Islamophobia in the West is no longer only a domestic culture-war issue. It is increasingly being used as a geopolitical weapon.
As Israel’s reputation continues to collapse over its war on Gaza, its supporters and allied political networks are reaching for an old strategy: frighten Western societies with the image of the Muslim enemy.
The formula is simple. When people begin questioning Israel’s actions, shift the conversation away from occupation, apartheid, mass killing and siege. Instead, warn them about “radical Islam”, “Sharia”, “jihadism”, “Muslim takeover” and the alleged threat Muslims pose to Western civilisation.
This is not accidental messaging. It is a political strategy.
The Sharia-Free America Caucus and the Normalisation of Anti-Muslim Politics
In the United States, the newly created “Sharia-Free America Caucus” has become one of the clearest examples of how anti-Muslim rhetoric is being pushed into mainstream politics.
The caucus was founded by Republican members of Congress Keith Self and Chip Roy, and official congressional statements show it quickly gained dozens of members. One statement published by Representative Keith Self’s office included the claim from Congressman Josh Brecheen that “Islam is a religion of violence, abuse of women, and ruthless political conquest”, language that directly targets Islam itself rather than any specific political movement.
This is not legitimate policy debate. It is religious demonisation.
Muslims in America are not a foreign invading force. They are citizens, workers, parents, students, business owners, soldiers, doctors, teachers and neighbours. They pray in mosques, pay taxes, raise families and contribute to society like every other community.
Yet the language used by some members of this caucus portrays Islam as inherently dangerous, foreign and incompatible with American life.
That kind of rhetoric does not remain harmless. It creates a climate where Muslims become easy targets.
Islamophobia Has Become Open and Aggressive
There was a time, even after the September 11 attacks, when American political leaders at least made public efforts to distinguish Islam from violence. President George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington shortly after 9/11 and stated that “Islam is peace”, while warning Americans not to target Muslims.
Today, that kind of language has almost disappeared from large sections of the Republican Party.
Instead, anti-Muslim rhetoric has become louder, more open and more politically useful. The shift can be seen in attacks on mosques, opposition to basic religious accommodations and the constant portrayal of Islamic practice as a threat to Western identity.
Even something as simple as foot-washing facilities for Muslims performing wudu can be turned into a political controversy. This shows how far the debate has moved. Ordinary religious practice is being treated as a civilisational danger.
The message to Muslims is clear: your faith is acceptable only when it is invisible.
Trumpism, Race and the Wider Politics of Fear
Part of this hostility comes from the broader politics of Donald Trump’s movement. Since 2015, Trump-style politics has repeatedly relied on fear: fear of migrants, fear of demographic change, fear of Black history, fear of Hispanic culture, fear of Muslims and fear of any group portrayed as threatening America’s traditional white power structure.
In that environment, Muslims are not the only targets.
But Islamophobia has a special role because it can unite several political camps at once: Christian nationalists, anti-immigrant activists, pro-Israel hardliners, far-right influencers and those who want to present Western military power as a defence against Islam.
This is why anti-Muslim politics is so useful to its promoters. It gives them a common enemy.
Israel’s Far-Right Alliance
Israel has also leaned heavily into this politics of fear.
In January 2026, the Israeli government hosted a conference on antisemitism in Jerusalem that included figures from several European far-right parties, including Poland’s PiS, Spain’s Vox, Hungary’s Fidesz and France’s National Rally. The significance was not only the topic of antisemitism, but the political company Israel was willing to keep.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented these far-right movements as allies in the fight against what he called radical Islam. This framing allows Israel to recast itself not as an occupying power facing global criticism, but as the front line of a supposed civilisational war.
Netanyahu has continued using this language. In August 2026, he described the United Kingdom as the “Islamic republic of Britain” and joked that it would be the “first Islamic republic with nuclear weapons”, remarks widely criticised for echoing far-right Islamophobic tropes.
This is not diplomatic language. It is ideological messaging.
It tells Western audiences that their problem is not Israel’s conduct in Gaza, but Muslims living among them.
From Accountability to Propaganda
Israel’s international standing has been deeply damaged by its actions in Gaza. Rather than seriously confronting the moral and legal consequences of occupation and mass violence, Israel has invested heavily in public relations and influence campaigns.
Reporting on leaked research commissioned by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the US public relations firm Stagwell Global found that one of the most effective tested strategies for improving Israel’s image was to drive fear of “Radical Islam” and “Jihadism”. Drop Site News reported that the study identified fear-based messaging around those themes as a way to shift public opinion.
This is the heart of the strategy.
If Israel cannot persuade the world that its actions are just, it can try to persuade the West that Muslims are worse.
That means Palestinians are not presented as an occupied people seeking freedom. They are framed as part of a wider Islamic threat. Muslim critics of Israel are not treated as citizens with moral concerns. They are framed as extremists. Western Muslims who oppose genocide are not heard as human beings. They are suspected as disloyal.
This is how Islamophobia functions as political cover.
Foreign Influence and Manufactured Fear
Israel’s influence efforts have not been limited to speeches and conferences.
Foreign-agent filings in the United States show that Clock Tower X distributed materials on behalf of the State of Israel, including campaign messaging around the US-Israel relationship and regional stability.
There have also been concerns over Israel-linked influence campaigns in other Western countries. Reporting and investigations into pro-Israel influence networks in Canada found content promoted under the name “United Citizens for Canada” that framed Muslim immigration and Islamic law as threats to Canadian society.
The pattern is clear.
Where Israel faces growing scrutiny, anti-Muslim fear is pushed as a counter-message.
Instead of answering for Gaza, occupation and apartheid, the conversation is redirected toward Sharia, immigration, Muslim demographics and alleged Islamic extremism.
Why This Strategy Is Dangerous
This campaign is dangerous because it does not only harm public debate. It places real Muslim communities at risk.
When Muslims are constantly portrayed as enemies of the West, ordinary Muslims pay the price. Mosques receive threats. Students are harassed. Women in hijab are targeted. Muslim candidates are smeared. Islamic organisations are monitored or defamed. Religious practices are treated as suspicious.
The danger is not theoretical.
Islamophobia online and in politics can translate into violence in the street. It can turn worshippers into targets and mosques into security zones. It can make Muslim children feel that they must hide who they are to be accepted.
This is why Muslims must understand the issue clearly.
The attack is not only against Palestine. It is also against Islam as a public identity.
The West Is Being Asked to Become More Like Israel
There is a deeper ideological project here.
Israel is built around Jewish supremacy and demographic control. Palestinians are treated as a threat because their very existence challenges the idea of an exclusive ethno-religious state.
Western countries, however, are increasingly diverse. Muslims are citizens, voters, public servants, professionals and elected officials. The presence of Muslims in Western public life exposes the false idea that Islam cannot coexist with civic participation.
Rather than Israel being pushed to become more equal and democratic, the current propaganda strategy tries to push the West toward Israel’s logic: suspicion of Muslims, fear of demographic change and hostility toward Islamic identity.
That is why this is a test for Western pluralism.
Will Western societies protect religious freedom equally, or will they accept a two-tier system where Islam is treated as a permanent security concern?
Muslims Are Not the Problem
The Muslim presence in the West is not a threat.
The threat is the machinery of hate that turns religious minorities into political targets.
Islam teaches worship of Allah alone, justice, mercy, family, modesty, charity, discipline and accountability. Muslims have the right to live openly by their faith, establish mosques, raise their children upon Islam, participate in public life and speak against injustice.
No foreign government, lobby network or far-right movement has the right to define Islam for Muslims.
The Qur’an is not a threat.
The Sunnah is not extremism.
Sharia, properly understood, is not a slogan for fearmongers to abuse. It is the sacred law and moral path by which Muslims seek to obey Allah.
A Desperate Strategy That May Backfire
Fear is powerful, but it is not always sustainable.
Across the West, many people are beginning to see through the manipulation. They recognise that criticising Israel is not antisemitism. They recognise that opposing genocide is not extremism. They recognise that Muslims should not be collectively punished for political conflicts abroad.
Recent electoral gains by Muslim candidates and candidates supported by multi-faith coalitions show that Islamophobic messaging does not always succeed. In many communities, voters are rejecting the politics of demonisation and choosing candidates who speak about justice, rights and accountability.
But Muslims should not be complacent.
The campaign against Islam is organised, well-funded and politically useful. It must be answered with truth, discipline and community strength.
The Muslim Response
Muslims must respond with clarity.
We should expose Islamophobia wherever it appears, whether it comes from Western politicians, media platforms, think tanks, foreign governments or so-called advocacy groups.
We should defend the dignity of Islam without apology.
We should strengthen mosques, media platforms, civil rights organisations, legal networks and political literacy.
We should refuse to allow Palestine to be separated from the wider campaign against Islam.
And we should never accept the lie that Muslims must become invisible to be tolerated.
Israel’s attempt to rescue its image by weaponising Islamophobia is not a sign of strength. It is a sign of desperation.
A state confident in its moral position would not need to frighten the world with Muslims.
A just cause would not need propaganda built on religious hatred.
And a truthful argument would not need Islamophobia to survive.
