Why Can’t Islamism Be Criticized?-To label criticism of Islamism as hatred of Muslims is intellectually dishonest and politically dangerous.

Why Can’t Islamism Be Criticized?

Carl J Chan

In free societies, “communism” is still considered a dirty word. The Cold War legacy, the memory of totalitarian regimes, and the economic failures of communist experiments have left a deep cultural stigma. To this day, politicians and commentators can easily discredit an opponent by labeling them as “communist” or “socialist.” Yet when it comes to Islamism—the fusion of religion and political power in pursuit of a rigid theocratic order—the cultural reaction is curiously different.

From a secular and liberal standpoint, Islamism is arguably a greater threat to individual freedom than communism in today’s context. While communism seeks to erase class distinctions through state control, Islamism actively seeks to erase secular space, subordinating personal liberty to rigid religious codes. Whether in Iran’s morality police, Taliban rule in Afghanistan, or Islamist parties attempting to control education, speech, and gender relations, the direct clash with secularism and individual rights is unmistakable.Data backs this up: Pew Research (2013) found 27% of Muslims worldwide support the death penalty for leaving Islam, though this varies by region (e.g., 86% in Afghanistan, 1% in Turkey).

Yet here lies the paradox: criticizing communism raises no cultural alarm. No one accuses a critic of being “communist-phobic.” But criticism of Islamism—no matter how legitimate—often triggers accusations of Islamophobia. In today’s West, this word has become a powerful rhetorical weapon, shutting down debate before it even begins. The result is a cultural double standard: one ideology is fair game, the other is shielded by a taboo.

This phenomenon has less to do with the intrinsic content of Islamism and more to do with cultural guilt, post-colonial anxieties, and a Western intellectual climate that equates critique of religion with bigotry. The irony is that the very values Western progressives claim to defend—free speech, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, secular governance—are undermined when Islamism is exempt from the criticism freely applied to communism or Christianity.

A mature democracy should not protect any ideology from scrutiny. To label criticism of Islamism as hatred of Muslims is intellectually dishonest and politically dangerous. It silences necessary debate about an ideology that demonstrably conflicts with secular freedoms. Just as communism can be criticized without hating workers, Islamism can be criticized without hating Muslims.

The truth is simple: an idea, once it enters the political and cultural sphere, is fair game for critique. Shielding Islamism from criticism while freely attacking communism, capitalism, or Christianity exposes a deep cultural inconsistency. And as long as this double standard persists, it will not strengthen multiculturalism—it will weaken the very foundations of open society.