Something remarkable is happening in the public square. Voices that once amplified the loudest anti-Muslim rhetoric — UFC champion Sean Strickland, military veteran and media personality Shawn Ryan, Tucker Carlson, and Candace Owens — are now publicly admitting they were fed deliberate propaganda. Not tiptoeing around old statements, but fully acknowledging a systematic campaign of fear that shaped how tens of millions of Americans viewed Islam and its 1.8 billion followers. When Sean Strickland openly admits his actual experience training alongside Muslim fighters was entirely positive — that they were “generally really cool people” — while simultaneously confessing he “used to hate” Muslims based solely on what he was told, the weight of that contrast is impossible to dismiss. This awakening, documented across some of the most-watched media platforms in the country, is not coincidental. It is the result of critical thinking breaking through years of carefully engineered Islamophobia — and it is a moment that every sincere truth-seeker, regardless of background or belief, should examine closely.
The Propaganda Machine: How Fear of Islam Was Manufactured After 9/11
“You could find tape of me saying the problem is Muslims. The problem is Islam. I can’t even believe I said something like that. The problem is not a religion — that’s clearly not all Muslims. But I said that. I’m ashamed of saying that. And I’ve apologized. Let me apologize again for saying that. That’s a disgusting thing to say.” — Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson’s public confession — that he once hysterically declared Islam a “lunatic suicide cult” created by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and genuinely believed it — is a window into how effectively post-9/11 media manufactured mass hatred. Candace Owens has offered a similar reckoning, apologising to Muslims who grew up in America after 9/11 and were subjected to classroom-level brainwashing before they even knew what Islam was. Shawn Ryan, a former CIA contractor and special operations veteran, traces the roots of anti-Muslim rhetoric directly to political actors who needed public consent for endless wars in Muslim-majority lands. What these voices are collectively uncovering is what Eddie on The Deen Show rightly identifies as a billion-dollar hate industry — a coordinated effort to dehumanise over a billion people so that military, political, and financial agendas could proceed without moral objection. Among the key patterns that critical thinkers and honest researchers are now identifying:
- Anti-Muslim propaganda intensified dramatically after 9/11, with media relentlessly linking all Muslims to terrorism despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary
- The rhetoric originated largely from political actors who needed Western hostility toward Muslim-majority nations to justify ongoing wars and occupations
- Public figures like Tucker Carlson were given prime platforms to spread these narratives — and have now publicly stated they were manipulated and ashamed
- Images from Gaza — children pulled from rubble, entire cities reduced to demolition sites — became a real-world “deprogrammer” for millions, including Strickland himself, who stated plainly: “Israel deprogrammed me”
- Figures across the political spectrum, from Candace Owens to the Hodge Twins, are questioning whether their views on Muslims were ever genuine conviction or simply manufactured consent
Beyond the Headlines: Islam’s Invitation to Every Truth-Seeker
The Deen Show host Eddie has been consistent in his response to these unfolding awakenings: not triumphalism, but invitation. He has extended a direct and open invitation to Sean Strickland to come on the programme, sit with knowledgeable Muslims, and explore Islam on its own terms — not through the distorted lens of the hate industry. Because behind the propaganda lies a faith of profound depth, clarity, and spiritual purpose that has guided humanity since the very beginning. Islam, at its core, is an unbroken message of pure monotheism — one God, the Creator of the heavens and earth, to Whom all the prophets from Ibrahim (Abraham) to Musa (Moses) to Isa (Jesus), peace be upon them all, called humanity. It is a faith grounded in evidence and sincere reflection, and in the urgent recognition that this life is not the final destination. The guidance available to every sincere seeker is real, accessible, and was never conditional on cultural background or a clean history.
“These lies have covered the treasure. If you’re sincere, the Creator will guide you. If you take one step towards the Creator, He’s going to take ten towards you. You go walking, He’s going to come running — He forgives all sins if you’re truly repentant.” — Eddie, The Deen Show
The shifts we are witnessing in figures like Sean Strickland and Shawn Ryan are, at their heart, the natural result of critical thinking being applied to decades of conditioning — and they carry a quiet but powerful lesson for every one of us. Propaganda, no matter how persistently broadcast, cannot permanently obscure truth from those who genuinely seek it. For Muslims, this is a moment not for gloating but for sincere da’wah — patient, open-hearted outreach, sharing the beauty of Islam with those who are finally, honestly asking. For non-Muslims who find themselves questioning what they were told, the invitation stands: look into Islam with fresh eyes, not through media filters or political agendas. Ask the Creator of the universe directly — in your own words, your own language — for guidance about your purpose, your destination, and your place in this world. The championship belts, the accolades, the worldly pursuits — none of it answers the deepest questions the human soul asks in its most honest moments. Islam does. The message sent through every prophet, the same pure monotheism from the very beginning of creation, is still here — and for anyone with sincerity in their heart, it is worth far more than a second look.
