Geostrategic Media Political Commentary, Analysis, Security, Defense
George Washington warned us well. In his Farewell Address of 1796, he urged his fellow citizens to remain “constantly awake” against “the insidious wiles of foreign influence,” which history and experience prove to be “one of the most baneful foes of republican government.” Two and a quarter centuries later, that vigilance has never been more necessary—nor more conspicuously absent.
France has completed the investigation America has yet to undertake. In May 2025, the French Interior Ministry published “The Muslim Brotherhood and Political Islam in France,” a comprehensive inquiry examining political Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood’s role in spreading it, and the movement’s connections with affiliated European networks. French authorities concluded that the danger extends far beyond jihadist violence. They described an assiduous campaign to acquire influence within the ordinary institutions of French life—schools, associations, religious institutions, charities, municipalities, political parties, and administrative structures. The objective: the cultivation of communities in which Islamist norms gain authority while republican principles progressively retreat.
On May 5, 2026, the French Senate adopted legislation directed against Islamist entryism by a vote of 208-124, seeking stronger powers to prevent, detect, and punish concerted institutional activity aimed at undermining the principles of the republic. The bill, introduced by former Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, creates a criminal offense for undermining the principles of the Republic, penalizing coordinated actions that lead public or private bodies to adopt decisions contrary to the law. It also introduces new grounds for the dissolution of associations, requires prefectural approval for the construction of places of worship, and strengthens oversight of institutions working with minors.
France crossed an intellectual threshold that most Western governments have avoided. It distinguished private religious observance from a political movement that may employ democratic freedoms tactically while pursuing a comprehensive vision of law, society, education, and government. That distinction carries enormous consequences. France is showing America what its future may hold—and the United States possesses many of the same warning signs with no comparable national inquiry.
What appears when France’s framework is applied to the United States? The evidence begins with the public documents of Muslim political organizations themselves. The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ “Muslims Vote” operation lists a coordinated election program: increase Muslim registration and turnout, document Muslim candidates, distribute national voter guides and congressional scorecards, survey Muslim political attitudes, cooperate with other Muslim organizations, and promote a unified “Muslim Policy Platform.” EmgageUSA describes a similarly sophisticated infrastructure, celebrating the launch of “Million Muslim Votes,” a national campaign designed to motivate and turn out at least one million Muslim voters.
This is not grassroots civic engagement in the traditional American sense. It is the systematic mobilization of a religious political bloc—and it is only the visible surface.
The deeper concern lies beneath. In November 2025, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) released a landmark 200-page report titled “The Muslim Brotherhood’s Strategic Entryism into Western Society: A Systematic Analysis.” The report reveals that the Muslim Brotherhood is now halfway through its 100-year plan to “transform Western society from within” by covertly embedding its allies and ideology on college campuses and in other mainstays of American life. As ISGAP’s director, Dr. Charles Asher Small, warned: “We are now 50 years into the Brotherhood’s 100-year plan to entrench themselves into key institutions in the United States and other Western societies to undermine and destroy our democracy.”
The report documents how Brotherhood-linked organizations have gained access to government agencies, advised on civil rights policy, and influenced educational institutions, while cultivating extensive media and digital networks that shape public discourse. It exposes the Brotherhood’s “civilization jihad” strategy—a long-term campaign to subvert democratic societies by exploiting freedoms of religion and speech and forming tactical alliances with progressive and minority groups. Student organizations such as Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Student Association, as well as the capture of academic disciplines and departments, serve as instruments in the Brotherhood’s efforts to transform existing Western institutions and norms.
The warning signs are everywhere—from a quarter of Texas’ 650 Islamic nonprofit organizations showing some degree of radical Islamist influence or control, to Islamist schools receiving millions in state funds while utilizing curricula sourced from Muslim Brotherhood and Iranian networks.The Trump administration took a significant step in January 2026 by designating three Muslim Brotherhood branches as terrorist organizations. But as ISGAP argues, designation alone is not enough. It is the first and foundational step toward countering a broader ideological and institutional influence that has been accumulating for decades.
Critics will warn—and they are right to do so—that vague definitions could cast suspicion upon ordinary Muslim citizens engaged in civic life. Washington himself cautioned that vigilance against foreign influence must remain impartial, lest suspicion become another instrument of manipulation. These concerns deserve serious consideration. The goal is not to stigmatize a faith community. The goal is to distinguish between private religious observance—which is protected and cherished—and a political movement that may be using the openness of American democracy as a strategic vulnerability to undermine it from within.
Retailleau put it precisely: “Those who think that attacking Islamists means attacking our Muslim compatriots are falling into the trap set by Islamists themselves, who want to blur the distinction.”
The United States does not need to copy France’s legislation. But it desperately needs to copy France’s intellectual courage. It needs a serious, bipartisan, national inquiry into what the rise of Islamism means for the nation’s prevailing culture and politics. It needs to ask: Who is penetrating our institutions? By what methods? With what objectives? And what should we do about it?
This is not a question of fear. It is a question of fidelity—to the republic Washington warned us to protect, and to the vigilance he insisted was the price of liberty. The jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake. France is awake. Are we?
