Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Local Syrian sources: The village of Al-Thala in the western countryside of Sweida was subjected to mortar shelling, with explosions heard in the area.
Occupied Palestine: Very violent Israeli raids target Tal al-Zaatar in Jabalia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: 15 martyrs were recovered as a result of the ongoing Israeli raids on the city of Beit Lahia and the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in occupied Palestine: More than 300 martyrs and 500 wounded in three days of ongoing Israeli raids on the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: The occupation aims to ethnically cleanse the Sultan area near the Zikim settlement.
Occupied Palestine: The IOF is besieging a school housing displaced persons in the Al-Sultan area, north of the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: Dozens of martyrs and wounded, mostly children and women, in Israeli raids on the northern Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in occupied Palestine: The Israeli occupation is committing genocide in Beit Lahia, north of the Gaza Strip.
Occupied Palestine: The Indonesian hospital is filled with martyrs and wounded after the IOF bombed homes in northern Gaza.
Occupied Palestine: IOF aircraft targeted a tent on Al-Madrasa Street in the Al-Mashrou area, west of Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip

Trump's Pentagon chief nominee an avid Islamophobe, extremist

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Washington Post
  • 15 Nov 2024 14:57
4 Min Read

Pete Hegseth has not shied away from sharing his extreme views regarding Muslims and Islam, women and minorities in the military, and the inclusion of people of color.

Listen
  • x
  • President Donald Trump appears on Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 6, 2017. (AP)
    President Donald Trump appears on Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at a Wounded Warrior Project Soldier Ride event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, April 6, 2017. (AP)

Donald Trump's nominee for the position of Pentagon chief, Army veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth, has previously vigorously expressed his Islamophobic views, prompting questions regarding his suitability for a rank that demands explicit and vital cooperation with a wide and diverse set of individuals. 

Pete Hegseth's history encompasses a wide array of extremist, particularly Islamophobic, misogynistic, and racist views, raising fears about the nature of Trump's potential administration and policies, The Washington Post wrote.

Hegseth calls for violence against Muslims

According to The Washington Post, Hegseth authored the 2020 book "American Crusade", which heavily attacked Muslims [migrants and refugees] and accused them of infiltrating US society, feeding off the government, while simultaneously incriminating the religion as one of violence. 

He characterized Islam as a force of terror and destruction which seeks to subordinate or kill the rest of the world. Claiming that Muslim countries were automatically a "no-go zone" for Christians and Jews, Hegseth alleges that Muslims, alongside Western liberals and "squish republicans" aim at conquering the world and destroying "Judeo-Christian institutions."

Presenting a naive argument on how this conquest will be manifested, Hegseth claims that as Muslims integrate themselves into Western society, their birth rates must multiply in numbers greater than native citizens', paving the way for the reshaping of said societies. 

He gave the example of the United Kingdom and the rate of Muslims in its population, as well as the election of a number of Muslim officials in governmental positions, warning that the US would suffer a similar fate. 

Related News

Israeli, Syrian officials met secretly in Baku: Report

UN rejects US-backed Gaza aid plan over neutrality concerns

In light of the "cultural invasion", as Hegseth portrays it, he advocated for violence against the Muslim community, claiming that Christians are forced to fight and arm themselves, metaphorically, intellectually, and physically. "Our fight is not with guns. Yet," he wrote. 

It is worth noting that Trump heavily relied on Muslim voters, which ultimately won him the presidency. As the Muslim-American community grew increasingly dissatisfied with Kamala Harris' support of "Israel", the genocide in Gaza, and the war on Lebanon, Trump appealed to their votes by vowing to end the wars in the Middle East. 

However, despite his promises, Trump's recent picks for his administration include a concoction of staunch pro-"Israel" or anti-Muslim nominees, such as Hegseth, Mike Huckabee, and Marco Rubio. 

All other kinds of -isms, phobias

Trump's pick also has a long history of criticizing Democratic policies that sought to promote the inclusion of women, people of color, and other minorities in key factions of society, including the military. 

According to Hegseth, drafting women, homosexuals, or transgender people in the military would lead significant national security risks due to their alleged incompetence and the distraction of national duties in favor of a "woke" army. 

He argued that men were "physically superior" to women, further justifying his rejection of a female-integrated military. When it comes to race, Hegseth presented discriminatory views by questioning the competence of Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. 

Brown, who is African American, worked on diversifying the Air Force, which Hegseth coined as "racist and illegal". The former army veteran accused Brown of compromising defensive readiness, saying "The tragedy of these emotionally stunted, angry, race-based people is that they have an ax to grind — and will grind it." 

He further claimed that members of the force would be promoted in a show of inclusivity and tolerance based on their race rather than their competence. 

"Strong, skilled, dedicated men come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Men don’t give a s--- what your skin color is, as long as you get the job done," he wrote. 

Read more: Trump's return signals major shake-up in foreign policy: The Guardian

  • United States
  • Sexism
  • Racism
  • Trump administration
  • Islamophobia
  • Pete Hegseth
  • Donald Trump

Most Read

A boy draped in a Palestinian flag carries a mock rocket during a weekly anti-US and anti-Israeli rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, May 9, 2025 (AP)

Yemen announces hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion Airport

  • Politics
  • 9 May 2025
Palestinians pray over bodies of people killed in the Israeli bombardment who were brought from the Shifa hospital before burying them in a mass grave in the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023. (AP )

Gaza casualty figures mask a much bigger horror, new study shows

  • Politics
  • 11 May 2025
President Donald Trump, left, greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, Monday, April 7, 2025, in Washington (AP)

US pressures 'Israel' for Gaza deal; Witkoff's Israeli rebuke leaked

  • US & Canada
  • 9 May 2025
Two F-35 jets arrive at it's new operational base Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015, at Hill Air Force Base, in northern Utah. (AP)

F-35 near-misses over Yemen signal new risks for 'Israel': Forbes

  • Politics
  • 14 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Syria's interim president, Ahmad al-Sharaa, listens during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris on May 7, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli, Syrian officials met secretly in Baku: Report

Israeli settlers lay on the ground as sirens sound amid the detection of a Yemeni missile, May 15, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Yemeni missile halts Ben Gurion airport activity: Israeli media

500,000 Syrian refugees return since regime change
Politics

500,000 Syrian refugees return since regime change

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, speaks with his Emirati counterpart Sheik Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan during their meeting, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Monday, May 12, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran’s Araghchi: West chose talks after failing militarily

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS