The rise of radical Islam in the world – World War III?
A look at what increasingly looks like a rerun of history, only with Instagram, TikTok and Telegram.
A world war without declaring
For years, Western leaders have avoided the big words – “World War III”. They prefer the soft terms: “regional conflict”, “security challenge”, or the one especially preferred by diplomats – “dialogue between civilizations”. But when you look at the map – from the Gaza border, through Mosul and Baghdad, to the suburbs of Paris and the neighborhoods of London – it’s hard not to ask out loud: Are we already there?
After all, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that the wave of Islamic terrorism, which began as a “local phenomenon” in the Middle East, has spread its wings and become a global force that threatens the entire West. While European leaders continue to debate whether to ban the burqa in the pool or allow a muezzin on the Eiffel Tower, Hamas, ISIS, Hezbollah, and even Iran are working overtime on the dream of a global caliphate.
The course of history: from Constantinople to New York
The conflict between Islam and the West is not new. As early as the 7th century, Islam broke out from the Arabian Peninsula and conquered vast territories from India to Spain. Since then, countless versions of the “clash of civilizations” have been recorded: the Crusades, the Battle of Vienna in 1683 that saved Europe from the Ottomans, and the September 11, 2001 attacks – the 21st-century symbol of this front.
In the 1990s, historian Samuel Huntington predicted that future conflicts would be between cultures, not between states. Today, as radical Islam crosses borders and engages in transnational terrorism, this prediction sounds like a daily news script. The difference is that in the past the West knew how to identify an enemy and fight it; today the West is preoccupied with euphemism committees and campaigns to promote tolerance – until tolerance becomes a knife in the back.
The causes of its rise: ideology, oil and Western indifference
1. Uncompromising religious ideology
Extreme Islam sees itself as Allah’s messenger to conquer the world. This is not a local interpretation but a strategic goal. Those who doubt are invited to listen to sermons on Al Jazeera or read the manifestos of ISIS and Hamas.
2. Qatari oil and money
Every ideology needs funding, and this is where the billions of petrodollars from the Gulf come into play. Saudi Arabia has spread Wahhabism around the world, Qatar embraces Hamas, and Iran sends proxies to half of the Middle East.
3. The West’s indifference and self-blame
While extremists recruit young people online, universities in Berlin and London are busy teaching about “European colonial crimes” and explaining why terrorists are actually “merely reacting to historical injustice”. The result: generations of Westerners who feel guilty about their existence and open the gates to unintegrated immigrants.
An Israeli Perspective: The Front Line of Civilization
Although the Western world only woke up after the attacks in Europe and 9/11, Israel has been living this reality since its founding. Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad – all are racist, anti-Semitic and strive to destroy a democratic state in the Middle East. The irony is that while the West is preaching to Israel about “human rights violations,” it itself is experiencing the same attacks on Charles de Gaulle Boulevard and the London train station.
In a sense, Israel is the “laboratory” of this clash: every rocket on Sderot is a reminder that the war is not between borders but between values - liberal democracy versus religious totalitarianism.
Anti-Semitism on the Rise: Jihad’s Ideological Partner
One of the most disturbing phenomena of the 21st century is the close connection between old anti-Semitism and the new radical Islam. Jews are attacked in Paris and New York not because they are “occupiers” in Gaza, but because they are symbols of Israel, the West, and age-old hatred. The progressive protesters who march with BDS activists at festivals in Europe often become – without realizing it – allies of jihad.
Is this World War III?
If a world war is defined as a large-scale confrontation between global ideological blocs – then yes, we are in the midst of one. It is true that there are not yet trenches and khaki uniforms on every street, but this is an asymmetrical, multi-front war: terrorist attacks in European cities, Iranian cyberattacks, the spread of propaganda on the Internet, and alongside bloody wars in Syria, Iraq and Israel.
This is a war that is happening simultaneously on the battlefields and inside universities, in mosques and in the newsrooms of CNN and the BBC.
Black humor and satire on the blindness of the West
It’s hard not to laugh bitterly: France, which invented freedom and equality, is having a hard time deciding whether police are allowed to arrest girls wearing burkinis. In Germany, there are more committees against “Islamophobia” than against anti-Semitism, and in Belgium they manage to explain the attacks in Brussels as a “social failure.” It seems that the West is the only one fighting itself while the enemy builds missiles.
Looking Ahead: What Can We Learn from Israel
Israel has proven that it is possible to fight terrorism without losing its democratic identity: security fences, smart intelligence, zero tolerance for terrorism, and maintaining national resilience. In contrast, many Western countries are stuck in a fictitious moral dilemma – whether to protect their citizens or not to offend the local Muslim neighborhood.
Unless the West learns to recognize reality and stops looking for blame for itself, radical Islam will continue to gain momentum.
Conclusion: The Conflict is Here to Stay
Extreme Islam is not a “local problem” or a “passing wave of terror” – it is part of a deep cultural-religious conflict between opposing worldviews. The question is not whether there will be a Third World War, but whether the West will recognize that it is already in it.
The world is faced with a decision: continue to bury your head in the sand of political correctness, or understand that those who want to live freely cannot surrender to religious fanaticism or hatred of Jews.
Israel, in its steadfast stand against terror and ancient waves of anti-Semitism, is a reminder that it is possible – and even necessary – to fight for Western civilization.
In other words: The war is already here, and it cannot be won with the hashtags of peace and love alone. It’s time to stop pretending that this is a minor conflict and understand – history repeats itself, and this time we have no excuse to say we didn’t know.
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