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 Adamcik David Alsbach Rajan Athul Robert Babeon Michael Beach Benjamin Greg Bosai Johannes Breitsameter Carol ABC Charles C Curtis Christiansen Clayton Connell Cliffydeuce CR B.Cyr daddygorgon Danny Lynda Davis Paul DeCoster Regina Dick-Endrizzi Neil Dickens Nathan Diehl Bob Downing Dramicas Martin E. Eastone Gavin Edwards Howie Feltersnatch Pierre Ghazarian Jayson Griesmeyer Nathan Grote Benjamin Hamilton Peter Hauck Henry Eric Hodges Carey Hurst Mike Jarulic Joe6245 Lionel Joseph Thomas Justesen Mike Kalnins Bryn Kaufman Leah Kodner Benjamin Lee Constance Loucks Maddy Mounty of Madness Jose Martinez Mike Mayleben Judy McCoid Kyle Mohney Kostas Moros Ryan Mortenson Cameron Needham Shiran Skip Pacheco Mel Padden David Page Molly Pan Sr. Powell Brian Pritzl AnaR737 PJ Rader Gleb Radutsky Aleksandr Rakitin Reptilycus Matthew M. Rice Phillip Rice Terry Rosen Chris Rowe Dan S Jon Andre Saether Jake Scalia Emily Schmidt Julian Schmidt Andrew Seeber Joshua Simpson Cameron Smith Jerry Spangler timetosuccedd1995 Thomas Squeo Athal Krishna Sundarrajan Jared Cole Temple Ward Van Roy Pierre Vorupuni Robert VS Jonny Wilkie Michael Wroblewski F. You Greg Zink Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/history-impossible--5634566/support.