A Velvet Jihad

Please note: This episode was made before I learned about the influence of Qatar in various parts of the United States (including, apparently, the Oval Office for the mere price of a plane), but honestly, it all just serves to help confirm my overall thesis all the more. World events have a funny way of rendering old analyses irrelevant, but I am sorry to say that imperialism in its many forms is likely eternal.The last time we discussed imperialism on History Impossible, we looked at the form it appears to be taking under the second Trump administration, which, despite remaining based on trade deals and possibly empty threats of annexation, is a much “harder” form of imperialism than what the United States has employed in recent history (apart, of course, from our “state building” adventures in places like Iraq). This time, we will turn to the softer form of imperialism favored by places like the United States during the opening decade of the Cold War, as well as the French Empire in the mid-19th century and, as we will see from this episode, the attempts at spreading and more importantly, normalizing Islamism within the borders of Western, democratic, and decidedly non-theocratic or Islamic countries.By examining the fringes, we can often reveal the realities of the center, and in this case, a deeper understanding imperialism can be gleaned by looking at what is largely a lost cause on paper and realizing that lost causes are often fueled by reinterpreted victories, which can be as simple as sociopolitical subversion. Will the West become Islamist? Almost certainly not. Will Islamists attempt to take advantage and make use of the cultural and political ruptures, as well as the social status symbols, that exist within the West, thus making their goals all the more likely to succeed? Almost certainly yes. We know this because this is what soft imperial power—whether wielded by United States Cold Warriors in the CIA in the 1950s or French aristocrats and business owners in the 1850s—has always attempted to do.Imperialism is not always about coercive control of a smaller state. In fact, it often is not. The core goal of imperialism has always been one thing: influence. That is what we will explore today.…History Impossible has been made possible by the following generous supporters on Patreon, Substack, and PayPal. Please consider donating today if you want to show some love for what I do and make and what to help keep the show and all my written content going:David AdamcikDavid AlsbachRajan AthulRobert BabeonMichael BeachBenjaminGreg BosaiJohannes BreitsameterCarol ABCCharles CCurtis ChristiansenClayton ConnellCliffydeuceCRB.CyrdaddygorgonDannyLynda DavisPaul DeCosterRegina Dick-EndrizziNeil DickensNathan DiehlBob DowningDramicasMartin E.EastoneGavin EdwardsHowie FeltersnatchPierre GhazarianJayson GriesmeyerNathan GroteBenjamin HamiltonPeter HauckHenryEric HodgesCarey HurstMike JarulicJoe6245Lionel JosephThomas JustesenMike KalninsBryn KaufmanLeah KodnerBenjamin LeeConstance LoucksMaddyMounty of MadnessJose MartinezMike MaylebenJudy McCoidKyle MohneyKostas MorosRyan MortensonCameron NeedhamShiranSkip PachecoMel PaddenDavid PageMolly PanSr. PowellBrian PritzlAnaR737PJ RaderGleb RadutskyAleksandr RakitinReptilycusMatthew M. RicePhillip RiceTerry RosenChris RoweDan SJon Andre SaetherJake ScaliaEmily SchmidtJulian SchmidtAndrew SeeberJoshua SimpsonCameron SmithJerry Spanglertimetosuccedd1995Thomas SqueoAthal Krishna SundarrajanJared Cole TempleWard Van RoyPierre VorupuniRobert VSJonny WilkieMichael WroblewskiF. YouGreg ZinkBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.