The Islamists are in the Tent

Islamists, terror apologists, and Qatari proxies aren’t just targeting the progressive left anymore. They’re making inroads into the GOP, and almost no one seems to notice — or care.

Conservatives have spent years warning about the threat of Islamism in American life: in schools, universities, media, and government. We’ve (rightly) called out the likes of Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib for their relentless demonization of Israel and apologism for terror groups like Hamas. But while we’ve been preoccupied with rooting out Islamists from the left, we’ve failed to see them walking through our own front door.

The uncomfortable truth is that Islamist figures and their enablers are increasingly making inroads into conservative spaces — not by force, but by flattery. They praise our "family values," nod along when we rail against wokeness, and strategically position themselves as allies against the progressive left. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll all-too-often find figures with long histories of antisemitism, terror apologia, and ideological allegiance to the very enemies we claim to be fighting.

Let’s start with the latest scandal.

On May 16, the White House announced the formation of an advisory board for the Religious Liberty Commission. Among the names listed was Ismail Royer, a man who served 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to aiding the Pakistani terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba and helping jihadists reach training camps abroad. Royer wasn’t some low-level lackey: he was a key figure in the so-called "Virginia Jihad Network," which sought to aid the Taliban and facilitate violent jihad abroad.

Royer’s inclusion in the Trump White House’s advisory board is more than just an oversight — it’s a flashing red warning sign. This isn’t a man who tweeted something dumb as a teenager or who got roped into a fringe group. He’s a convicted jihadist who worked to send fighters overseas to kill Americans. Perhaps Royer would say he repented for his past behavior. But still, the fact that he was tapped for a White House role should be cause for concern to anyone who cares about national security.

And he isn’t alone.

Another name on the advisory board is Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, co-founder of Zaytuna College—which he established along with BDS leader and American Muslims for Palestine Chairman, Hatem Bazian.

According to the Investigative Project on Terrorism, Yusuf himself has a checkered history: praising the pro-Hamas Turkish organization IHH, defending Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh" behind the 1993 WTC bombing), and once calling Judaism "a racist religion." While he’s attempted to rebrand himself in recent years as a voice of moderation, his and Bazian’s college has continued to elevate apologists for terror and critics of Western democracy.

By the way, radical Islamist preacher Zaid Shakir, the third co-founder of Hamza Yusuf’s Zaytuna College, recently said in a recorded sermon that Trump could be flattered into creating a Palestinian state:

“Trump is so crazy, we might be able to sit him down and say: ‘Trump, do you want to be the greatest president in history? Create a Palestinian state. That’s all. Mount Rushmore is waiting for you.’”

He added, “Man, he is so crazy, he might do it.”

This isn’t (just) mockery — it’s a strategy. To people like Shakir, Trump isn’t a principled ideological obstacle. He’s a volatile ego to be managed. And they’re already working on how to do it.

Next up, we have the case of Imam Husham Al-Husainy, who was nearly given the honor of delivering a benediction at President Trump’s 2025 inauguration — until it was revealed he had previously praised Hezbollah as a "people of God" and refused to label them a terrorist group. He even marched in a Dearborn rally holding a portrait of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It’s still unclesr why was he ever considered for the inaguration in the first place.

These aren’t isolated cases. They point to a disturbing pattern: the willingness — even eagerness — of some conservatives to welcome Islamist figures into the fold, provided they say the right things about Trump, Christianity, or gay marriage.

Take Amer Ghalib, the Yemeni-American mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan. A vocal supporter of Trump in 2024, Ghalib was later nominated as U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. This, despite his town becoming the first in America to endorse BDS under his leadership, and his own troubling social media activity — including liking a comment that referred to Jews as monkeys.

Or take Emgage, a Muslim advocacy group with known ties to Islamist ideologues. Its members — including activists with long Democratic pedigrees — have increasingly appeared in Republican spaces, masquerading as defenders of religious liberty and traditional values. One of their figures, Corey Shearer, was recently welcomed at a Republican Liberty Caucus meeting. Few attendees seemed aware — or concerned — about Emgage’s radical affiliations.

It’s not just isolated figures — entire Islamist networks are testing the waters. In 2024, Rabiul Chowdhury, a member of the Hamas-tied CAIR’s Philadelphia Executive Committee, publicly endorsed Trump for president and co-founded Muslims for Trump. Investigative journalist Angela Van Der Pluym responded bluntly:

“He isn’t pro-peace. He is infiltrating the Conservative movement to push the Muslim Brotherhood agenda. They get introductions, make friends, garner trust, and push their agenda.”

It’s a playbook — and conservatives are too eager for validation to notice who’s reading from it.

All of this is unfolding while the Republican Party is embracing Qatar — the ideological mothership of the Muslim Brotherhood and chief patron of Hamas.

President Trump recently signed off on a $1.2 trillion economic deal with the Qatari regime, including $40 billion in military tech sales. This comes just two months after I discovered that Qatar’s defense minister had preivously tweeted that "We are all Hamas.”

Qatar’s fingerprints are all over the United States, as recently documented by The Free Press: through billions in university donations, influence over think tanks, and stealth lobbying campaigns that avoid FARA scrutiny. The regime funds terrorism abroad and launders its image at home — and now, Republicans are rolling out the red carpet.

You don’t have to look hard to understand why this is dangerous. Qatar bankrolls Hamas, shelters Taliban leaders, and was instrumental in coordinating Hamas’ hostage diplomacy in Gaza. And yet somehow, they’re now our "economic partners."

This isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s an uncomfortable reality: Islamists are adapting. They’re not just targeting the left anymore. They’re engaging the right — exploiting social fault lines, cloaking themselves in anti-woke rhetoric, and seizing opportunities created by a Republican movement that increasingly prioritizes cultural fights over ideological clarity.

This is not abaout Muslims; This is about Islamism — a totalitarian ideology that uses religion as a political weapon, seeks to undermine liberal democracies, and promotes antisemitism, violence, and anti-Western ideas. And it has no place in either party.

Conservatives pride themselves on moral clarity. On seeing what others won’t. On saying what others are afraid to say. But if we’re too distracted by our culture war obsessions to notice when actual Islamist ideologues start joining our ranks, then we’ve lost the plot.

It’s time to stop being flattered. Stop being played. Stop mistaking shared enemies for shared values.

Because the Islamists in the tent aren’t here to help us win. They’re here to make sure we lose — and never see it coming.