| |  | | | Islamism's Chokehold on the West, Turkey's Love Affair with ISIS, and the Future of a Divided Syria By Ahnaf Kalam ● Aug 12, 2025 Smart Brevity® count: 8 mins...2073 words In this edition of the Dispatch, Mardo Soghom details Iran's desperate security overhaul after Israel's June 2025 airstrikes, appointing centrist Ali Larijani amid fears of unrest and attacks, though Tehran clings to nuclear ambitions and regional aggression. Giulio Meotti and Yuval David expose Islamism's grip on the West: Europe's elites surrendering to sharia courts, halal mandates, and cultural appeasement while radicals hijack far-left causes through a "red-green alliance" that history proves ends in betrayal. In Syria's fractures, Sirwan Kajjo analyzes a Kurdish-led Hasakah conference rallying Druze and Alawite foes against President al-Sharaa's authoritarian rule, risking dual governments, while Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi shares Druze leaders' united blast at Damascus' barbaric al-Suwayda' siege as ethnic cleansing, praising Israeli intervention and demanding accountability. | | Iran Revamps Security Council, Signaling Survival Mode After Israeli Assault  By: Mardo Soghom Iran's rulers, reeling from Israel's June 2025 air onslaught, just revamped their security apparatus—forming a new National Defense Council and installing centrist Ali Larijani as Supreme National Security Council secretary. This shakeup screams survival instinct, but we shouldn't count on Tehran bending to the West or dodging another Israeli hammer anytime soon. Iran in Survival Mode: -
Iran's top brass prioritizes self-preservation after Israel wiped out key commanders, nuclear scientists, and facilities in a 12-day onslaught. -
Domestically, water shortages and blackouts fuel the risk of unrest , forcing the regime to brace for internal explosions or external strikes. Larijani's Power Grab: -
Ditching an IRGC hardliner, Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian taps ex-Parliament speaker Larijani to watchdog any and all threats, especially tech ones. -
Some see it as a much-needed gutting of radical Saeed Jalili's crew; others call it a ploy to stall a potential round two of Israeli strikes or to sweet-talk the West into easing sanctions. Nuclear Saber-Rattling Redux: -
Larijani, months before the war, barked that attacks would force Iran's hand on nuclear weapons. -
Now, with air defenses shredded and no Russian or Chinese bailouts, Tehran's military clings to suppressing dissent—not defending borders. Defiance Over Dialogue: -
With no whiff of retreat, Iran doubles down on uranium enrichment, missiles, Israel-bashing, and arming Russia in its war against Ukraine. -
This "reform" looks like bureaucratic duct tape for a crumbling regime, not a policy To read the full article, click here. | | The Caliphate Is Advancing in the European Twilight  By: Giulio Meotti European leaders have lost sight of their own cultural identities, giving the impression that they believe "the West" to simply be the direction where the sun sets. Europe's Kowtowing to Islam: -
The Dutch ex-Justice Minister Pieter Donner insists on Muslim majority votes on sharia, while Western democracy delivers it. -
A German school in Gelsenkirchen enforces halal-only menu, while scrapping pork products to appease Islam. -
Belgian Jews must conceal symbols of their faith in order to stay safe all across the country. Sharia's Stonghold in the U.K.: -
The U.K. government advertises a "Sharia Administrator" role at £23,500 in Manchester mosque—which was quickly pulled after MP outrage. The position demands Sharia experience in the ex-Christian church-turned-mosque. -
London currently dominates as the epicenter of shariah in the West, boasting 100,000 Quranic marriages and 85 operating sharia courts. The Elites' Moral Collapse: -
Today in Europe, you will find no conquerors on horseback—rather, a large number of spineless leaders ditching Europe's Christian foundation for "multicultural" cowardice. -
Top U.K. judges like Sir James Munby, Archbishop Rowan Williams, and Supreme Court President Lord Phillips naively champion sharia integration. -
German minister Jochen Hartloff continues this dangerous trend by greenlighting what he calls "modern" sharia. The Caliphate's Silent Conquest: -
Demographic boom fuels Islamic dominance; Europe trades its own ingrained identity in order to avoid potential "offense." Schools, laws, and the media bend backward, mortgaging the future in self-sabotage. The Twilight's Dire Warning: -
Europe's civilization dims under the foreboding Islamic shadow. The entire continent must reverse its surrender now, lest it watch helplessly as the West is taken over forever. Terribly late, but not impossible. To read the full article, click here. | | ICYMI – "Israel Strikes Iran: Operation Rising Lion" with Edwin Black For two decades, Iran's regime pursued a clandestine nuclear agenda, aiming to unleash apocalyptic devastation on Israel. Israel's response, the daring Operation Rising Lion, sparked the intense 12-Day War, reshaping the Middle East's geopolitical landscape. How did this high-stakes clash unfold, and what does it mean for the region's future. Edwin Black is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of numerous books translated into 20 languages across 190 countries, with his latest being Israel Strikes Iran: Operation Rising Lion. His work, spanning human rights, genocide, and the Middle East, has earned multiple Pulitzer Prize nominations and top editorial awards. Black hosts The Edwin Black Show, a weekly podcast exploring history and social justice, and serves as the first scholar-in-residence for the International March of the Living at Auschwitz. To watch the full podcast episode, click here. | | How Islamists Exploit the Western Far Left to Promote Extremism  By: Yuval David Radical Islamists hijack progressive causes for power grabs, ditching allies once victorious. The Muslim Brotherhood's Playbook: Team with anti-colonialists, then purge them for Islamist rule. Today, they embed in racial justice, LGBTQ+, and feminism—hiding anti-freedom goals behind leftist buzzwords. The Red-Green Alliance in the West: -
Australia's Gaza protests fuse Islamist extremists with green-Marxist radicals, spewing violent anti-Western hate. -
France's La France Insoumise courts Muslim votes with "genocide" smears against Israel and by selecting the pro-Palestinian firebrand Rima Hassan for EU Parliament. -
Islamist outfits like American Muslims for Palestine march with Students for Justice in Palestine and the Democratic Socialists of America—united in anti-Israel, antisemitic fury. An Agenda of Shared Destruction: -
Islamists crave religious tyranny while leftists chase secular utopias. But both have a vested interest in bringing about the end of capitalism, democracy, and Zionism. -
As the jailed U.K. preacher Anjem Choudary pushes ideological war, CAIR fakes progressive alliances on BLM while masking extremism in the U.S. -
French intel exposes Muslim Brotherhood youth groups as Islamist breeding grounds who push for hate-speech laws to silence critics. Congressional Crackdown Looms: -
A recent U.S. bill targets the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist threat, linking it to Hamas and other anti-Western groups. -
Reformist Maajid Nawaz warns: Islamists crave power, not pluralism—leftists' victimhood tales just provide them cover. Inevitible Backstab: -
History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme—Iran's 1979 revolution axed its leftist partners just as Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood betrayed its secular rebels. -
Today's enablers in academia, unions, and activism ignore the widespread Islamist hatred for women's rights, gays, and free speech. Whether they know it yet or not, the Islamists will come for them next. A Harsh Reality Check: -
Leftists' "solidarity" empowers their enemies who are intent on erasing their freedoms, and indeed, their very existence. -
Liberal societies in the West must reject this toxic pact—or watch democracy crumble under Islamist dominance. To read the full article, click here. | | MEF Action Alert: Stop Turkey's F-35 Purchase  Turkey is pushing to rejoin the F-35 program despite owning Russia's S-400 missile system, which threatens U.S. aircraft and risks exposing sensitive F-35 technology to Russian intelligence. In response, member of Congress are circulating a Dear Colleague letter that calls on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to deny an F-35 arms deal with Turkey under the 2017 Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which formally removed Turkey from the F-35 program in 2019. This is a critical moment. Allowing Turkey back without removing its S-400s endangers U.S. national security, undermines our defense industry, and compromises Israel's Qualitative Military Edge. We must not reward Turkey, which continues to host Hamas leadership, attack U.S. allies in Syria, and threaten the territorial integrity of Greece and Armenia. The F-35 is vital for U.S. aerial superiority and global defense partnerships. Act Now! Urge your House Representative to sign the letter to Secretary Rubio demanding the White House reject Turkey's F-35 bid and uphold CAATSA sanctions. Time is short—Turkey's actions threaten U.S. interests and must not be rewarded. Sign up now to protect our military secrets and defense leadership! Click here to sign up for our letter-writing campaign to demand Congress reject Turkey's F-35 bid and uphold CAATSA sanctions. | | Turkey Was a Conduit for Jihadists to Join ISIS in Syria, FBI Told U.S. Court  By: Abdullah Bozkurt FBI documents expose Turkey as a deliberate transit hub for ISIS recruits, letting an American would-be terrorist slip through to attempt joining the group in Syria. How It Happened: -
U.S. citizen Mohamed Fathy Suliman, 38, flew one-way from Orlando to Istanbul in 2014, ditched his Egypt connection, and bought a cash ticket to border city Gaziantep. -
He then paid smugglers $50 to cross illegally near Kilis, aiming to link up with ISIS or al-Nusra using online jihadist guides. Turkey's Complicity: -
Border guards caught Suliman but fined him just $900. They ignored his U.S. citizenship and deported him to Sudan at his request—without alerting American officials. -
This mirrored Turkey's pattern: permissive borders in Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, and Kilis have funneled thousands of foreign fighters to ISIS territory, with quick releases for those detained. Erdogan's Fingerprints: -
Turkey's MIT intelligence agency, under President Erdogan, actively shuttled jihadists into Syria to oust Assad, clashing with the military until a 2016 purge cleared out opposing generals. The Fallout: Why It Matters: To read the full article, click here. | | Hasakah and Damascus Contest for Legitimacy in a Divided Syria  By: Sirwan Kajjo A Kurdish-led conference in Hasakah exposes Syria's deepening divide, rallying Druze and Alawite foes against President Ahmed al-Sharaa's violent authoritarian regime and risking a Libya-style dual-government standoff. How It Happened: -
On August 8, 2025, the Autonomous Administration in northeast Syria hosted a "Unity of Components" conference pushing for a democratic constitution, pluralism, and decentralization—drawing virtual input from Druze leader Hikmat al-Hijri and Alawite sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, both al-Sharaa critics. Damascus' Backlash: -
The event enraged al-Sharaa's government, prompting it to scrap a planned Paris meeting with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). -
Pro-regime voices branded attendees separatists and traitors, while rogue militias—backed by Turkey—sparked clashes with Kurdish forces. Al-Sharaa's Failures: -
Since seizing power in December 2024, al-Sharaa and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham have turned sectarian and dictatorial, staging sham dialogues in Damascus, attacking Druze and Alawites, and centralizing power. -
This has quickly led to the alienating of minorities and moderates who now view the Kurds as the anti-extremist option. Turkey's Echo: -
Ankara, labeling the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as PKK terrorists, stayed silent while allowing pro-government media to amplify Damascus' smears, fearing the conference's nationwide democratic push could empower the Kurds beyond the northeast. Why It Matters: To read the full article, click here. | | Statements by Syria's Druze Religious Leaders on the al-Suwayda' Events  By: Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi All three top Druze spiritual leaders unite to blast the Syrian government's barbaric siege and attack, branding it extremist betrayal and demanding total withdrawal, prisoner releases, and international probes. The Big Picture: -
Leaders Hamoud al-Hanawi and Yusuf Jerbo align with Hikmat al-Hijri, calling the assault a stab in the back that targeted Druze existence. -
They liken regime forces to Mongol invaders wreaking havoc, praise local fighters' self-defense, and thank Israeli Druze chief Muwaffaq Tarif for lobbying Israel's intervention that halted the onslaught. The Regime's Siege Tactics: -
The new Syrian regime throttles al-Suwayda' with blocks on food, medicine, fuel, and infrastructure, while pro-regime tribal militias loot, burn, and kill civilians—acts which leaders decry as 'ethnic cleansing' and 'sectarian slaughter.' Druze Defiance: -
Druze leaders vow no submission, urging community unity to share resources and resist. They reject the regime's smears of separatism, warn against internal strife, and expose the Arab media's complicit cover-up of facts. Why It Matters: -
Damascus' disastrous moves alienate the entire Druze community, shattering trust and control in al-Suwayda'; without accountability and policy reversal, the regime fuels Syria's fractures and invites more foreign meddling. To read the full article, click here. | | We appreciate your trust in the Middle East Forum for timely insights into regional developments. If you found this edition of the MEF Dispatch valuable, consider sharing it with a colleague or friend and feel free to share your feedback on the Dispatch and the topics we address through the comments section. Sincerely,
Ahnaf Kalam
Digital Media Specialist
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