Editor’s Note: Why This Matters Now
Confusion today is not accidental; it is cultivated. Euphemism has replaced precision, and moral clarity is increasingly dismissed as intolerance. In this environment, asking necessary questions about ideology, power, and democracy is treated as provocation rather than responsibility.
CLARITy Coalition exists because that evasion is not sustainable or acceptable.
Across Canada, the United States, and allied democracies, Islamist movements—political, not theological—have learned to operate comfortably within liberal systems while advancing illiberal aims. They exploit democratic freedoms, weaponize pluralism, and rely on institutional reluctance to name the problem. Too often, governments and civil society fail to distinguish between Muslims as citizens and Islamism as an ideology, leaving reformers marginalized and policy adrift.
The consequences are tangible: campus intimidation reframed as activism, foreign influence masked as community engagement, and legislation shaped without ideological honesty. Silence in these cases is not neutrality; it is abdication.
Clear Insights is a civic intervention, not a partisan project or a culture-war exercise. Our purpose is to restore clarity—grounded in evidence, liberal principles, and lived experience. Each month, we will focus on what matters now: the policies being shaped, the ideas gaining ground, and the cost of continued evasion.
Clarity is not cruelty. It is a responsibility—and responsibility can no longer be deferred.
Highlight
Statement from the Clarity Coalition on the Death of Ali Khamenei and the Hope for a New Iran
In the early hours of February 28, a coordinated U.S.–Israeli military campaign, reported as Operation Epic Fury, launched a series of precision strikes against strategic targets across Iran. The operation focused primarily on degrading the regime’s military and security infrastructure, including missile launch platforms, command-and-control centres ass…
Op-Ed: For Khamenei and against the United States
Given the political and cultural divisions in the United States today, it is hardly surprising that Americans are divided over the current war with Iran. Such arguments fall within the scope of previous disputes over other wars, and in a functioning democracy, opponents of war can feel free to speak their minds, while expecting their freedom of speech to be Constitutionally protected. Their patriotism should not be attacked because of their dissent either. Some protests, however, fall well outside the normal bounds.
Most wars have a defining moment, like Pearl Harbor and 9/11. That is the case today: among opponents of the war are some who explicitly express their hatred of the United States and even cheer for its destruction.
The irony here is staggering. These individuals rely on the very freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution- freedoms of speech, assembly, and protest – to defend an authoritarian regime that denies its own citizens those same rights. In Iran, protests are brutally crushed and people are arrested, imprisoned, and much worse.
If the mere fact that there are people memorializing a murderous dictator responsible for decades of violence, repression, and global terror does not shock you, their words might.
Take, for example, comments made during a memorial service for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Hadi Institute in Dearborn, Michigan: “The U.S. was built by devil-worshipers” and “the Statue of Liberty is Lucifer.” The Institute’s spiritual leader, Usama Abdulghani, stressed the importance of members bringing up their children in this culture of worshiping “martyrs” such as Khamenei.
This is not simply political commentary or religious devotion. It reflects a culture of deep hostility towards the West, aligning perfectly with the ideological worldview of the Iranian regime, with their openly stated goal of destroying the West.
Nor was the Dearborn ceremony the only time when this hatred was expressed. The Middle East Media Research Institute has compiled numerous similar videos where this rhetoric is repeated and celebrated. The pattern is unmistakable.
As the war continues, Islamist-inspired protests are appearing on American streets.
On March 6, groups associated with other anti-American rallies – which include the Campaign to Free President Maduro and the Workers World Party, among others- held a vigil and community iftar at Washington Square Park in New York City honoring Khamenei and “all those killed at the hands of Amerikan pigs.”
These events are not at all spontaneous. The first wave of pro-Khamenei/anti U.S. protests on February 28 were mobilized even before President Trump announced the attack on Iran.
This is not simply dissent over U.S. Policy. It is the convergence of ideological movements that are united by their hostility to the United States. When open admiration for authoritarian rulers and contempt for the United States are publicly expressed on American soil, it raises difficult but necessary questions about the ideological currents being cultivated within certain circles – and about whether Americans are paying enough attention.
For the majority of Iranians who fled the Islamist regime, the prospect of the collapse of the Islamic Regime brings renewed hope and great joy.
They should never be confused with those who, rather than fleeing the regime’s oppression, came here to further its aims from the safety and freedom provided by the United States.
What We’re Reading
9 Fulani Leaders Face Terrorism Trial Over Yelewata Massacre That Killed 270 — News Desk
Nine co-conspirators allegedly responsible for the 2025 massacre of over 270 Christians in Yelewata, Nigeria, are now facing trial. Pressure from the U.S. is cited as a reason why Islamist terrorists who have been ethnically cleansing the Nigerian Christian population for decades are finally being arrested and tried.
Unveiled: Book Club Discussion with the Institute for Liberal Values
Yasmine Mohammed, co-founder of CLARITy Coalition, spoke with the Institute for Liberal Values about her memoir Unveiled: How Western Liberals Empower Radical Islam. During the conversation, she shared her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist environment and discussed the broader impact of Islamist extremism on women and girls. Mohammed also explored the importance of defending liberal democratic values—including free expression and equal rights—when addressing religious extremism.