The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan Shadi Hamid On US Power And The New NSS
10 snips
Dec 12, 2025 
Shadi Hamid, a Washington Post columnist and senior fellow at Georgetown University, dives into the complexities of U.S. foreign policy, discussing the National Security Strategy and America's global leadership. He reflects on his mixed identity and its influence on his worldview. Highlights include a critique of Bush's idealism leading to chaos in Iraq, the consequences of 9/11 on his faith, and the tension between Islam and liberalism. Shadi advocates for promoting democracy in the Middle East while respecting cultural diversity, making a case for a nuanced American power.
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Freedom Enables Faith And Integration
- Hamid says America uniquely allows retaining religious identity while fully integrating.
- He views the U.S. as perhaps the best place to be a Muslim because the state doesn't dictate religion.
Internal Struggle Strengthens Faith
- Hamid values internal religious struggle (jihad) as central to faith, fostered by free societies.
- He argues free societies allow authentic wrestling with belief absent state coercion.
Secularization Left A Moral Void
- Hamid worries secularization left a moral vacuum that ideologies like MAGA or wokeness replace.
- He suggests renewed public religiosity could repair social fragmentation.
