Daniel Ben-Ami suggests that the threat of Islamism has been overlooked in the West due in part to identity politics. He explains that Islamism, as a political movement, is totalitarian and bears similarity to Nazism and Stalinism. This ideology is inherently anti-Semitic, but due to the Western focus on oppressed minority groups, there is reluctance to openly address this issue. Ben-Ami believes that there is a lack of understanding of the nature of the Islamist movement, particularly the distinction between Islam as a religion and Islamism as a political movement.
According to Ben-Ami, Islamists view the global Muslim community as a political movement rather than a community of faith, with the goal of creating an Islamic world order. Jews are particularly central to the Islamist worldview, and anti-Semitism is a core component of this ideology. He describes a small minority of jihadists who resort to violence and a larger group of “institutional Islamists” who support violence in principle, both subscribing to the same extreme ideology. Institutional Islamists may participate in non-violent political movements, including those related to the Palestinian cause.
Beyond Islamist anti-Semitism, Ben-Ami identifies two other forms: far-right anti-Semitism and a more recent form that has emerged from progressivism. The latter has created a hierarchy of oppression, leading to the demonization of Jews as oppressors due to their success. He highlights the danger of a distorted discussion about Israel, as well as the need to defend free speech and challenge bad ideas rather than suppress them.