Gen Z Gets What the Rest of Us Keep Ignoring About Islam and Western Values

## When Kids Start Asking the Hard Questions

There’s something refreshing about watching Gen Z cut through the noise. Maybe it’s because they haven’t yet learned to self-censor every thought that might ruffle feathers. Or maybe they’re just tired of watching their elders tiptoe around uncomfortable truths.

At TPUSA’s AmFest, Isabel Brown sat down with three college students who said what most politicians won’t touch with a ten-foot pole. Islam and Western democracy don’t mix. Period.

Now before anyone reaches for the pitchforks, let’s be clear about what these students actually said. Because nuance matters, even when we’re discussing uncomfortable topics.

## The Freedom to Disagree Without Losing Your Head

One student nailed the core issue. It’s about speech. It’s about the right to dissent without fearing for your life.

“Theoretically, if you disagree with the teachings of Christ, you can live in the United States and still abide by our laws and respect each other,” he explained. “But in a theocracy like what is under the Middle East and Islam, you can’t. If you criticize Mohammed, you could genuinely put your life at risk.”

That’s not hyperbole. That’s documented reality. We’ve watched it play out from the fatwa against Salman Rushdie to the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Say the wrong thing about Islam, and you might end up dead. That’s not compatible with the First Amendment, folks.

The beautiful thing about America has always been its marketplace of ideas. You can be Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist, or worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster for all we care. Practice your faith. Live your values. But the moment any ideology demands that criticism becomes a capital offense, we’ve got a problem.

## Europe’s Cautionary Tale

Another panelist brought up Europe, and honestly, it’s hard to argue with her assessment. “I believe that Europe has completely fallen now,” she said. “You see this separation between cultures like we haven’t seen before and this dying of an entire race, an entire culture. What Europe was is dead now.”

Strong words? Sure. But look at what’s happening across the Atlantic. Christmas markets canceled due to security threats. New Year’s Eve celebrations shut down. Entire neighborhoods in major European cities where local law enforcement barely ventures. These aren’t far-right talking points. These are headlines from mainstream European newspapers.

Sweden, once the poster child for progressive social policy, now has grenade attacks. France has seen repeated terrorist incidents. The UK prosecutes people for social media posts while struggling to address grooming gangs that operated for years because officials feared being called racist.

When did we decide that preserving cultural sensitivity mattered more than preserving actual culture?

## The Islamophobia Trap

Here’s where it gets predictable. Mention any of this on a college campus, and you’ll get slapped with the Islamophobia label faster than you can say “free speech.”

One student pointed out the obvious response from professors: “It’s Islamophobia if you even dare to question it.” And you know what? That’s exactly the point. When questioning becomes forbidden, when examining compatibility between value systems gets labeled as bigotry, we’ve stopped thinking critically.

Nobody’s saying individual Muslims can’t be wonderful Americans. Many are. They contribute to their communities, they raise families, they live peacefully alongside their neighbors. But acknowledging that individual Muslims can thrive in America while simultaneously recognizing that Islamic governance structures conflict with Western liberal democracy isn’t contradictory. It’s honest.

The Koran and the Bible aren’t interchangeable texts. Islamic law and constitutional republicanism weren’t designed to coexist. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make us more tolerant. It makes us willfully blind.

## What Charlie Kirk Understood

Brown mentioned that Charlie Kirk spent his final years warning about this exact issue. The influence of Eastern philosophy and Islamic governance on Western civilization. He saw what was coming, or rather, what was already here.

Terrorist attacks aren’t decreasing. They’re increasing. Pro-Palestinian protesters aren’t just criticizing Israeli policy anymore. They’re openly calling for intifada on American streets. They’re tearing down hostage posters. They’re making Jewish students afraid to wear a Star of David on campus.

This isn’t about hating Muslims. It’s about recognizing that certain ideological frameworks cannot peacefully coexist with others. Some worldviews are fundamentally incompatible.

## The Question Nobody Wants to Answer

So here’s the real issue these students are dancing around, the one that makes everyone uncomfortable: What do we do about it?

America’s strength has always been its ability to assimilate diverse peoples into a common culture. E pluribus unum and all that. But assimilation requires both parties to participate. It requires newcomers to adopt core American values while maintaining their cultural heritage. It requires a shared commitment to constitutional principles, including freedom of speech, religious liberty, and equality under the law.

When any group, religious or otherwise, rejects those foundational principles, assimilation fails. And we’re left with parallel societies that don’t just coexist but actively conflict.

These Gen Z students see it clearly because they’re living it. They’re watching their campuses become battlegrounds. They’re seeing their European peers deal with problems that were unthinkable a generation ago. And they’re asking the question their professors won’t: Is this sustainable?

The answer, if we’re being honest, is no. Something’s got to give. Either Western civilization reasserts its values and insists on genuine integration, or it continues down the path of cultural suicide that Europe’s already walking.

These college kids get it. The question is whether the rest of us will wake up before it’s too late.

American Conservatives