"Islamism in the West did not flourish by rejecting liberal norms. It flourished by mimicking them—by donning the garb of equity, pluralism, and representation, while quietly retaining its eschatological core. It did not dismantle liberalism. It subtly colonized its conceptual terrain.

"In this recoding, Islamism became Muslimness. Its institutions became “community organizations.” Its advocates became “diversity consultants.” Its critics became “racists.” The theocratic was now the representational. The revolutionary was now the minoritized. What once stood as a challenge to the liberal order had become internal to its performance of inclusivity.

"This is the paradox we must now confront: Islamism in the West has achieved a degree of symbolic and institutional legitimacy that it never attained in the Muslim world itself. There, it remains one movement among many—often marginalized, often feared, and always debated. But here, in the West, it has become the authorized interpreter of Muslim life, a role it acquired not through consent, but through capital, rhetoric, and strategic adaptation.

"To fail to name this transformation is not only a conceptual error. It is a political abdication...."

-- Mansour