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War may shift priorities, but it rarely erases deeper ideological fault lines. This week, the Unbelief Brief examines how Iran’s regime is balancing political survival against the unresolved fury of the hijab protests, why cracks inside the Taliban may matter less than many hope, and how alarming new rhetoric from the U.S. on “violent secularism” could signal broader threats to church-state separation.
Plus: Draw Muhammad Day returns—submit your art, claim your chance at cash prizes, and make your voice impossible to ignore.
Unbelief Brief
Even in wartime, Iranian society cannot fully ignore the tensions surrounding the current role of the hijab. Since the murder of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police—and the subsequent Woman, Life, Freedom protests—the issue has been a powder keg. Hardliners have clashed with moderates and pragmatists, who recognized that widespread, uncompromising crackdowns would threaten regime stability. Now, Iranian state media emphasizes the presence of unveiled women at “pro-government” rallies to project unity in wartime. This show of tolerance by the state has drawn the ire of critics like “hardline cleric” Rasoul Fallahi, who has seemingly threatened attacks on unveiled women who “dare to leave [their] homes.”
However long Iranians continue to rally around the flag, the hijab issue will not let itself be so easily forgotten. Most officials seem to agree it is better not to stir the pot while the nation remains at war—perhaps preferring to postpone the hijab crackdowns they desire until after hostilities have ended. But this rift at the heart of Iranian society is very deep, and if the passions within it again bubble to the surface, it could again destabilize a regime that needs broad unity at this moment.
In Afghanistan, there are some murmurings of dissatisfaction with the leader of the Taliban, Hibatullah Akhundzada: some Taliban members have reportedly said that his recent statements demanding unconditional loyalty constitute self-elevation to “the position of a prophet.” Since Muslims believe Muhammad is God’s final prophet, this self-elevation would be a serious act of blasphemy: the one thing for which militant Islamists are prepared to harshly punish their own.
Akhundzada himself has said that anyone who disobeys him is also disobeying God and Muhammad. So far, public criticism from other officials has been scant, and it remains to be seen whether this dissatisfaction will mean anything in the long-term. Unfortunately, regardless of how it turns out, an intra-Taliban dispute is not likely to change the reality for Afghans suffering on the ground.
Finally, the Trump Administration’s new counterterrorism strategy singles out unspecified “violent secular groups” for special ire. Sebastain Gorka, Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Counterterrorism on the White House National Security Council, has so far “declined to outline the steps that will be taken to identify and neutralize these threats." Thus, it is difficult to see what this will mean in practice.
The suggestion that secularism itself poses a significant terroristic threat is deeply unnerving. The Trump Administration has proven willing to make itself an enemy of the concept of church-state separation, with senior officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth refusing to distance themselves from self-avowed Christian nationalists. This therefore warrants very close attention as administration officials begin the strategy’s implementation, whatever that looks like.
On the Horizon
2025 1st place winner, Lou
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Until next week,
The Team at Ex-Muslims of North America
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