Muslims do not fit this bill. They are angry at Western societies (often for their own personal problems or circumstances) and desire to infiltrate Western institutions as “payback.” Indeed, this is already taking place right in front of our eyes.
Across education and academia, media, entertainment, and government, the Muslim takeover is promptly gaining steam — often through gaslighting, distortions, manipulations, blackmail, backstabbing, and preying on gullible Westerners. This is not fear-mongering. It is math: Some 25 percent of the entire world population — one in four humans — are Muslims.
And make no mistake: If it has not already, Islam is coming to a metropolis near you. Anyone who lives in London, Paris, Johannesburg, Toronto, Abuja, and Berlin can vouch for that.
In the United States, Hamtramck, Michigan (once a Polish enclave) recently became the first American city with an all-Muslim government.2 And the Wall Street Journal described Dearborn, Michigan as “America’s Jihad Capital” where imams and politicians routinely cheer on Islamist, genocidal terrorist organizations like Hamas against Israel, and the Islamic Republic of Iran against the United States.3
To add insult to injury, websites like the popular Arab American News praise Hamas and Hezbollah, and claim that the U.S. government is “bought” by the “Zionist lobby.”
But these incidents do not live in a silo. They strategically work their way into politics and policies at every level of government. Take, for example, the so-called “Uncommitted National Movement” in the United States, an organization run by Arab Americans which advocates for voters not to support a Democratic Party presidential candidate unless they support anti-Israel policies (including an arms embargo on the Jewish state).
The organization was formed out of the success of “Listen to Michigan,” which canvassed door-to-door and operated phone banks during the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries — en route to tallying more than 100,000 Democrats who voted “uncommitted” rather than for then-candidate President Joe Biden.
It was reported this week that the “Uncommitted National Movement” has extensive ties to Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s family, friends, former colleagues, and supporters.4 This the same Rashida Tlaib who held up a sign donning a Jewish blood libel — “Guilty of Genocide” — while sitting in the U.S. Congress building as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave an official speech last month.
This week, the “Uncommitted National Movement” (whose co-chair is Tlaib’s sister) staged a “sit-in” outside of the Democratic National Convention. And, of course, fellow U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (a Muslim from Minnesota) joined the “sit-in” shortly after it was erected.
It is no coincidence that Holocaust survivor and former Anti-Defamation League national director Abraham Foxman expressed concern on Wednesday that the situation for Jews in the U.S. had deteriorated to the point that they had to meet in secret at sideline events of the Democratic National Convention.
Foxman’s concern came after a Jewish event on rising antisemitism against Orthodox Jews was disrupted by anti-Israel activists. “Brick by brick, wall by wall, Zionism will fall,” the activists chanted in a video published online — even though the event had nothing to do with Zionism. Instead, it was targeted for being “visibly Jewish.”5
In a Western country that actually respects itself and the interests of the vast majority of its citizens, those who explicitly and implicitly subscribe to Islamism would be unequivocally tried for treason and barred from any level of participation at any political event. This starts with Tlaib and Omar, who parade around the U.S. supporting pro-Hamas, pro-Hezbollah, and pro-Houthis initiatives as if these terror groups (and not their enemy, Israel) are a staunch American ally.
The crime of these so-called “Westerners” is not being Muslim; it is betraying one’s country by attempting to aid its enemies. And we have seen the similar offenses by extremist leftist politicians in Canada, France, Spain, South Africa, Australia, and the U.K. Just think about the number of times we have seen Western politicians dressed in keffiyehs — a symbol of Palestinian r̶e̶s̶i̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ terrorism — while doing official government business in official government buildings.
If Muslims living in the West (and their ignorant, corrupted supporters) feel so compelled to support Islamism, so be it, but they should be dealt with as such. The Western world cannot afford to indulge them anymore, unless it wants to be engulfed by Islamism.
“About Us.” Al Jazeera.
“The US city run by Muslim Americans.” BBC.
“Welcome to Dearborn, America’s Jihad Capital.” Wall Street Journal.
“Uncommitted movement backed by network of Rashida Tlaib's family, friends, supporters - exclusive.” The Jerusalem Post.
“‘Jews have to meet in secret at DNC’, says Holocaust survivor, ex-ADL head Foxman.” The Jerusalem Post.
It is obvious when one looks at what is happening in Europe that we must have a stop in Muslim immigration until we figure out a way to honestly discern between a Muslim and an Islamist. Will it take another inevitable 9/11 to happen before we do something? Yes, Islam is not like any other religion in that it is also a political force. There is no distinction between Church and State. Frankly, they dont play well with others when you look at countries that are Muslim. All you see is non-Muslims leaving because of the discrimination. We are so afraid to be called "racist" that we will destroy ourselves so as to not be labeled as such. Yes, Muslim countries have no problems worrying about being called racist, do they? papa j
Agreed.