Fundamentalism, especially of the variety driving groups like Hamas or regimes like Iran’s, doesn’t operate within the bounds of rational cost-benefit analysis. Instead, it strengthens from rigid ideological convictions and apocalyptic religious visions ...

They fail to acknowledge that Iran’s war against Israel is not a political struggle but a religious war rooted in Twelver Shia eschatology—a theology that exalts death, martyrdom, and the creation of chaos as a path to ushering in the end of the world (Lewis, 2002; Cook, 2005).

Imagine an alternate timeline, much like George Bailey’s in It’s a Wonderful Life, where Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was never born.

ran is home to a deeply complex, diverse society with layers of identity that extend far beyond state politics. Iranians are culturally Persian, religiously diverse within Shia Islam, and have long engaged with Western ideas and values.

This analysis goes beyond surface-level understandings of Hamas as simply a political actor, framing the group within the rich and often fraught theological tradition of Islamism—a perspective critical for fully grasping the role Hamas plays in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

In this analysis, I want to unpack the historical and theological roots of Islamic imperialism and set them against the founding of Israel.

This article is not merely a defense of Israel; it explores the deeper truths underpinning the Jewish state's existence, resilience, and role in historical and contemporary global dynamics.

What is Israel’s endgame in the war with Gaza? For Israel, the endgame must be to dismantle Hamas completely—both its military and political structures—if it is to secure a stable and peaceful future, avoiding the dangers of allowing a hostile force to regroup and reemerge.