Islam’s Human Shields
14th March 2026
On X (formerly Twitter) there has been some exchanges between Professor Gad Saad and Ambassador Richard Grenell. Saad has authored several books and his latest, Suicidal Empathy: Dying to be Kind, is scheduled for release May 12, 2026. Saad’s experience as a Lebanese Jew whose family narrowly escaped Islamic violence shapes his understanding of Islam. His studies have helped him understand how the West is an enabler and may well fall as a result. Grenell has pushed back on some of Saad’s posts decrying painting all practitioners of Islam as a threat. Grenell also emphasizes the First Amendment protections for beliefs and peaceful practice.
As I followed this exchange I saw a truth in both viewpoints. As a firm believe in the First Amendment (and all civil rights recognized by our Constitution) I struggle with how America battles Islam within a constitutional framework. Can it be done? I don’t know, but maybe this reframing of the issue is a start:
Islam is a violent/invasive political movement that uses its non-violent practitioners as “human shields” to invoke First Amendment protections for its persistent and embedded civil rights violations.
Recall that the First Amendment isn’t limited to religious belief and practice. It also includes political beliefs as well. That is why the Communist Party was never illegal, and a belief in Communism was never outlawed. What is outlawed is advocating the violent overthrow of the United States (but see discussion of Brandenburg v Ohio below). American history is littered with small communist organizations — communes — that came into and out of existence as the ultimate un-sustainability of its structure asserted itself.