The Islamist Mindset

Due to their religious beliefs, many Muslims have no doubt that they are “right” and others (all others) are “wrong.” In parallel, these Muslims are certain that GOD is with them. Such beliefs do not allow their followers to accept and respect values such as Plurality, Otherness, Religious & Cultural Tolerance, Coexistence, Women’s Rights ... etc. 

Meanwhile, a pernicious consequence of these beliefs is that these Muslims never consider themselves as “defeated,” even when they are materially smashed! (Consider Hezbollah in 2006, Hamas in 2021 and many similar cases). The same applies for other Sunni and Shiite Muslims with respect to post-1979 Iran. 

This is an extremely important feature of the Mindset of millions of Muslims and of ALL Political Islamists. I am confident that most Westerners in general and Western Scholars in particular, are unaware of this “peerless” mental/cultural character.

This will continue to produce failure after failure in many Western policies. As an example: shortly, US troops shall withdraw from Afghanistan after two decades. Nonetheless, the Taliban remains there and significantly so!  Another example: after numerous severe strikes, Hamas also remains in place and significantly so!!! 

I know that many Western Scholars shall be upset when I say/write that they never “fully understood” Islamism. But I am 100% certain of this. Meanwhile, I completely understand that the reason is not their “inability” to understand, but the abnormality of the Islamists’ mindset. It is the mentality that makes many Islamists “certain” that they shall, sooner or later, “recover” the Iberian Peninsula along with several similar “ambitions!”