Hello from Jihad and the World, a product of Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. This is our first weekly videocast, in which we update the issues discussed in earlier podcasts. We would like to discuss issues that are important to you, and we always welcome your comments and suggestions.

Of Pigs and Men . . . and Women, too

We had an interest in a quick comment we made on a podcast we recorded for Jihad and the World – titled Italy, Muslims, and Hamas. In particular, we referenced a dust-up involving a plastic pig in a delicatessen window in Padua, Italy. The podcast explored the growing tensions between the Muslim and non-Muslim populations in Italy. So, what is with the pig? Well, that is the story.

In Padua, Muslim leaders demanded that a plastic pig displayed in a delicatessen’s window be removed. “A Muslim elder declared that the presence of a pig was inappropriate.” Muslims do not like pigs, and certainly most would not knowingly eat one. But nobody connected with the pig is forcing any Muslim to eat pork. The offending swine was a well-worn ad for their pork sandwiches.

Also, this is important. It is clearly a plastic pig, as you can see. It is yellow and stationary, and clearly a facsimile of a real pig. It could not be mistaken for a living pig. While many Muslims declared that the pig was, in their words, “in poor taste,” the deli owner has stood his ground and said it will stay where it is. As for the courts, they have ruled that there is no legal basis for defenestrating the pig. As of this writing, the standoff continues. This individual incident may sound trivial and somewhat silly. However, it is an example of the many daily frictions between Muslim and non-Muslim communities.

So, there are two camps on this issue. One side demands that contemporary Italian culture and law accommodate the burgeoning Islamic communities mushrooming across the country. Pigs are haram and deeply offensive to Muslims, so why not just remove them to harmonize relations?

The other camps cry that pork is central to Italy’s rich culinary heritage. Nobody is forced to eat salami. If Muslims do not like seeing the plastic pig, they can walk across the street or shield their eyes as they approach the window. Why should one culture arbitrate taste for another? Many people like pigs. I have an English friend whose mother collected small porcine statuary. She had porcelain pigs all over her home. I thought they were cute. Also, the investigative journalist covering the story noted that the deli employs Muslim staff, some of whom have publicly defended the display. So, there are likely to be many Italian Muslims who are bothered at all by pig graphics or statuary.

Robert Spencer, an American journalist, had some fun with the story. He headlined, “First They Came for the Plastic Pigs, but I Was Not a Plastic Pig, so I Said Nothing,” a comedic spin on Martin Niemöller’s very serious quip about the Nazis. He points to the myriad ads of pigs in chefs’ hats that dot American highways, luring travelers to ham sandwiches. Should they be banned? 

On a related note, there are reports of young Italian women strolling with leashed pet pigs. What gives? Muslims traditionally consider pigs unclean, so these women believe that walking with a pig keeps predatory male attention at bay. Videos flooded social media, showing women confidently walking their pigs down the street—some even dressed them in pink bows, the kind small girls would wear.

But some investigators have dismissed stories about leashed pigs in Muslim areas of European cities, particularly in France, as fake news. A reporter from MSN followed a woman walking a pig in Paris, but she could not confirm any link to Islam. The reporter speculated that these pig tales were hoaxes by Europeans who disliked Muslims. These false claims were barbs of soft aggression meant to stir resentment against Muslims.

The only confirmed strolling pet pigs in Italy were Dior the Piglet and Hansel the Lamb, which is an odd name for a pig. I think this is probably a hoax. Why would a woman feed, house, and put up with a pig just to keep certain men from approaching her? My guess is that these eccentric women have an unconventional affection for pigs and issues with men. They are likely pranksters who enjoy playing tricks on gullible people. Whether real or not, funny or not, the angst over pigs is another example of cultural friction in Europe today.

Brother Tarik

Let’s turn to another issue that came up on the Jihad and the World podcast, the jailing of Tarik Ramadan. If you didn’t see our podcast about Ramadan, let me give you the backstory. Tarik Ramadan burst onto the European intellectual scene some 30 years ago. He was the wunderkind of academic and Muslim circles and was cast as the progressive Muslim scholar who could bridge the divide between Muslims and non-Muslims on the continent. He was Swiss-born and educated and came from an Islamist pedigree. His grandfather founded the Muslim Brotherhood. With his polished French-accented English and insights into Western societies, the photogenic young man was a regular fixture at discussions and debates about Islam and Europe.

By middle age, he had traversed the European academic world, teaching courses on Islamic philosophy and, in his words, emphasizing the points of intersection among Islam, Christianity, and secular European states. Some critics saw something else. They saw double-dealing and sweet-sounding babble masking a deeply radical Islamic ambition and agenda. This caused him some problems, but not many. In fact, it boosted his image in Washington’s and London’s salons.

But then came charges of rape. A blizzard of charges began in 2017. A 45-year-old disabled French convert accused him of rape. Then came four Swiss women. In November 2017, Oxford asked him to leave. When he went to France, he was arrested on rape charges. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. To boot, he has multiple sclerosis, so his stay in a French prison will likely be agonizing. What to make of all this?

            Well, this was the worst possible timing for Ramanda. It coincided with the height of the MeToo movement, when many women were very vocal in their accusations. He faced the same scrutiny and fate as Oscar Wilde. Wilde had an impressive, very literary following. But when the charges and scandal hit, they abandoned him, and Wilde died in genteel poverty in Paris, pathetically alone. Epstein, Maxwell, and others suffered the same fate. Years after his death, Wilde was rediscovered and rehabilitated. But his satire was timeless. It may be that someone will rediscover Ramanda’s writings and find gravitas in them. I doubt it. His message is now worn and unpersuasive. In any case, he will have years to philosophize and reflect on how he treated women who look to him for spiritual guidance.

Medea Benjamin

The final issue is a call to boycott. In this case, the call comes from veteran activist Medea Benjamin. We discussed her on a podcast called Pretty in Pink – Roger Waters and Medea Benjamin. Waters is with Pink Floyd, and Benjamin is with Code Pink. They share a hatred of Israel. She urges Americans to boycott stores that sell Israeli products. Last week, Code Pink sent a circular, “As the Israeli genocide continues to devastate Gaza and the broader Middle East, companies like Trader Joe’s must take a stand. By stocking Israeli products, Trader Joe’s supports a system that perpetuates suffering. Now is the time to act.”

In response, the Zionist Organization of America advises, “Today, go to Trader Joe’s and buy Israeli products to counteract the Trader Joe’s boycott of Israeli products, organized by a group called CODEPINK. If you can’t go in person, contact Trader Joe’s Customer Relations. Let them know how much you appreciate being able to buy products made in Israel.”So, those are your options – boycott or buycott. Our local Trader Joe’s was out of Israeli feta cheese. And that’s too bad. I really wanted some.

This concludes this episode of Jihad and the World. Our upcoming book, Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel, and the World, will be available for purchase in July 2026. This podcast does not represent the official position of the United States government. Until next time, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting. 

Hello and welcome to Jihad and the World. This is the second in a series entitled Islamofascism. In this episode, we will cover the origins of the term and the Fascist party. It builds a foundation for future podcasts in which we weave political Islam into Italian fascism to form a new ideology – Islamofascism. So, what are the origins of fascism? What is it?

Fascism is a political philosophy shaped by Italian intellectuals soon after the First World War. In its formative years, fascism blended socialist and authoritarian ideas and offered an avant-garde artistic aesthetic. In literature, Ezra Pound’s Cantos showered praise on the Fascist regime. Pound embraced fascism as a “political religion based on elements of duty, blood, and national sacrifice.” Fascism was anchored in nationalism and a cult of heroism.

The Italian poet and unofficial bard of early fascism, Gabriele d'Annunzio, designed a stark black uniform and proposed the Roman-style salute adopted by the Fascist Party. Beyond his nationalist prose and verse, D’Annunzio distinguished himself as a dashing aviator in war, losing an eye in combat. He was politically active between the world wars and earned the moniker “lyrical dictator,” a title that inspired Mussolini's seizure of power in 1922. Though he fell out of favor with the collapse of the Fascist regime, he is still acclaimed as one of Italy’s greatest poet-novelists.

Early Italian fascism was both futuristic and atavistic. Writer and art critic F.T. Marinetti wrote, “Futurism is a man-made optimism opposed to all chronic pessimisms; it is a continuous dynamism, continuous becoming, and tireless.” Futurism glorified cars, industrial machines, and modern cities, while praising violence as a means of leaving behind imitations of the past and projecting itself most efficiently into the future. Italian fascism also looked backward. While it identified itself with the Roman Empire and rediscovered rural traditions, Marinetti was still appointed to the Italian Academy, which held moonlight in high regard. As we will see in future podcasts, Muslims also look backward to a golden age of Islam. This is the first generation of Muslims. They also look forward to a new golden age as Islam takes root throughout the West.

Political Underpinnings of Fascism

In the 1830s, Giuseppe Mazzini--still revered as one of Italy's founding fathers--saw the individual as less important than the state. Giovanni Gentile denied that democratic ideals had been part of the Risorgimento. Italian fascism was the first fascist dictatorship to seize a European country. It was the first to establish a military liturgy, a folklore, and even a distinctive way of dressing. Italian fascism convinced many European liberal leaders that the new regime was implementing progressive social reforms and offering a mildly revolutionary alternative to the Communist threat. German National Socialism, the Romanian Iron Guard, and the French Nouvelle Droite. Some Muslim intellectuals liked what they saw in fascism, which is the subject of detailed commentary in future podcasts.

Giovanni Gentile defined the term as a spin on the French revolutionary "fraternity" and on Marxist communism. Italian fascism was less totalitarian than Nazism or Soviet communism because it did not control every aspect of society. The regime established in Italy in the 1920s was supposed to operate on behalf of the entire nation in the name of the people. Mussolini tried to keep different social classes and the church happy. As dictator, he had the tools to distribute resources to allies and harm enemies. This became clear when the Depression devastated the Italian economy. Mussolini had his economic policymakers move swiftly in key sectors. FDR looked to Mussolini on several issues.

In 1929, after the Great Depression had hit Germany, an opinion poll of German voters found that, in their view, the greatest statesman of all time, aside from Adolf Hitler, was Benito Mussolini. According to the poll, Mussolini was even more popular than King Frederick the Great of Prussia. This contrasted the Weimar Republic's weakness with the the strutting and beefy Mussolini as a strong and decisive leader who had made Italy great again.

Giovanni Gentile – Father of Fascism

So, who was Giovanni Gentile? He was born on May 30, 1875, in Sicily. He began his university studies in Italian literature and philosophy. Gentile's work focused on education and, secondarily, on policymaking. His dissertation examined native Catholic thinkers and the German Idealists. His second book was a critical examination of Karl Marx. While writing it, Gentile became acquainted with Benedetto Croce. In 1900, Gentile wrote his important essay. In 1906, he became a professor of the history of philosophy at Palermo. In 1917, he moved to the University of Rome.

In 1922, Gentile became minister of education in Benito Mussolini's first Cabinet, where he reformed and reorganized the entire Italian school system. He was the first president of the National Fascist Institute of Culture and remained, for the rest of his life, the regime's most prominent "philosopher of fascism." Gentile wrote numerous books and essays. After Mussolini's fall in 1943, he returned to public life as a supporter of the Fascist Social Republic established by the Germans. He was assassinated by an Italian communist in 1944. His ideas were foundational in developing Italian fascism and Hitler’s National Socialism.

After Italy’s defeat in World War II, younger intellectuals, led by Ugo Spirito, formed the Gentilian "left," which emphasized class struggle over racial or national struggle. Italian Fascism was not entirely totalitarian. There was room for debate on certain elements of socialism, and some freedom in art and literature. The early Italian Futurists were nationalist, but many were very free-spirited; they celebrated speed, dynamic art, masculinity, and youth. Many future intellectuals of the Communist Party were educated by the fascist university students’ association. This drift from fascism to leftism would make political Islam attractive in some circles. It is a recurring theme in many of our podcasts, as you will see. We will begin to define fascism with more granularity in the next podcast on Islamofascism.

To summarize, the term "fascism" was coined by an Italian intellectual soon after World War I. For one generation, it thrived in Italy and elsewhere. After it was discredited and purged from European politics, elements took root in leftist political circles. The hard left expropriated and revised key fascist principles. Some Muslims also adopted key fascist ideas to develop something new. This is Islamofascism.

This concludes this episode of Jihad and the World. It was the second in a series of podcasts focusing on Islamofascism. If you like it, please subscribe and hit the like button. Nothing in this podcast expresses the official position of the United States government. Until our next podcast, on behalf of Kensington Security Consulting, thank you for listening.

Dogs have been integral to armies throughout history. Ancient warriors deployed them to intimidate and attack enemies, with civilizations such as the Romans and Vikings relying on their canine companions. Over time, dogs became not just combatants, but also mascots and friends to soldiers. The United States Army officially commissioned dogs in 1942 with the creation of the Canine Corps. The Army partnered with civilians to house and train the dogs. After basic training, the dogs were assigned to soldiers and then deployed to units.

The Soviets also mustered up dogs and sometimes assigned them suicide missions. Dogs would have satchels of explosives strapped to their back. Then, as per training, they crawled under German panzers where their bombs were detonated. The Germans caught on quickly and gave orders to kill all dogs they saw in Russian combat zones. Other armies used dogs for military and non-military purposes. Soldiers recovering from physical or psychological trauma enjoy the devotion and snuggle factor of their four-legged friends. All this brings us to Hamas and the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

Dogs are highly valued in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Their training, care, and combat-related activities are treated with seriousness and affection. Many of these dogs have served in Gaza, and some have made the ultimate sacrifice in combat. The Israeli Canine Corps, known as the Oketz unit, comprises Belgian Malinois dogs, each with a specialized role. Some are trained to detect explosives, while others are skilled at identifying various threats. Many of these dogs are also used to track terrorists. In Gaza, they played a crucial role in navigating the complex network of tunnels to locate the enemy.

In the Oketz unit, each dog is assigned a specialized role: some are trained to sniff out explosives, others to locate hidden threats and tunnel entrances, and others to track and apprehend terrorists. The Oketz unit’s expertise has been essential for years, and their capabilities are now being utilized in the streets of Gaza and within Hamas’s extensive tunnel system. The word Oketz means sting. Joining Oketz is a challenge for both soldier and dog. Soldiers are rigorously tested and, if selected, pair with a dog. Both go through training where they work and bond. Both train on agility courses and in simulated battlegrounds.

Israeli war dogs served with distinction during the October 2023 war with Hamas. Oketz was scrambled and sent with their human partners to Gaza and kibbutzes where they showed bravery. An Israeli officer recounts his loss and love for Nero, who served in a commando unit to hunt down terrorists. The officer relates, “'A dog who was with one of our men went into a house. He revealed the location of two terrorists, was hit by a burst of gunfire from them, and was killed. 'That's how the men in the force realized that there were terrorists in the house, and human lives were saved.”

And Ziggy was there when it counted, too. Another Israeli tells Ziggy’s story. "I remember exactly what happened - I entered the house with the 101st Battalion of paratroopers and engineering soldiers. We scanned the first floor, and I insisted that my devoted dog, Ziggy, also scan the second floor of the residence. As soon as he came down the staircase of the house in Khan Younis, the terrorists shot at him, and Ziggy was killed on the spot. My heroic and beloved dog Ziggy, who was close to me for a year and a half, saved my life and the lives of the other soldiers. Thanks to him I'm sitting here and talking to you.”

Some dog stories, in fact, many dog stories, have happy endings. One is the warm rescue of Billy, a three-and-a-half-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, who was kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7. Billy was probing for food in the rubble of Rafa when he heard Hebrew being spoken. A soldier embraced him and cared for Billy. Billy’s microchip paired him with his caretakers at a kibbutz, leading to a joyous reunion.

.....Hamas and Dogs

Hamas uses dogs in its operations, though it is not known to have any training program. Rather, Hamas encourages dogs to wander around Israeli units in the hopes that they would attract and distract IDF dogs. After the IDF secured Gaza, they came across hungry and abandoned dogs. There was a campaign to save the dogs in Israel, and it was successful. Many found loving new homes. Several American soldiers who served in Israel during the Iron Swords adopted dogs and, working with NGO friends, took them back to the United States. Today, the dogs — Rocky, Ghost, Amy, Rak, Pak, Serge, Baby Face, Smokey, Kylie, and Shekel have a happy home in the USA

This concludes this episode of Jihad and the World. If you enjoyed it please consider subscribing. Our latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel and the World – Five Hundred Days in Gaza, will be available for purchase in the summer of 2026. Nothing in this podcast reflects the official position of the United States government. Until our next podcast, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting``

Hello and welcome to Jihad and the World. In today’s episode, we look at the Swedish celebrity activist Thunberg, whom we feature in our upcoming book, “Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel and the World – 500 Days in Gaza.” The episode is titled “Greta – The Swedish Nightingale.” How have Ms. Thunberg’s activist energies, or Greta’s as she is known worldwide, been channeled to the Middle East? Who listens to her voice, and has that voice made a difference in world opinion and among national decision-makers? First, who is this famous Greta of Sweden?

Born in 2003, Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg soared to international fame in 2018, at age 15, when she organized a school strike in front of the Swedish parliament to protest, among other issues, climate change. She accused the West of indifference to environmental and humanitarian concerns. By her account, her passion for activism was initially sparked by school walkouts in the United States following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

She certainly gained the attention she sought. Time Magazine named her Person of the Year for 2019, making her the youngest recipient of that title. Among the many honors bestowed on her is the naming of a species of beetle, “Nelloptodes gretae.” She has spoken around the world and before the United Nations.

She earned these and myriad other honors despite significant childhood disabilities. At age 11, she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and selective mutism. She has been open and candid about these challenges, particularly her Asperger’s. All this has earned her a legion of admirers. In February 2019, 224 academics signed an open letter of support, stating that they were inspired by Thunberg's actions and by the schoolchildren who went on strike to demand social justice. Thunberg’s influence is sometimes called the “Greta effect.” It certainly increased public awareness of climate change. And her views on the Middle East? They are very clear. She despises Israel and took her cause and herself to the high seas in solidarity with Palestine.

She and other social justice activists sailed on the Global Sumud (Arabic for “steadfastness”) Flotilla in September 2025 to break Israel’s blockade of supplies into Gaza. It began with quite a fleet of 50 boats setting sail from Barcelona. It was quite an adventure, and Greta claimed that her craft was harassed by an unidentified drone. There is no evidence that this occurred. When she and her crew crossed into Israeli waters, they were intercepted by the Israeli Navy. They were not given a particularly warm reception, but neither are there any confirmed reports of abuse. Israel's Foreign Ministry filmed the event, and footage proved that Greta and others were handed water and a life jacket. Greta was also given a turkey sandwich. Announced an Israeli spokesman, "Greta and her friends are safe and healthy."

But there was a very serious moment in this nautical drama. The Israelis wanted the passengers and crew to watch a 43-minute movie consisting almost entirely of videos taken by Hamas members on October 7, 2023, showing them raping, mutilating, and murdering Israelis. However, Greta Thunberg and her pro-Hamas collaborators refused to watch the movie.

So, what did the world think of all this? There was divided opinion. A Hizbullah-affiliated media outlet hailed her heroism and lamented the perceived attacks on her character. The article read, “Greta, who was once applauded at the United Nations, is now insulted, arrested, and forced to kiss the Israeli occupation’s flag. The West, which sanctified her as a symbol of the ‘new moral consciousness,’ found itself facing a mirror exposing its hypocrisy.” The article underscored Thunberg’s statement, “No climate justice without human justice.”

However, other observers slammed the flotilla as yet another publicity stunt. They accused her of skippering a “selfie yacht.” The food the flotilla brought amounted to less than a truckload, compared with the 11 million meals Israel provided to Gazans in the two weeks before. Senator Lindsey Graham snickered about Greta’s intent to break the blockade, saying, “Hope you can swim.’

Other comments were more shrill. Journalist Christine Douglass-Williams opined, “Greta Thunberg’s trip to Gaza is more leftist idiocy and an exhibit of the left’s alliance with Islam. Even prior to October 7, Greta Thunberg was posting pro-jihad and anti-Israel propaganda on X. Her distribution of this propaganda only intensified following October 7.” And more barbs followed on social media.

Mike wrote, “Yes, she has become a pathetic little demented dwarf. She’s gonna spend the rest of her sad life skating by on her virtue-signaling glory days as a leftist environmentalist.

David M agreed. “If the globalists decided to roll out a teenage Swedish girl as their spokesperson, they could have chosen a good-looking, typical Swedish blonde girl, not a nasty little midget with self-professed mental disorders. Maybe they approached all the normal Swedish girls & none of them were stupid enough to do it.”

….and the comments get worse.

Well, it's clear that Greta has both admirers and detractors. Did she boost the plight of the Palestinians? The food was of no consequence. Did the publicity help? We at Kensington have no evidence of that. Much of the world is tired of Greta. Most see her, at best, as a pathetic figure who has become increasingly bitter. It is unlikely that many people wish her harm. But it is likely that many would like her to seek psychological help, pause her activism, and reflect on her behavior. That is the way we at Kensington see it.

This concludes this episode of Jihad and the World. Greta’s profile appears in our upcoming book, “Cauldron of Terror, which will be available in summer 2026. Nothing in this or any other Kensington podcast represents the official view of the United States government. Until our next podcast, goodbye, and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to Jihad and the World, a product of Kensington Security Consulting, where we bring education to national security. The author is Mark Silinsky. This episode is part of a series on Muslim-non-Muslim relations in Europe. This is a Polaroid of France, two years 50 years apart, namely 1968 and 2018. We selected these years because the 50-year difference offers a quick, though very incomplete, picture of France’s demographic and cultural transformation. Future Jihad and the West will feature podcasts that offer examples of friction between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe. So, now let’s turn to France in 1968.  

“Egalité! Liberté! Sexualité! A fun take on “1968” values

France erupted in protests in 1968. A general strike spread across factories and industries nationwide, shutting down businesses, airports, public transit, and newspapers. Revolutionary students temporarily seized the Paris Stock Exchange and raised a red flag atop the building. President de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and called for national elections. Nothing like this had occurred in recent history. The philosopher Jacques Derrida was developing a uniquely French school of Critical Theory. Michel Foucault, well into middle age, was enjoying his fame as a leading left-wing philosopher. He returned to Paris from Tunis, where he was teaching, and was warmly received by the left. His essays are still widely read in Europe and the United States.

At the Grenoble Olympics, French hero Jean-Claude Killy won the downhill skiing event. The 1968 Winter Olympics also marked the first time officials conducted gender and doping tests at the Winter Games. Popular movies that year included Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella,” Claude Chabrol’s Les Biches, and François Truffaut’s “The Bride Wore Black.” Patrick Modiano wrote his debut novel, “La Place de l'Etoile,” in 1968. In 2014, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for this work. French fashion was dominated by Christian Dior, Lanvin, Ungaro, and Yves Saint Laurent. However, American-style blue jeans became popular among young, more rebellious people, leading to the phasing out of school uniforms in 1968.

For decades, tourism has been a key source of national income. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Orsay Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, the restaurants, nightclubs, and walking tours drew millions of visitors. Disneyland Paris would not open until 1992. “The happiest place on earth.” By 1968, Muslims, especially those from North Africa, had found new, though not necessarily comfortable, homes in the French "banlieues," or impoverished, government-funded suburbs. But as in Britain, many Muslims had prospered in France by 1968, even though many did not feel fully French. Others, meanwhile, were curious about the social and sexual freedoms in France that were unthinkable in the Islamic world.

2018

Paris, the “City of Love,” had changed over 50 years. Officials built a protective barrier around the Eiffel Tower. But that did not stop angry extremists from breaching the defenses and shouting “Allah akhbar” in an attempt to kill a soldier in 2017. Disneyland Paris hotels require body scanning for its guests. Outside the Louvre museum, a machete-wielding man shouting “Allahu Akbar” attacked Korean tourists.

All this gave Paris a new infamy as one of the world’s most dangerous capitals, hurting tourist revenue. Many tourists booked vacations elsewhere because of constant headlines about killings there. In summer 2016, families celebrating a national holiday near the French Riviera were run over by a Jihadist in a 20-ton truck. One year earlier, Islamists shot and gutted satirists like sheep for drawing cartoons of Mohammed. A trendy Parisian nightclub became a slaughterhouse when Islamists fired automatic rifle shots into the crowd. Ninety people were killed on the Bataclan floor. The decline in tourism was especially hard on France because tourism accounted for 9% of its gross domestic product in 2015. As a result, Paris lost 1.5 million tourists in 2016.

Fashion has changed over the past 50 years. French women's hairstyles, such as Brigitte Bardot's pompadours and Catherine Deneuve's looks, came in and went out of style. The bikini remained popular, but a new swimwear option was introduced for French Muslim women: the "burkini"—part burqa, part bikini. One enduring fashion became too risky for many men to wear: the leader of Marseille’s Jewish community urged male Jews to stop wearing the skullcap, or kippah, “until better days,” to avoid being beaten by Muslims.

By 2018, many parts of Paris felt Middle Eastern. In Paris bars and coffee shops, men played cards and bet on horse races—women were not welcome. “Au Jockey Club” is clearly a male-only space, but it serves alcohol and resembles a high-street bookmaker more than a place for Islamists. Licensed as a betting shop, it mainly drew French Arab patrons who watched intently on giant screens showing races from Deauville.

The banlieues remain a world apart. The public housing projects that surround French cities, known as the banlieues, led to the declaration of a state of emergency. Since then, as much as €35 billion ($48 billion) has been spent demolishing grim 1960s tower blocks and replacing them with lower-rise housing, complete with landscaped paths and trees. New glass office buildings have emerged in low-rent business districts. Gilles Kepel, an Arab specialist, and a team of researchers spent a year in two areas northeast of Paris. The French are sensitive to such empirical studies, not only because they may be exploited by the far-right—Marine Le Pen of the National Front criticizes the "occupation" of the streets by Muslims during Friday prayers—but also because cultural explanations of immigrant behavior often clash with the belief in the integration model. And today? How are relations in France today? Have things gotten better? We will see in future podcasts.

This concludes this episode of Jihad and the World. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe and consider giving a like. Also, our latest book, “Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel, and the World,” will be available for purchase in summer 2026. This podcast does not reflect the official position of the United States government. Thank you for listening. Until our next podcast, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting.

Tariq Ramadan – The Search for Moderate Islam in the Ivy Halls of Europe

One scholar of Islam whose star has risen and fallen is Tarik Ramadan, who shot to movie-star fame among Europe’s burgeoning Islamic population, particularly its young. He garnered a large following among young Muslims and helped establish what has been called the European "Muslim Pride" movement, similar to Black Pride in the US during the 1960s. His rise in the European academy was as astonishing as his influence. So, who is this Tarik Ramadan?

Well, Ramadan was born in 1962 in Switzerland. His parents were native Egyptians, and his father, particularly his paternal grandfather, was heavily involved in the Muslim Brotherhood. So he grew up in an eclectic environment. In his words, he is “Swiss by nationality, Muslim by religion, Egyptian by memory.” And what is he “by politics”? Was he Muslim Brotherhood by politics? Perhaps he was a moderate Muslim whose political philosophy could be used to tame the more vocal elements of Europe’s Muslim population. Many Westerners found this very attractive. Ramadan stressed what he called “points of intersection” between Muslim and Western civilizations. But some observers of the Euro-Muslim scene were skeptical of his sincerity.

First, fairly or unfairly, they point to his bloodlines. He is Islamist royalty – his maternal grandfather, Hasan al-Banna, founded the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in 1928. We at Kensington Security Consulting have spoken at length about the Muslim Brotherhood. For now, we argue that the Muslim Brotherhood is the fountainhead of political Islam in the 20th Century. Tarik’s father, Said Ramadan, was heavily involved with the Brotherhood. So, should this, in any way, sully the image of Tarik Ramadan? No. But his critics point to his hagiographic books, articles, and speeches about these men. Nobody can choose their father or grandfather, but we can distance ourselves from their actions and ideas.

In any case, Ramadan became a celebrity among the West’s intelligentsia some thirty years ago. He cast Islam as misunderstood and Muslims as victims of Islamophobia. As for the blood-curdling chants of death to the Jews and Americans, he assured his Western listeners that these were aberrations and extremist. But he cautioned that the few extremists were empowered by Western policies, particularly untethered bigotry against Muslims, the failure to curb insulting comments about Islam and its prophet, and support for Israel. Absent all three of these maladies, Muslims and Westerners would be free of much of the cultural friction that grinds away at relations. And what about Islamic views on women, non-believers, and gays? What about the prohibition of leaving Islam? What about stoning women for adultery? He suggested a "moratorium" on the stoning of adulterers. This concerned a few feminists. Why didn’t he simply state that women should not be stoned to death, period? Well, Ramadan assures the West that Islam is much more tolerant than is understood.

Well, the West’s smart set liked what it heard. Time magazine named him one of the world's top hundred intellectuals in 2004. And listed to what it wrote, “ Few observers deny the seductive brilliance of Swiss philosopher and Islamic theoretician Tariq Ramadan, but disagreement over his true agenda is ferocious.” Yes, many people would agree with that assessment. He did have a “seductive brilliance,” as proven by his large following. And the second part of the sentence is equally true. There is a ferocious disagreement over his true and one journalist who has thought about this carefully is Caroline Fourest.

Caroline Fourest, a French feminist writer and journalist, has written many books on topics such as the conservative right, the pro-life movement, and religion. Fourest examined Ramadan’s lectures, books, and public pronouncements to understand his true political philosophy. The task was difficult, and she found what she called a “double discourse.” One set of ideas was proffered to a French, Western audience, and another to Europe’s Muslims.

She cites a handbook titled “Comprehension, Terminology and Discourse,” edited and largely written by Ramadan. “For each word,” Mme. Fourest writes, “the book explains how the word could be understood by Westerners and proposes a ‘conceptual formulation.’” Other observers argue much the same thing in plainer language. Ramadan practices double-talk to deceive Western audiences. Fourest presents many examples with extensive citations. These detailed citations show that Ramadan advocates very fundamentalist principles.

            Other times, his thoughts sound like mistranslations. On British television, he responded to the question of whether it was acceptable to kill children. His answer, “I don't believe that an eight-year-old child is a soldier. These acts are condemnable; therefore, one has to condemn them in themselves. But I say to the international community that they are contextually explicable, and not justifiable.” What does he mean by “contextually explicable?” Many were confused.

Well, confused or not, Notre Dame offered him a prestigious, full-time professorship at the Kroc Institute. However, the Department of Homeland Security scotched the offer by revoking his visa on the grounds of his associations with extremist organizations. A Notre Dame spokesman responded, “We know of no reason why he shouldn’t be allowed in. If we did, we wouldn’t have hired him.” However, “The fact that it was revoked at the 11th hour seems like a calculated political move by his opponents.”

Well, Oxford University hired him for a position in which he later developed a large following. At the time, Daniel Pipes pointed out his praise for extremists and his proven associations with them. He noted that France banned him from entering in 1996 on suspicion of links to an Algerian Islamist who had recently launched a terrorist campaign in Paris. He also revealed some of the circumlocution and babble that Ramadan excels at. Along with nearly all Islamists, Mr. Ramadan has denied that there is "any certain proof" that Bin Laden was behind 9/11. He publicly refers to the Islamist atrocities of 9/11, Bali, and Madrid as "interventions.” Interventions? Why not a full-throated condemnation of the attacks? Why not call them terrorist attacks?

Over the past 20 years, he has moved between universities. In the United States, his visa revocation was lifted, and he spoke at Cooper Union in New York City in 2010. But then came charges of rape. A blizzard of charges began in 2017. A 45-year-old disabled French convert accused him of rape. Then came four Swiss women. In November 2017, Oxford asked him to leave. When he went to France, he was arrested on charges of rape. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 18 years in prison. To boot, he has multiple sclerosis, so his stay in a French prison will likely be agonizing. What to make of all this?

            Well, this was the worst possible timing for Ramanda. It coincided with the middle of the Me Too movement, when many women were very vocal in their accusations. He faced the same scrutiny and fate as Oscar Wilde. Wilde had an impressive, very literary following. But when the charges and scandal hit, they abandoned him, and Wilde died in genteel poverty in Paris, pathetically alone. Epstein, Maxwell, and others suffered the same fate. Years after his death, Wilde was rediscovered and rehabilitated. But his satire was timeless. It may be that someone will rediscover Ramanda’s writings and find gravitas among them. I doubt it. His message is today worn and unpersuasive. In any case, he will have years to philosophize and reflect on how he treated women who look to him for spiritual guidance. This concludes this episode of Jihad and the World.

Hello from Jihad and the World – a podcast that explores the intersection of the Western and Islamic worlds. This is Mark Silinsky of Kensington Security Consulting, and we begin a ten-part series called Islamo-fascism. This first episode is called, “What is Islamo-fascism?” It examines the intersection of Islam and fascism.

Of all the unanswered questions of our time, perhaps the most important is: ‘What is Fascism?’” George Orwell, “What is Fascism?” 1944

Without success, George Orwell struggled to define “fascism.” He served with communists during the Spanish Civil War, barely surviving a bullet that grazed his neck. During the fight, he and others referred to Francisco’s Franco soldiers as fascists. Over time and reflection, he found similarities between the core principles of fascism and Stalinism. He despaired of finding an adequate definition of fascism. Orwell explained, “I have heard it applied to farmers, shopkeepers . . . corporal punishment, fox-hunting, bull-fighting . . . astrology, women, dogs, and I do not know what else.”

Today, defining fascism remains challenging. According to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s grandson Caio Mussolini, “You can’t define it as good or bad . . . The era of Italian fascism was a complicated, nuanced period.” Other writers avoid classifying fascism as either right- or left-leaning on the standard political spectrum. Many commentators use the term fascist interchangeably with far-right politics. However, journalist Jonah Goldberg popularized the term “liberal fascism,” citing progressive President Woodrow Wilson’s Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 as serious attacks on U.S. civil liberties.

The political philosophy of fascism was first developed during World War I by Giovanni Gentile. His slogan was, “All within the state; none outside the state; none against the state.” The first fascist movement to come to power was Mussolini's Blackshirts in Italy in 1922. For George Orwell and other political analysts, it was not easy to categorize Germany, Japan, and Italy under the same political framework. During World War II, the Soviet Union labeled the German military and political systems as fascist enterprises. Hitler admired fascism but considered National Socialism a distinct, yet related, political ideology.

When fascism took root in Europe in the 1920s, Islamist groups, or those groups that emphasize political and legal elements of Islam, gained a foothold in the Middle East. While different from their European counterparts, Berman notes they "had similar mythology, paranoia -- a cult of hatred and a cult of death." In the 1920s, Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood aimed to unify Muslims, expel non-Muslims, establish a unified Islamic theocracy, and crush the Zionist movement. President Bush's use of the term "Islamic Fascists" to describe al-Qaida-influenced terrorists underscores points of similarity between European fascism and the political elements of al-Qaida.

Paul Berman and Orwell pointed out that fascism and communism share important traits. They highlighted the similarities between fascist and communist governments. Journalists from the influential London newspaper, The Times, referred to the Soviet Union as a fascist country. The state controls most aspects of politics and society and seeks to impose uniformity of thought and action, whether through force or coercion. All the essentials of society must align with a leader's dictates. Colombia University Professor Robert Paxton emphasizes fascism’s focus on group identity, superiority, and victimization. James Gregor argues that ideologically diverse regimes like the Stalinist Soviet Union, Maoist China, and Fascist Italy share fascist-like traits, especially political absolutism.

During its early phases, fascism was exclusively European. Italian fascist leaders did not actively seek followers from the Islamic world. However, Hitler’s foreign office reached out to Muslims who shared hostility toward Jews and the British and French empires. Some Muslim intellectuals were drawn to National Socialism, a German combination of fascist and racial doctrines. Muslims also fought in Himmler’s SS divisions.

As European empires dissolved in the 1950s and 1960s, many Muslims turned to the Soviet Union as a model. Fascist political parties were banned in Europe, and Moscow’s anti-imperialism message resonated on university campuses in the Middle East. However, some Muslim leaders, like Haj al Amin Husseini and Anwar Sadat, remember European fascists with a nostalgic warning.

A prolonged conflict arose between religious and secular Muslims, particularly in North Africa during the 1970s and 1980s. In Iran, Islamic revolutionaries formed a new government in the early 1980s, causing responses across the Shia world. Among Sunni Muslims, long-dormant fundamentalism was revitalized and heavily financed by rulers of oil-exporting countries. Some policymakers in Washington praised Afghan fundamentalist insurgents as freedom fighters, while others remained skeptical.

Many observers were unsure how to interpret the numerous killings carried out by Muslims. Westerners hesitated to link the term fascism with Islam out of fear of appearing hostile to the religion. Journalists, politicians, and public officials avoided being seen as opposed to Islam. Fifty years after World War II, large Muslim communities remained unassimilated in European countries, especially in Britain, France, and Germany.

“Fascism with an Islamic face”

“. . . we love Adolf Hitler . . . Adolf Hitler was an Arab . . . Eva Braun is also our cousin.” Shouts of young males at a rally in Germany, 2017.

British historian Malise Ruthven described authoritarian Muslim governments in the Middle East as Islamofascist. After the September 2001 attacks in the United States, some journalists, including Stephen Schwartz and Christopher Hitchens, used the term to characterize the extreme authoritarian aspects of Islam. The late conservative Catholic commentator Joseph Sobran dismissed Islamofascism as an “empty propaganda term.” Islamofascism refers to the use of Islam as a cover for totalitarian ideology. Today, this radical phenomenon is represented among Sunni Muslims by fundamentalists like the Saudi-funded Wahhabis, Pakistani jihadists known as Jama’atis, and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Shia Islamofascism is exemplified by Hezbollah in Lebanon and the group around the revolving leaders of Iran.

But the term entered mainstream media when President George W. Bush referred to a thwarted suicide attack on airplanes as “a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists.” President Bush used the term on October 6, 2001, when speaking to the National Endowment for Democracy. He described this "murderous ideology" of Islamic radicals as "the great challenge of our new century."

But the answer was anything but simple. Some academics favored the term "Islamism," but Bush's aides thought it sounded too much like America was fighting the entire religion. Another option was jihadism, which many Muslims see as a positive word that doesn't necessarily bring to mind bloodshed. Some preferred the conservative buzzword "Islamofascism," which was catchy and fit well with Bush's historical view of the struggle.

But when national-security adviser Steve Hadley called the CIA, the Pentagon, and the State Department, the experts rejected the idea of using a single phrase for such a complex war. "There was a conscious desire not to use just one definitive word, because there wasn't a perfect one," recalls Michael Gerson, Bush's chief speechwriter at the time. The result was a confusing mix of words. "Some call this evil Islamic radicalism," Bush explained, "others, militant jihadism; still others, Islamofascism. Whatever it's called, this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam."

Five years after 9/11 and more than three years after invading Iraq, President Bush is still searching for the perfect phrase to define the enemy in the war on terror—and to reassure Americans who will soon head to the polls. Other Republicans—including former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum adopted "Islamofascism" as shorthand for terrorists. The term gained currency in the early '90s in reference to radical Muslim clerics and was popularized after 9/11 by neocons.

In the same year that President Bush compared Islamism to fascism, the top U.S. military official in the Middle East, General John Abizaid, compared the rise of Islamist ideologies to the explosion of fascism in Europe during the 1920s and 1930s. He stressed the importance of confronting it. ‘If we don’t have enough guts to confront this ideology today, we’ll go through World War Three tomorrow.’ Abizaid gave this speech at Harvard University.

Another military official, Colonel Dale C. Eikmeier from the U.S. Army War College, stated that Qutbism is a variant of ‘Islamic-Fascism,’ and the ‘War on Terrorism’ is also a war against ‘Islamic-Fascists’. Intellectuals such as Norman Podhoretz and Christopher Hitchens also used the term ‘Islamofascism’ to describe al-Qaida-and other jihadist groups. Podhoretz warned that the West will need to fight a ‘fourth world war’ against the ‘Islamofascists’, while Hitchens defended ‘Islamofascism’ as a valid term and more than merely propaganda for the Bush regime. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the USA, Hitchens argued that al-Qaida-represented a ‘fascism with an Islamic face’. In 2007, the neo-conservative activist David Horowitz launched a series of lectures and protests on college campuses in the USA under the banner of ‘Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week’, which led to accusations of Islamophobia by some Muslim students and anti-racist groups. Decades later, the debate still rages, which is the subject of the podcasts you will soon here.

Thank you for listening to this first, episode of Islamo-fascism. Our latest book, Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel, and the World, will be available for purchase in July 2026. This podcast does not reflect the official position of the United States government. Until next time, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting.

Hello and welcome to the podcast Empire of Terror. Its author is Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting. This episode is a follow-up to the reading of the book by that name. It is called A Tale of Two Persians. It drills into the story of a very fashionable, if emotionally unstable, Iranian woman who is being defenestrated by U.S. immigration officials. She and her daughter have clearly worn out their welcome in the United States. It also examines the confusing case of a cancer researcher linked by blood to the Laranjani clan in Iran. Both women hail from Iranian revolutionary royalty.

Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, 47, and her 25-year-old daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, have been in the news a lot lately. This scantily dressed pair is quite the fashion plates in Los Angeles. The two were issued deportation notices and are currently detained by ICE. So, what gives? In particular, who is Mom - Hamideh Soleimani Afshar? Why is she being deported? This is the answer offered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

“Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States. Afshar is the niece of the deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the "Great Satan." This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter's legal status, and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States. The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

How did all this happen? Afshar entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in June 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and obtained her green card in 2021. On the surface, she appeared to be a credible candidate. But when the surface was scratched, many problems emerged. In a 2025 naturalization application, Afshar disclosed that she had visited Iran four times since receiving her green card. “Her trips to Iran illustrate that her asylum claims were fraudulent,” a DHS official said. She also has an Iranian revolutionary pedigree. She is the niece of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's expeditionary force. Soleimani, known as “supermani,” was killed in a deadly 2020 U.S. airstrike. This was not necessarily disqualifying. But her shrill anti-American rhetoric seems to echo that of her uncle and the regime he fought for.

According to the State Department, Soleimani Afshar, a prolific social media user, referred to the US as the “Great Satan” and celebrated attacks on US soldiers in the Middle East. The New York Post reported that Soleimani Afshar published messages of support for the Iranian regime, including since the ongoing war that started in February, and welcomed the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader to take over from his father, who was killed on the first day of the US-Israel campaign.

Then there is her temper.

She is also hot-headed and prone to emotional outbursts. After she was incarcerated in a federal deportation center, she reached out to an old beau, who refused to take her call. He claimed she abused and kicked him. In his words, “I don’t want anything to do with her. She scares me. I was so afraid of her. She knows how to make herself seem like an angel, and you feel like the devil. I wanted someone to take her away – now it’s happened.” Perhaps her impulsivity stems from unresolved issues with her father, as this old boyfriend speculated. “She takes advantage of every man she knows. She was saying ‘I love you,’ but I was so afraid. She said I reminded her of her dad. All these years, I was suffering. I wanted to have my life back.”

And be careful with her hair. Her LA hairdresser obtained a five-year restraining order against her, claiming she became unhinged and stalked him at his home. “Thank God,” he said, exasperated, upon hearing of her ice arrest. “That’s good. She’s a stalker.”

Others who do not know her personally resent her perceived hypocrisy. She gives full-throated support to the Revolutionary regime, which would have little time for her shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive. Others, particularly Iranians who have built new homes in the United States, are part of Los Angeles’s thriving Iranian-American community, most of which views the Revolutionary regime as a toxic force. They cannot understand her cheerleading for a regime that might toss acid in her face if she wore the pink poodle dress she displays on her TikTok account. A neighbor said, “She also drove a black Tesla, which on Saturday was stuffed with luxury goods, including a Miss Dior bag, some Hermes cushions, a Sephora makeup bag, and another gray leather handbag in the front seat.”

What do others think about the deportation? The Persian princess did not receive much support online. One Internet observer cautions, “Enter kooky, leftist judge to put the kybosh on this endeavor.” Another observer, Infidel, says, “Well done, Sec Rubio, for revoking their Green Cards. Now that the template has been set, maybe his department can also revoke the Green Cards of every Islamic activist there in the UK. And also work w/ DHS to see whether Ilhan Omar’s fraudulent citizenship can be revoked?”

The move comes just days after Emory University fired Fatemeh Ardeshir Larijani. If the name sounds familiar, it is because she is the daughter of former Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and the wife of Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. As with the Soleimani clan, the Larijani offspring cannot be held responsible for their parents' behavior. But was it Fatemeh's behavior that earned her the door? A physician, Dr. Larijani, was an assistant professor at Emory’s prestigious Winship Cancer Institute. No longer. After 100,000 people signed a petition calling for her deportation, she was notified that she had to leave. How influential was this petition or other popular efforts in the decision to dismiss her? We at Kensington do not know. But we are concerned because, despite searching the Internet, we could not find much valuable material. The university released this memo: “Emory is committed to advancing patient care, research, and education. Our employees are hired in full compliance with state and federal laws and other applicable requirements.” OK, fair enough. This is standard bureaucratic piffle. But why did they fire her? Here we can only speculate.

Emory may have uncovered something serious about her that they disliked. Were her comments subversive or anti-American? Maybe, but where are they? Wouldn’t someone have posted them to support the demand to fire her? Also, universities are chockablock with America-hating and anti-Semitic professors whose rants are heard all over campuses. How often are they fired? Finally, this would be a cause to celebrate for civil libertarians of all political philosophies. It is highly likely that some civil rights lawyers investigated this case. It is also likely that they determined she had neither a strong legal nor an ethical basis. Wouldn’t you agree? But we at Kensington stress that this is rank speculation. Do you have thoughts or inside baseball on this? If so, contact us at Kensington Security Consulting, and we will post your ideas. Also, you may be interested in a book we published that profiles Qasem Soleimani. The book is Empire of Terror – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

This concludes an episode of Empire of Terror, which is a service of Kensington Security Consulting. Nothing in this episode or any episode on this podcast represents the official position of the United States government. Until next time, goodbye and thank you for listening.

Hello and welcome to the podcast of Jihad and the World, which explores the intersection of Western and Islamic Civilizations. Its author is Mark Silinsky, president of Kensington Security Consulting. This episode is called A Tale of Two Persians. It drills into the story of a very fashionable, if emotionally unstable, Iranian woman who is being defenestrated by U.S. immigration officials. She and her daughter have clearly worn out their welcome in the United States. It also examines the confusing case of a cancer researcher linked by blood to the Laranjani clan in Iran. Both women hail from Iranian revolutionary royalty.

Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, 47, and her 25-year-old daughter, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, have been in the news a lot lately. This scantily dressed pair is quite the fashion plates in Los Angeles. The two were issued deportation notices and are currently detained by ICE. So, what gives? In particular, who is Mom - Hamideh Soleimani Afshar? Why is she being deported? This is the answer offered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio:

“Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States. Afshar is the niece of the deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the "Great Satan." This week, I terminated both Afshar and her daughter's legal status, and they are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States. The Trump Administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.”

How did all this happen? Afshar entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in June 2015, was granted asylum in 2019, and obtained her green card in 2021. On the surface, she appeared to be a credible candidate. But when the surface was scratched, many problems emerged. In a 2025 naturalization application, Afshar disclosed that she had visited Iran four times since receiving her green card. “Her trips to Iran illustrate that her asylum claims were fraudulent,” a DHS official said. She also has an Iranian revolutionary pedigree. She is the niece of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's expeditionary force. Soleimani, known as “supermani,” was killed in a deadly 2020 U.S. airstrike. This was not necessarily disqualifying. But her shrill anti-American rhetoric seems to echo that of her uncle and the regime he fought for.

According to the State Department, Soleimani Afshar, a prolific social media user, referred to the US as the “Great Satan” and celebrated attacks on US soldiers in the Middle East. The New York Post reported that Soleimani Afshar published messages of support for the Iranian regime, including since the ongoing war that started in February, and welcomed the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as supreme leader to take over from his father, who was killed on the first day of the US-Israel campaign.

Then there is her temper.

She is also hot-headed and prone to emotional outbursts. After she was incarcerated in a federal deportation center, she reached out to an old beau, who refused to take her call. He claimed she abused and kicked him. In his words, “I don’t want anything to do with her. She scares me. I was so afraid of her. She knows how to make herself seem like an angel, and you feel like the devil. I wanted someone to take her away – now it’s happened.” Perhaps her impulsivity stems from unresolved issues with her father, as this old boyfriend speculated. “She takes advantage of every man she knows. She was saying ‘I love you,’ but I was so afraid. She said I reminded her of her dad. All these years, I was suffering. I wanted to have my life back.”

And be careful with her hair. Her LA hairdresser obtained a five-year restraining order against her, claiming she became unhinged and stalked him at his home. “Thank God,” he said, exasperated, upon hearing of her ice arrest. “That’s good. She’s a stalker.”

Others who do not know her personally resent her perceived hypocrisy. She gives full-throated support to the Revolutionary regime, which would have little time for her shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive. Others, particularly Iranians who have built new homes in the United States, are part of Los Angeles’s thriving Iranian-American community, most of which views the Revolutionary regime as a toxic force. They cannot understand her cheerleading for a regime that might toss acid in her face if she wore the pink poodle dress she displays on her TikTok account. A neighbor said, “She also drove a black Tesla, which on Saturday was stuffed with luxury goods, including a Miss Dior bag, some Hermes cushions, a Sephora makeup bag, and another gray leather handbag in the front seat.”

What do others think about the deportation? The Persian princess did not receive much support online. One Internet observer cautions, “Enter kooky, leftist judge to put the kybosh on this endeavor.” Another observer, Infidel, says, “Well done, Sec Rubio, for revoking their Green Cards. Now that the template has been set, maybe his department can also revoke the Green Cards of every Islamic activist there in the UK. And also work w/ DHS to see whether Ilhan Omar’s fraudulent citizenship can be revoked?”

The move comes just days after Emory University fired Fatemeh Ardeshir Larijani. If the name sounds familiar, it is because she is the daughter of former Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and the wife of Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. As with the Soleimani clan, the Larijani offspring cannot be held responsible for their parents' behavior. But was it Fatemeh's behavior that earned her the door? A physician, Dr. Larijani, was an assistant professor at Emory’s prestigious Winship Cancer Institute. No longer. After 100,000 people signed a petition calling for her deportation, she was notified that she had to leave. How influential was this petition or other popular efforts in the decision to dismiss her? We at Kensington do not know. But we are concerned because, despite searching the Internet, we could not find much valuable material. The university released this memo: “Emory is committed to advancing patient care, research, and education. Our employees are hired in full compliance with state and federal laws and other applicable requirements.” OK, fair enough. This is standard bureaucratic piffle. But why did they fire her? Here we can only speculate.

Emory may have uncovered something serious about her that they disliked. Were her comments subversive or anti-American? Maybe, but where are they? Wouldn’t someone have posted them to support the demand to fire her? Also, universities are chockablock with America-hating and anti-Semitic professors whose rants are heard all over campuses. How often are they fired? Finally, this would be a cause to celebrate for civil libertarians of all political philosophies. It is highly likely that some civil rights lawyers investigated this case. It is also likely that they determined she had neither a strong legal nor an ethical basis. Wouldn’t you agree? But we at Kensington stress that this is rank speculation. Do you have thoughts or inside baseball on this? If so, contact us at Kensington Security Consulting, and we will post your ideas. Also, you may be interested in a book we published that profiles Qasem Soleimani. The book is Empire of Terror – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

This concludes an episode of Jihad and the World, which is a service of Kensington Security Consulting. Nothing in this episode or any episode on this podcast represents the official position of the United States government. Until next time, goodbye and thank you for listening.

       Hello from Jihad and the World – a podcast that explores the intersection of Western and Islamic cultures. The author is Mark Silinsky of Kensington Security Consulting, which provides education on national security. This is Episode Three in a ten-part series about a mass murder attack at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. In this episode, we look at Hasan’s early life and early career in the U.S. Army. The series is titled “Rampage – Mass Murder at Fort Hood.”

       Hasan was born on September 8, 1970, in Arlington, Virginia, to Jordanian parents of Palestinian descent. His mother, Hanan Ismail “Nora” Hasan, was born in Israel in 1952 to an Arab family and remained dedicated to her Palestinian identity. His father, Malik Awadallah Hassan, was born in Palestine. Malik Hasan immigrated to Virginia in 1962 at age 16, and “Nora” Hasan arrived around the same time. They owned Mount Olive Grill and Bar, as well as a grocery store in the Roanoke area. The family lives on Lancelot Lane in Northwest Roanoke. They also owned the Community Grocery Store on Elm Avenue in Roanoke.

            The Hasans operated the Capitol Restaurant in the Roanoke City Market from 1987 to 1995. A local newspaper described it as “a dive beer hall and diner with a bad reputation and many down-and-out regulars.” For the next eight years, customers enjoyed greasy blue-plate specials and sipped Old Milwaukee in the worn wooden booths, while a jukebox played Motown tunes. In a 1995 interview with The Roanoke Times, Malik Hasan, Nidal's father, admitted that "the reputation of the Capitol wasn't that good." Nora died in 2001. She managed the now-closed Capitol Restaurant in the Roanoke area. According to her obituary, she was “known for her ability to keep sometimes rowdy customers out of trouble and always had a warm meal for someone who otherwise would not have anything to eat that evening,” and she was highly valued for her kindness and dedication.

        The family opened an upscale restaurant, Mount of Olives Bar and Grill, on Jefferson Street, named after his father's olive grove in Jerusalem. The restaurant featured an elegant atmosphere and served imported beers, lamb kebabs, and stuffed grape leaves. The Hasan family also owned the Hot Dog Queen on Church Avenue, Parrish Grocery on Fourth Street, and Community Grocery on Elm Avenue. Malik Hasan died in 1998 at age 52 from a massive heart attack. His wife, Nora, passed away three years later at age 49. Both were very proud of their accomplished and promising son Nidal.

            Boyhood

            Nidal Hasan spent one year at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia, as a freshman in 1986 before transferring to William Flemming in Roanoke, from which he graduated in 1988. He attended Virginia Western Community College from 1990 to 1992 and graduated summa cum laude with an associate degree in science. Afterward, he enrolled at Virginia Tech as a pre-med major. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in biochemistry from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, minoring in biology and chemistry. Before attending Virginia Tech, Hasan completed coursework at both Barstow Community College in California and Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke. Hasan was not affiliated with the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets or any ROTC program at Tech.

            Hasan obtained a concealed weapons permit in 1996, according to Roanoke County Circuit Court records. The Roanoke Times archives indicate he graduated from Virginia Tech in 1995. He later attended the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland, where he completed his studies in 2003. He finished his residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in 2007. He was also a fellow at the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Bethesda military medical school, specializing in disaster and preventive care psychiatry.

          “He would tell us that the military was his life," Hasan's aunt recalled. “He did not make many friends.” He was unmarried and had no children. Colleagues at Walter Reed reported he avoided contact with women. He remained a devout Muslim, praying daily at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, Md., sometimes arriving in his Army fatigues. Since September 11, 2001, the aunt said, he had been harassed because of his Muslim faith and sought to be discharged from the military. He even hired a lawyer to see if he could get out of the Army before his contract expired. This was his aunt’s account. Others who knew him would dispute it.

            While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan faced some "difficulties" that needed counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time. He remembered Hasan as a "mostly very quiet" person who never spoke badly about the military or his country. Others described Hasan as blunt about his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This pent-up resentment, alienation, and anger toward the United States would surface in November 2009. Hasan’s difficulties will be discussed in the next episode of Rampage – Mass Murder at Fort Hood.

        Thanks for listening to this episode of Jihad and the World. Our upcoming book, Cauldron of Terror – Hamas, Israel, and the World, will be available in July 2026. This podcast does not represent the official position of the United States government. Until next time, goodbye from Kensington Security Consulting.