The aim of Islamists is neither integration, defined as participating in and strengthening American constitutional government alongside other citizens, nor indifferentism, defined as withdrawing from participation in the wider society to form an insulated community. In other words, the aim of Islamists is not integration into our society, nor to isolate themselves within their own enclaves, but rather to energetically integrate America into Islamist culture. Far from a Muslim “Benedict Option,” the Islamist strategy is political and confrontational. Islamists divide the world into the House of Islam (Dar al-Islam) and the House of War (Dar al-Harb). When Islamists build a mosque, they see it as sanctifying a hitherto unholy place, transforming it into the territory of Dar al-Islam.

The mosque and Islamic center are not a refuge to withdraw into prayer and worship, but an outpost in hostile territory, a stronghold to reform the surrounding world, and a place for chastising unscrupulous Muslims and driving out unbelievers. In Ruling in the Name of Allah, the Algerian writer Boualem Sansal explains how this duality shapes many Muslims’ perception of all of reality: “There is the world of Islam that must be protected and there is the world of evil in which war must be waged.”

As the memorandum indicates, this project extends beyond simple ethical reform or a largely invisible spiritual battle. The objective is spiritual AND temporal: to complete the total overhaul and reorganization of society, culture, business, commerce, finance, law, and government. This is why Islamists claim to offer “a civilizational alternative” to the West. They provide a comprehensive human association that is intended to challenge and replace other civilizations.

Informed by such an ambitious and wide-ranging project, Islamists oppose the American sense of nationhood and form of government and seek to replace constitutional and national governments with the global Islamic state.

Nathan Pinkoski