On October 20, The Daily Wire ran a column by R. Albert Mohler, Jr., headlined “Islam Versus The West”. It promotes a book on sharia by a scholar at his own seminary and never mentions France, where riots ran that week. The headline’s subject is a faith. Not a person, not a crime, not a group that did something: “Islam” stands alone, and “Versus” sets it against “The West” like two armies. That is the false choice, us or them, with no place for a believer who is also a citizen. The body never mentions France. Its hook is the 25th anniversary of September 11, and its “West” turns out to be the US: the Constitution, mosque building, Muslim candidates “from Manhattan to Michigan”. The warning arrives in the last paragraph, and it is a book. Set it beside the week’s other lines. The Post carries “Muslim City”, ZeroHedge carries Zemmour’s “Great Replacement”, The Federalist carries “Communists And Muslims”. ZeroHedge’s own report says the October 17 riots began as protests over the cost of living and public services. The Federalist’s first sentence says corporate media call the rioters students; its list of 54 groups holds 16 student groups, unions and Amnesty International France. The tell to carry into the next headline: a faith named where no person is. The coverage sits at Essentialization moving into Threat Assessment: a faith’s nature (“all Muslims are to strive”) becomes a plan of “conquest”, and Zemmour’s “hordes” pushes toward Dehumanization. The habit it rides: the other group’s one flag or one member stands for all of them, while our side’s stays the exception. Beside the villain stands the savior. The column offers a book subtitled “Why Americans Must Choose Freedom”. Vance’s post, 16 days before November 3, offers a vote against “congressional Democrats”.
