Jews are the first targets. Christians are next.

A chilling Islamist doctrine reveals that Israel is only the opening front in a far broader civilizational battle.

photo: Hugo Breyer/Unsplash

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This is a guest essay by Eric Buesing, a historian and writer.

You can also listen to the podcast version of this essay on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, YouTube, and Spotify.

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“First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.”

This ancient Arabic saying has transformed from a simple proverb into a chilling prophecy, a blueprint for religious persecution that methodically targets Jews first, followed by Christians. The phrase emerged from the crossroads of Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, evolving from innocent beginnings into a sinister declaration of intent.

By the 1947-1948 Arab-Israeli War, historian Benny Morris documents that it had become a “popular mob chant,” explicitly threatening Jews (who worship on Saturday) and Christians (who worship on Sunday). Today, this phrase appears spray-painted across Gaza and the West Bank, chanted during attacks on Egypt’s Coptic churches, and proudly embraced by Hamas and Hezbollah — revealing their true ambitions extend far beyond regional disputes to global domination.

This evolution from proverb to prophecy follows the pattern that historian Carroll Quigley identified: cycles where ideologies spread, power consolidates, and empires rise through “instruments of expansion.” When applied to the Islamification of the world, we witness a deliberate strategy unfolding through demographic pressure, economic leverage, and political infiltration.

Islamic movements have systematically evolved from purification efforts into engines of militant conquest. Wahhabism, which began as a regional movement in the 18th century when Islamic scholar Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab allied with the House of Saud, might have remained obscure if not for the discovery of oil in the Middle East. This geological accident — that vast petroleum reserves were found under Saudi sands rather than Swedish forests — transformed a local movement into a global force.

Saudi officials openly describe their strategy as building “mosques where they built embassies.” Their petroleum wealth has enabled the worldwide export of Wahhabi ideology through construction of mosques, madrassas, and distribution of religious texts that present their extreme interpretation as authentic Islam itself.

The direct line from exported Wahhabism to terrorist organizations is undeniable. Osama bin Laden perfectly embodied this transformation: from beneficiary of oil wealth to agent of its ideological deployment against the very Western societies that enriched his homeland.

The Muslim Brotherhood offers a parallel strand of radicalization. Where Wahhabism emerged from Arabia’s sparse deserts, the Muslim Brotherhood arose in Cairo’s cosmopolitan environment, responding to modernization and Western influence. Egyptian schoolteacher and imam Hassan al-Banna’s strategy blended political activism with religious revival, creating an organization that operated simultaneously as a political party, social-service provider, and revolutionary vanguard.

Through schools, hospitals, and charities, the Muslim Brotherhood has woven itself into society’s fabric, making its radical ideology seem not like an imposition, but a natural extension of community care. Hamas replicated this model perfectly in Gaza, combining social services and armed resistance to create a moral confusion that Western observers struggle to navigate.

European Salafist networks, particularly in France’s banlieues (suburbs) and Britain’s Midlands, have proven alarmingly effective at recruiting alienated youth. They offer a sense of purpose and belonging that secular society fails to provide. American prison radicalization represents another concerning development, with correctional facilities becoming breeding grounds for extremism.

The institutionalization of militancy through official policies represents the most troubling development. The Palestinian Authority’s “pay for slay” program provides financial payments to families of those who attack and murder Israelis, creating a perverse incentive structure that rewards violence and ensures its continuation across generations.

Hamas’ systematic diversion of humanitarian aid exemplifies how Islamic militancy corrupts everything it touches. Concrete meant for schools becomes bunkers; water pipes become rockets. This diversion perpetuates conflict while impoverishing the very population Hamas claims to champion.

Historian Bernard Lewis traced radicalism’s resurgence to deep resentments stemming from Islam’s loss of global dominance. For nearly a millennium, Islamic civilization stood at the forefront of human achievement. The psychological impact of this reversal from ruler to ruled, from teacher to student, cannot be overstated. Modern jihadists view their struggle not as innovation, but as restoration of a divinely mandated position that history temporarily denied them.

The transformation of oil from geological resource into ideological weapon represents one of history’s most consequential developments. This economic leverage, concentrated in fundamentalist-leaning nations, has created a situation where vast wealth flows to societies whose values fundamentally oppose the liberal principles that shaped Western development.

Saudi Arabia provides the clearest example. Since the 1973 oil embargo quadrupled petroleum prices, the Kingdom has invested an estimated $100 billion spreading its austere Wahhabi interpretation globally. Documentation shows over 1,500 Saudi-funded mosques, 210 Islamic centers, and 2,000 schools in non-Muslim countries each a node in a network shaping millions who’ll never visit Saudi Arabia.

What makes this strategy so effective is its sophistication. Saudi-funded institutions provide real education services for the poor, community centers in underserved neighborhoods, and scholarly conferences uniting intellectuals across the Muslim world. But embedded within these benevolent activities lies a theological vision viewing religious diversity as deviation and the ultimate goal as establishing a global caliphate governed by Sharia law.

The connection between Saudi-funded institutions and extremist groups is well-documented. In Pakistan’s North-West Frontier Province, Saudi-financed madrassas educated Taliban leadership. The funding pipeline was direct from Saudi oil fields, to Pakistani religious schools, to Afghan battlefields.

Qatar offers a more evolved model. Despite hosting major American military facilities, Qatar supports Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood through charitable organizations that deliberately blur lines between humanitarian assistance and militant funding. Qatar has diversified beyond religious institutions into media (through Al Jazeera), education (through billions in Western university donations), and international finance (through its sovereign wealth fund).

Western institutions often accept petrodollar influence without grasping the implications. Universities accept endowments for Middle Eastern Studies programs without recognizing how these funds shape scholarship toward particular interpretations of Islamic history, while think tanks produce policy papers influenced by Gulf funding that mysteriously align with their sponsors’ interests.

Muslim Brotherhood strategic documents explicitly articulate this long-term vision of societal transformation through institutional capture. These documents describe a “civilization-jihadist process” whereby Western societies are gradually transformed from within, using their own laws and institutions against them.

Iran’s use of oil revenues to fund its regional proxy network provides another model of petroleum-funded influence. Despite sanctions, Iran generates billions through smuggling and sanctions-busting schemes, primarily selling to China. These funds flow to Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Shia militias in Iraq, Bashar al-Assad’s former regime in Syria, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and quasi-militant groups in the West Bank, creating an “axis of resistance” that aims to project Iranian influence across the Middle East.

Taqiyya, the Islamic doctrine of permissible deception, has evolved from its theological origins into a potent strategic tool. Originally formulated as a doctrine of protective concealment within Shia Islam, taqiyya addressed situations where believers faced persecution. The Quranic foundation appears in verse 16:106, establishing that preservation of life takes precedence over public declaration of belief when facing mortal threats.

In modern contexts, this doctrine has been weaponized beyond its defensive origins. In Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, accusations of taqiyya arise frequently. Former longtime Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat’s statement that the Oslo Accords should be understood in terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah (a temporary truce the Prophet Muhammad signed with Meccans, only to break when circumstances proved favorable to Muhammad) revealed to Israeli negotiators that Palestinian peace commitments were tactical rather than genuine.

Historical examples from the medieval period illustrate how tactical dissimulation has long been a tool in Islamic expansion. During the initial Arab conquests, Muslim commanders regularly employed deception to overcome superior forces. The conquest of Alexandria in 642 CE succeeded partly through commander and former Governor of Egypt Amr ibn al-As’s elaborate deception about his forces’ size. Similar tactics appeared during Iberia’s conquest, where Umayyad commander Tariq ibn Ziyad used feigned alliances with Visigothic nobles to facilitate the rapid collapse of Christian resistance.

This historical precedent resonates with contemporary concerns about sleeper cells and infiltration strategies employed by modern Islamist groups. The discovery of Muslim Brotherhood documents outlining multi-generational strategies for transforming Western societies from within suggests some Islamist groups do indeed view strategic deception as a legitimate tool in their civilizational struggle.

What’s more, demographic trends are reshaping our religious landscape in ways that extend beyond statistics into civilizational transformation. Islam is projected to grow from 1.9 billion adherents in 2020 to 2.8 billion by 2050, a 73-percent increase that will bring Muslims to near parity with Christians globally. This isn’t merely a change in religious affiliation, but a fundamental shift in the world’s cultural, political, and social architecture.

The regional variations tell an even more dramatic story. Sub-Saharan Africa’s Muslim population will double from approximately 300 million to over 600 million by mid-century. Nigeria, already delicately balanced between Muslim north and Christian south, faces demographic pressure that threatens to fundamentally alter the country’s political structure.

Europe follows a different trajectory toward a similarly profound destination. The 16-percent increase in Muslim population from 2010 to 2020 represents millions of new residents in societies already grappling with questions of integration and cultural continuity. Muslims could constitute 10 percent or more of Europe’s population by 2050 and significantly higher percentages in countries like France, Germany, and Sweden. In some cities like Brussels, Birmingham, and Marseille, Muslim populations already approach or exceed 25 percent.

The Roman Empire’s transformation through barbarian settlement provides an instructive parallel. What began as controlled migration to address labor shortages eventually resulted in complete transformation, with Germanic peoples not merely joining but ultimately replacing Roman civilization in Western Europe.

As Muslim populations grow, their influence on public policy inevitably increases, whether through formal political participation or informal sociopolitical pressure. This is already observable in European debates about religious education, where growing Muslim populations successfully advocate for Islamic instruction in public schools.

Historical patterns suggest that religious demographics influence legal systems over time. The Ottoman Millet System developed precisely because Muslims became a ruling majority governing substantial non-Muslim populations. Similar accommodations emerge in contemporary societies with significant Muslim populations: separate family courts applying Sharia principles operate in India, Israel, Kenya, and increasingly within Western nations through informal dispute resolution mechanisms.

Speaking of Israel, it occupies a position of unique strategic significance in the global struggle against radical Islamism. This small nation, representing less than 0.01 percent of the world’s land mass and 0.2 percent of its population, stands as the front line in a civilizational contest with implications far beyond its borders.

The Jewish state’s strategic importance begins with its geographic position. Situated at the crossroads of three continents, Israel forms a physical barrier between competing visions of civilization. To its west lies the Mediterranean and Europe, the birthplace of Enlightenment values and secular democracy. To its east stretches a vast expanse increasingly dominated by Islamist movements seeking to reimpose pre-modern governance systems.

Geopolitical analysis reveals how Israel functions as a stabilizing force amid regional chaos. During the so-called Arab Spring, while nations from Libya to Syria descended into civil war and state collapse, Israel maintained democratic governance and economic progress. This stability amid turbulence reinforces Israel’s value as a reliable Western partner in an unpredictable region.

In addition, Israel’s military capabilities represent a crucial counterbalance to Iranian hegemonic ambitions. As the Islamic Republic of Iran pursues nuclear weapons capability, Israel stands as the primary check against this expansionism. Without Israeli deterrence, Iran’s “Shia Crescent”¹ strategy would accelerate, potentially delivering control of vast energy resources to a regime explicitly committed to the destruction of Western influence.

The technological dimension of Israel’s strategic value merits particular attention as well. Israeli innovations in medicine, cybersecurity, water management, agriculture, and defense directly contribute to Western security. Intelligence sharing between Israel and Western allies has prevented numerous terrorist attacks and other threats.

Israel’s democratic institutions provide a crucial model in a region dominated by autocracy. Despite operating under constant security threats, Israel maintains independent courts, freedom of the press, competitive democratic elections, and minority rights protections unmatched anywhere in the Middle East.

Military history provides perhaps the clearest evidence of Israel’s strategic importance. The defeat of Soviet-backed Arab armies in successive conflicts prevented Moscow from gaining the strategic foothold it sought in the Middle East. Israel’s 1981 strike on Iraq’s Osirak nuclear reactor eliminated Saddam Hussein’s nuclear ambitions, a preemptive action whose strategic wisdom became apparent during subsequent Gulf conflicts. The 2007 destruction of Syria’s clandestine nuclear facility similarly prevented weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of Assad’s regime or ISIS, a scenario with catastrophic implications for global security.

Contemporary threats further highlight Israel’s critical role. Hamas and Hezbollah, ideologically committed to Israel’s destruction, serve as forward elements in Iran’s proxy network. Their defeat of Israel, however unlikely, would remove the primary obstacle to Iranian regional dominance, threatening energy security, shipping lanes, and moderate Arab regimes.

The economic dimension of Israel’s strategic value emerges in both energy and technology sectors. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor² and recent natural gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean, developed through Israeli partnerships, offer Europe an alternative to Russian energy dependence. Meanwhile, Israeli technology companies continue to produce innovations that address global challenges.

The ideological aspect of Israel’s role deserves particular emphasis. As the world’s only Jewish state, Israel stands as a living rejection of antisemitism’s core premise that Jews deserve no national existence. This symbolic dimension carries real strategic weight in an era witnessing antisemitism’s resurgence across political extremes.

The religious dimension further illuminates Israel’s strategic significance. As the birthplace of monotheism and home to sites sacred to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Israel’s stewardship of religious freedom sets a regional standard. Israel remains the only Middle Eastern nation where religious minorities enjoy full worship rights and growing populations.

The security cooperation between Israel and moderate Arab states, formalized through the Abraham Accords, demonstrates the potential for a regional architecture that contains Islamist extremism. These agreements, built on shared concerns about Iranian expansionism and Islamist militancy, represent a potential model for addressing civilizational competition through pragmatic cooperation.

The phrase that opened this analysis “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people” encapsulates a worldview that proceeds sequentially but inexorably toward eliminating all who stand outside its theological framework. Typically, Western societies operate within normative frameworks that prioritize tolerance, individual rights, and secular governance. These values create structural constraints on responses to movements that explicitly reject these principles while exploiting their protections.

However, the fundamental choice facing Western civilization becomes increasingly clear: Will a combination of demographic change, resource dependencies, and internal division gradually transform these societies until they no longer represent the values that defined Western civilization’s development? Or, will societies built on Enlightenment values maintain the conviction and capability to defend these principles against determined opposition?

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1. Iran’s “Shia Crescent” strategy aimed to create a geopolitical corridor of Shia-aligned states and groups stretching from Iran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the Mediterranean, projecting Iranian influence, countering Sunni powers, and challenging Israel by leveraging Shia populations and anti-Western sentiment.

2. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is a planned economic corridor that aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf, and Europe.