About
INFIDEL AWARENESS MONTH
VIOLENCE RARELY BEGINS WITH VIOLENCE.
Before the victims come the ideology, the language that conceals it, the narratives that justify it, the institutions that amplify it, the warnings that are dismissed...and the people who look away.
IAM exists to make that process visible.
From September 11 through October 7, films, testimony, interviews, research and daily stories examine not only the victims of supremacist Islamic violence, but the patterns that preceded them.
Because if we only recognize the danger once the violence begins, we have recognized it too late.
AWARENESS TAKES TIME
Why an awareness month?
A 27-day global awareness campaign that doesn’t simply catalogue the victims of supremacist Islamic violence... it exposes the process that creates them.
Each day traces one part of that cycle: the ideology, the language that conceals it, the institutions that amplify it, the people who warned, the people who looked away, and the victims who learned the consequences too late.
Seen individually, these may look like separate events.
Seen together, patterns begin to emerge.
The purpose of Infidel Awareness Month is to help people recognize those patterns before the consequences become impossible to ignore.
Our vision
Our vision
Infidel Awareness Month is part of a broader initiative to build a historical record of Global Jihad by documenting not only its victims, but the process that produces them:
The ideology.
The language that conceals it.
The institutions that amplify it.
The professionals who failed to inform us.
The warnings that were ignored.
The consequences that followed.
The goal is to build a more informed, resilient and free society by helping people recognize these patterns earlier.
What we examine
What we examine
Infidel Awareness Month looks at the story from multiple directions.
The ideology
The ideology that motivates movements.
Language & narratives
The language and narratives used to explain, justify or obscure what is happening.
Institutions & discourse
The role of media, political institutions, academia, NGOs and public discourse in shaping how events are understood.
Warnings ignored
The warnings issued before major events—and why some were ignored.
Victims & communities
And most importantly, the victims and communities who experienced the consequences firsthand.
Taken together, these perspectives allow us to move beyond individual incidents and begin examining the process itself.
Contributors & collaborators
Contributors & collaborators
Infidel Awareness Month brings together scholars, filmmakers, researchers, writers, witnesses and other contributors who have spent years documenting different parts of this history.
Throughout the month, their films, interviews, research, testimony and analysis will help tell different parts of the larger story.
Different voices. Different experiences. One month dedicated to recognizing the pattern.
Our mission
01
Remember
Victims, survivors, families, and communities.
02
Understand
The history, ideologies, rhetoric, and systems behind violence and the warnings we missed so that we can learn from it.
03
Recognize
The pattern of supremacist Islam so we can begin to call it out.
04
Amplify
People who experienced these events and those confronting extremism.
BUILDING THE HISTORICAL RECORD
INFIDEL AWARENESS MONTH LASTS 27 DAYS.
THE RECORD IT IS HELPING TO BUILD IS MUCH LARGER.
The campaign brings together films, testimony, scholarship, interviews, research and historical material that often exist separately.
By placing them together, the connections become easier to see.
The month is not the end of the project.
It is an entry point into a much larger historical record.
Ideasmatter.
The founder
Richard Landes
Historian · Medievalist · Author
Richard Landes is a historian whose work explores apocalyptic and millennial movements, Global Jihad, media narratives, and the dynamics of cognitive warfare. Through scholarship, public writing, and The Second Draft, he has spent decades examining how ideas spread, how societies respond, and how to build a more informed and resilient future.
Learn moreMillennialism
Historical roots of apocalyptic movements.
Cognitive warfare
Media, perception, and the battle for truth.
The Second Draft
How events become narratives — and what gets left out.
The Infidel Circle
The free world is stronger together.
Supported by organizations and individuals working across education, advocacy, research, media, and community engagement.
Scholars + Journalists + Advocates + Civic leaders + Concerned citizens
27 days. One pattern to recognize.
A new part of the story, every day
Watch the films.
Read the research.
Hear the testimony.
Follow the history.
Examine the evidence.
Then look at the whole picture.
Remember the victims. Understand the ideology. Recognize the pattern.