Anyone seeking to understand what is happening today in the United States, especially in major cities and on university campuses, must look beyond politics and the media. The real story begins with symbols. With visibility. With the public space. That is where deep processes take shape long before they are translated into official policy.
On Jan. 2, One World Trade Center was recently lit green, along with many other buildings and main squares in Manhattan, in recognition of Muslim American Heritage Month. The development was declared by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, one day after the inauguration of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s first Muslim mayor.
The irony was impossible to ignore: This was the World Trade Center, built on the ruins of the Twin Towers destroyed by terrorism in 2001. History, it seems, is not merely being forgotten but being inverted.
This is exactly how it happened in Europe. And this is how it is now unfolding in America.
The first stage always appears innocent. It is entry through academia—through research, multicultural discourse, interfaith dialogue, young students with good intentions and dangerous naivety. Universities become the ideal gateway, all in the name of openness, tolerance and human rights. They are soon joined by charitable and welfare institutions. From there comes the struggle over visibility in the public sphere: symbols, dress, rituals and mass events.
The next phase is the takeover of urban centers of power: city councils, municipal authorities and cultural institutions. Bloc voting does the rest, and from there, the path to national politics is short.
The battle over symbols in the public space is not marginal. It is central. It gradually shapes the public narrative, what is perceived as legitimate, natural and self-evident.
New York is a living example. What was once a symbol of free Western culture has become a stage for a display of power. This is not a one-off religious event; it is a clear message: We are here, and we set the rules of the public space.
Europe already shows the consequences: mosques on every corner, Islamic symbols in the heart of major cities, and alarming levels of support for Sharia law among young Muslims. In France, more than half of Muslim women wear the hijab, and nearly 60% of young Muslims express support for the implementation of Sharia.
There is also a danger in the well-intentioned cooperation of liberal Christians and Jews in the name of “multicultural dialogue.” For them, it represents openness and a sincere desire for peace between religions. For political Islam, it is the takeover of yet another space. A multifaith event held in a church is not seen by Islamists as dialogue, but as penetration—not as bridge-building, but as the consolidation of power.
All of this is done systematically. The Muslim Brotherhood, Salafi movements and others have operated for years with a clear strategy: infiltration through “soft” channels like social activism, charity and education through pleasant experiences, warm communities, good food and gentle language. Those who resist are branded “Islamophobic.” Those who wake up too late discover that all the doors have already been closed.
The greatest fear is the fear of speaking the truth. People are afraid of being labeled Islamophobic. Researchers and studies funded by Muslim organizations cultivate a narrative that any criticism constitutes a threat to Islamic religious freedom, thereby silencing legitimate debate.
But perhaps it is time for honesty. Yes, there is fear. Islamophobia does not emerge in a vacuum. It is fear of a political religion that seeks to dominate, impose rules, and reduce Jews and Christians to protected but subordinate dhimmi status under Sharia law.
The struggle is not against a people or a religion, but against an ideology that seeks to build a new Muslim empire. Those who are unwilling to say this out loud are surrendering their freedom in advance.
Anyone who thinks this is an extreme scenario should look at Europe. It begins in academia, spreads to the public space, and the path to the imposition of Sharia law grows shorter. In Europe, people are already speaking openly about their own potential “Oct. 7.”
America, it is time to wake up.
