In an article completed about a month after 9/11 titled "Islamist Plans to Dominate the United States" (and which Commentary more obliquely titled "The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America"), I documented explicit Islamist statements about taking over everything from local schools to the White House.
After 9/11, however, Islamists became more cautious in their public assertions along these lines. This weblog entry catalogues some instances of when they have spoken freely about their intentions.
In "CAIR and the San Ramon Valley Herald," I look at the controversy about CAIR's leader announcing that "Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran . . . should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth." (April 29, 2003)
Mar. 21, 2006 update: Here's a paragraph from a just-published article of mine, "CAIR: Islamists Fooling the Establishment" (see the original for the footnotes):
In 1993, before CAIR existed, Ibrahim Hooper told a reporter: "I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future."[18] On the Michael Medved radio show in 2003, Hooper made the same point more positively: if Muslims ever become a majority in the United States, it would be safe to assume that they would want to replace the U.S. Constitution with Islamic law, as most Muslims believe that God's law is superior to man-made law.[19]
Aug. 13, 2017 update: Cyrus McGoldrick of CAIR announces "To make America great would be to make America Muslim, and it is possible. As I sit in the city that was once called Constantinople, I promise you, God always wins."
Jan. 11, 2019 update: Andre Carson, a congressman from Indiana, dreamed to a CAIR audience about his vision of Muslim domination of the United States (starting at 11:35 of the video):
It's more than just about having three Muslims in Congress. I think symbolically it has great value, but I won't rest until 2020 we have five more members of Congress; 2022 and 24, we have 10 more Muslims in Congress. In 2030 we may have about 30, 35 Muslims in Congress. Then we're talking about Madame Chair Rashida. We're talking about Madame Chair Ilhan. Hell, we could be saying Speaker of the House Ilhan, Speaker of the House Rashida, Senator Rashida, Governor Ilhan, President Fatima, Vice President Aziza. Inshallah.
Comment: Carson seems to have forgotten President Hussein Obama.
Aug. 2, 2019 update: The above article demonstrated how freely Islamists expressed their ambitions to take over the United States pre-9/11. Then followed almost two decades of caution. Judging by the recent annual convention of the Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), that era is coming to an end.
The Middle East Forum's Martha Lee and Benjamin Baird write today about a new, emboldened age: the conference focused "squarely on the Islamist charge into the political sphere. Numerous speakers claimed that Islam itself required believers to gain political power, impose an Islamic doctrine on America, and fundamentally reshape American society." Some examples:
- "Islam is needed at the spiritual level, at the social level, at the political level." (Ayman Hammous, executive director of the Muslim American Society.)
- Muslims must "occupy every space of this world." (Movita Johnson-Harrell, a state representative from Pennsylvania.)
- It is a "duty as Muslims" to engage in civil and political advocacy because "our faith is based on action," so Muslims on the political sidelines are not "true believers." (Nihad Awad, head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.)
- Muslims "have the responsibility" to get involved in local politics to do "what is right for this country." (Georgia state senator Sheikh Rahman.)
- If Muslims are in the minority, particularly in the West, their organizations should promulgate Islam across society until their influence has grown large enough. (Zahid Bukhari, president of the Islamic Circle of North America.)
Lee and Baird conclude that Islamists "are celebrating the Muslim community's growing political power, and openly declaring their aspiration once again to use that power to reshape America."
Comment: In contrast to the 1980s and 1990s, when hardly anyone paid attention to such statements, much less took them seriously, now plenty of individuals and institutions will follow, publicize, and respond to this grand Islamist ambition.
Jan. 20, 2021 update: Yusuf Ziya Kavakcı, the paterfamilias of a prominent Turkish-American family, explained to an interviewer on June 25, 2020, how the United States needs Islam. J.M. Phelps translates and explains:
"The world, especially America, needs Ottoman, Turkish and Islamic knowledge and wisdom" — and according to the Islamic scholar, "the Islamic world is not contributing to the Islamization of Americ, a ." He argues, "there's only one thing America needs, and that's Islam."
"There must be an ability to think strategically in the Islamic world," he adds. ... Kavakci admits it is a long-term investment, suggesting that "a 100- to 150-year program strategy ... of spreading Islam in America should be initiated."
The distinguished imam considers America to be "soft" on Islam, thereby calling upon all Muslims to participate in what he would label the "Strategy of Islamization of the USA."
July 21, 2023 update: The Islamic Cultural Preservation and Information Council (ICPIC), a Philadelphia institution, in connection with its Annual Islamic Heritage Festival & Parade, invited "all the Muslims to join us in showcasing our community in the heart of center city Philadelphia, the cradle of American Democracy to pro-actively proclaim our citizenship and ownership of America."
May 29, 2024 update: Hamtramck Mayor Pro Tem Mohammed Hassan counts on the "great replacement" for Islamists to take control of the United States:
Hassan warned supporters of Israel that newer immigrant communities in the U.S. will eventually change policies supporting Israel. He railed against the U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying what's happening in Gaza is similar. "America is the country of immigrants," Hassan said. "Even the president, Joe Biden, your generation came from somewhere else. ... We have the same power in the USA, and you know the math ... think about it, after 50 years, who is going to control the United States? If you're not getting educated enough from today, I will make you educated after 50 years."
Jan. 23, 2026 update: In a sermon today at the Dar Al Farooq Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, Imam Abdul Malik responded to the backlash against the Trump administration's rounding up off illegal migrants:
Now that the people of America are standing for you, will you share with them the light, and the beauty, and the majesty of Islam, or will you stay in hiding? ... Tell the young people to continue to study, to prepare themselves to become the doctors, the lawyers, the engineers, to become the mayor, the police chief, the leaders of Congress – those that were born in America, prepare yourselves to be America's next President. ...
Share with the people of Minnesota the words of the Koran, the wisdom of the Prophet, and the beauty of our community, because this is your moment of grace. ...
Your weapon is your faith, your strength is your unity, and you must quickly engage the American people, especially the people of Minnesota. ... We just elected a Muslim to be the Mayor of New York [City]. That's the home of 9/11, and those that are in opposition to Islam are watching the growth and the development of the Muslim community, and it scares them. Do you know why? Not because you're a threat – no.
They think you are about to replace those of privilege of the days of old. They see the Muslims as their replacement. And to be honest with you, we are their replacement. We are, as they would say, the new kids on the block and this is our moment.
