Hearing on America’s Bad Actors Examines Islamic Extremism

A top Heritage Foundation scholar sounded the alarm to a key House panel on Tuesday about the merger of Islamism and Marxism, which he said has been fabricated in the United States by Islamic groups that seek to weaken America and “sow chaos.”

Throughout the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia’s hearing, titled “Trojan Horses: Covert Foreign Malign Influence Operations in America,” Mike Gonzalez, senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said the “red-green alliance” continues to be pushed by “nongovernmental organizations or individuals” that seek to implement “Islamist concepts such as Sharia” in the United States to “sow chaos.”

“[America’s] adversaries and outright enemies, such as China and Cuba, will use any opportunity to infiltrate our institutions and destabilize our country, [and there are] shadowy nongovernment organizations or individuals seeking to surreptitiously implant Islamist concepts such as Sharia in our midst and also sow chaos,” Gonzalez said in his opening remarks.

Gonzalez brought the issue forward because Islam’s progress is “a problem that should concern” America’s elected officials. He added that those same officials “are in a position to remedy” it.

“This coalition is also the result of the Marxist Left’s decision, [made] sometime in the 1960s, to abandon the industrial worker and farmer as the locus of revolution in favor of groups based on race, ethnicity, sex, [and] sexual preference,” the scholar continued.

The red-green alliance, Gonzalez said, has resulted in “mayhem” that can be seen across American society, from “our streets [to] our college campuses.” He said Islamism crops up in issues such as Gaza, Venezuela, Cuba, immigration, the environment, and social issues.

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Gonzalez concluded his remarks by stating that the hearing should be followed by real actions to protect Americans.

The Groups

While taking questions from members of the committee, Gonzalez touched specifically on the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which he said acts as a civil rights organization as a cover.

“In reality, CAIR, an organization that wields real influence in this country, is tightly linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the world’s most influential terrorist networks,” Gonzalez said.

He also quoted a past statement from CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, who said he “seeks to make the United States an Islamic country.”

Gonzalez said the group benefits from the support of Democrats and “good PR,” and he clarified that Islamism “is the political aspect of the religion.”

CAIR did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.

The Movement

The scholar also referenced the American Muslims for Palestine movement, saying it has led a large number of young American voters to believe that Hamas—the terrorist group that attacked more than a thousand Israeli civilians in 2023—is a group of justified resistance fighters.

“AMP employs Marxist rhetoric, probably to appeal to today’s college students reared by their professors on a steady diet of Marxist diatribe, and [it] took a direct role in the student encampments that roiled campuses in 2024,” Gonzalez said.

“AMP Executive Director Osama Abu Irshaid spoke on May 23, 2024, at the encampment on the campus of George Washington University, saying, ‘They are trying to destroy you before you succeed in bringing this imperialism to an end,’” the scholar added.

American Muslims for Palestine did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.