David Vance SubstackRead More
This interview with President Trump from 2016 has resurfaced and it has caused quite a stir, largely because of what he says about how he sees the relationship between Islam and the West.
“Islam hates us, you can’t distinguish between radical Islam and Islam—you can’t tell who’s who.”
My question is this; Is Trump right?
Let’s be clear what Islam is about. It’s not just a religion but a comprehensive worldview touching political, economic, and social spheres. This contrasts sharply with our Western emphasis on secularism and individual rights. While Western pluralist societies push individual liberties and separate religion from public life, Islamic societies often make religion the cornerstone of law, community, and family.
That, my friends, is the fundamental problem. Islam, by definition, wants to BECOME the controller of society, not just functioning within it. To think otherwise is naive at best, suicidal empathy at worst.
That brings us to another significant area of conflict and enmity which is the compatibility of Sharia law with Western democratic principles. Sharia does not endorse equal rights for women, prescribes harsh punishments for apostasy, and offers only limited recognition for Jews and Christians. These legal principles conflict with Western norms of equality, religious freedom, and secular governance. There is just no commonality no matter how hard liberals wish otherwise. It’s all about who is most dominant.
Islamic law’s restrictions on women’s rights—like inheritance, testimony, dress codes, and participation in public life—clash with Western norms around gender equality and individual autonomy. Additionally, western concepts such as freedom of speech, acceptance of LGBTQ, and secular education differ fundamentally with Islamic societies.
Western societies generally promote pluralism and equal treatment of all faiths, whereas Islamic perspectives designate non-Muslims as subordinate or outside the religious community, which generatse tension when applied in our pluralist societies.
Muslims often view the West as morally decadent, materialistic, and secular, while Westerners often perceive Islamic societies as rigid, fanatical, or resistant to modernity.
Trump is clear. Islam hates us. This animus is driven by the fact we have not submitted to Islam. We should give them good reason to hate us.
