Where did Daesh (ISIS) come from? It's beginnings can be traced back to Wahhbism, an Islamic religious movement founded by Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhab, that was based on his disgust of Muslims he did not view as devout or true.
He “despised the decorous, arty, tobacco smoking, hashish imbibing, drum pounding Egyptian and Ottoman nobility who traveled across Arabia to pray at Mecca" (Crooke). He considered such actions to be “bida -- forbidden by God” (Crooke).
He demanded conformity from all Muslims and required said conformity to be demonstrated in tangible ways. ‘Abd further stated that all Muslims must pledge their allegiance to a single Caliph (leader), and Muslims that did not ‘confirm’ would be considered infidels and “should be killed, their wives and daughters violated, and their possessions [lands] confiscated” (Crooke).
It is an extreme orthodoxy of Islam that comes from a perceived translation of the Quran in a very literal manner. It is very different from the translation that is found in Sunni, Shi’ite or Sufi Islam.
ISIS is a radical Islamic movement, also known as Islamic State of Iraq, Daesh, and al-Sham, that is determined to set up an Islamic Caliphate that will rule the world. It is both religious and political; religious because it is founded in Islam and political because it wishes to see ruling government's return to a “seventh-century [Islamic] legal environment” (Wood).
It is religious because the followers and fighters in ISIS are awaiting an Armageddon type apocalypse that they believe is stated within ancient texts. “The Islamic State awaits the army of “Rome,” whose defeat at Dabiq, Syria, will initiate the countdown to the apocalypse” (Wood). Other more mainstream followers of Islam say that ISIS has perverted the faith and interpret it only to justify their means.
So why is it that so many not Islamic people are eager to jump on board with Daesh? Where do their recruits come from? I think it is because Westerners have become disenfranchised with their lives; the constant strive for money, success, to be the big man/woman on top, being perfect husbands, wives, having brand labels, not having a thigh-gap, having a superior career, what 'things' you have or lack, the ridiculous beauty standards that are placed on women, the unrealistic demands sometimes placed on men, all of the pressures to confirm to a particular societal type, and the lack of religious fulfillment they feel.
I imagine it is appealing to people who do not have much of theses things themselves, or they just want to escape the pressure of it all. Reports “suggest(s) a still-steady inflow of foreigners, ready to give up everything at home for a shot at paradise in the worst place on Earth” (Wood). The people that leave to join ISIS are thinking they will be leaving all of the real world strife behind to fight for a paradise on earth, where things will be easier for them. They see the Sharia followed by Daesh/ISIS as a positive because it offers the “whole package...free housing, food, and clothing for all,” people are often attracted to the social welfare [aspects] of Islam (Wood).
Other reasons include promises to fighters; salaries, wives, honor (Black). To blot out the popular thought that men only join for 72 virgins in the afterlife, sorry folks, that is not anywhere in the Quran. It is written in a Hadith, a separate text.
Regardless, none of that happens. Many, if not most, fighters end up used, captured, killed, or made to commit suicide in order to take out non-believers. Nothing at all like the paradise Daesh/ISIS promised.
A lot of men (and women), possibly the majority, who have joined ISIS regret it. However, Daesh is almost cult-like in the way that once you're in, you're stuck. It doesn't seem to matter what rank of command a fighter gets to either.
At any time the Daesh/ISIS fighters can turn on each other. Vickiie Oliphant describes how a "Syrian army commander was attached by ropes to two pick-up trucks and torn apart" in her article, "ISIS Defectors Who Saw Commander Torn Apart Reveal Brutal Reality of Terror Group". The fighters she interviewed were in hiding, because once you leave ISIS you basically sign your death warrant. The men describe how brutal life was under Daesh (ISIS), and how the leaders would sometimes kill fighters for no reason, and stealing from each other was common practice.With all of that going on the older fighters became disenfranchised with what was going on, recognized it as a perversion of Islam, and began to leave.
So, "they [Daesh] started recruiting Iraqi and Syrian children. They say it's easy to convince young kids to blow themselves up" (Oliphant). The fighters elude to the reasoning people are so eager to join is because of "propaganda on the internet. When they arrive it's different, but they can't say anything against it" (Oliphant).
So, Daesh (ISIS) is selling a good story to those that are down and out, disgusted with globalism, Western-ism, or believe its the way to get closer to God, but the truth of what is going on is much more cruel, disgusting, and horrific. Media outlets should be blasting these stories everywhere. To show people the truth, educate them about what Daesh is really doing. Unfortunately, those types of stories do not make the big bucks for the networks like reporting on terrorism. Perhaps if they did, it would dissuade potential members from making that mistake that is only escaped by death.
Because ultimately Daesh, propaganda wise, is not much different from any other cult selling religion for closeness to God. Jim Jones (Jonestown Massacre) did the same thing, the Heavens Gate Cult did to, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, and countless others. The same story plays out--desperate people seeking some sort of acceptance and closeness to God, join a cult, realize it's a horrible place, try to leave and are killed, and eventually every cult member who doesn't manage to escape dies. The only difference, aside from Daesh claiming Islam and the ones I mentioned claiming Christianity (or aliens), is the military power that Daesh possesses; and their desire to wipe out everyone else outside their cult. They have weapons, tanks, bombs, and the means to obtain more in order to take out "infidels" and capture lands. But in the end they are nothing more than a militarily powerful cult that has perverted a religion.
Crooke, Alastair. "You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Black, Phil, and Salma Abdelaziz. "'I Was a Believer': Face-to-face with ISIS inside an Iraqi Prison." CNN. Cable News Network, 24 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Frye, Patrick. "DAESH: The Meaning Behind The ISIS Or ISIL Nickname That The Islamic State Hates." The Inquisitr. The Inquisitr, 17 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Oliphant, Vickiie. "ISIS Defectors Who Saw Commander TORN APART Reveal Brutal Reality of Terror Group." Express.co.uk. Express.co.uk, 11 June 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2017..
Wood, Graeme. "What ISIS Really Wants." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 14 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
He demanded conformity from all Muslims and required said conformity to be demonstrated in tangible ways. ‘Abd further stated that all Muslims must pledge their allegiance to a single Caliph (leader), and Muslims that did not ‘confirm’ would be considered infidels and “should be killed, their wives and daughters violated, and their possessions [lands] confiscated” (Crooke).
ISIS is a radical Islamic movement, also known as Islamic State of Iraq, Daesh, and al-Sham, that is determined to set up an Islamic Caliphate that will rule the world. It is both religious and political; religious because it is founded in Islam and political because it wishes to see ruling government's return to a “seventh-century [Islamic] legal environment” (Wood).
So why is it that so many not Islamic people are eager to jump on board with Daesh? Where do their recruits come from? I think it is because Westerners have become disenfranchised with their lives; the constant strive for money, success, to be the big man/woman on top, being perfect husbands, wives, having brand labels, not having a thigh-gap, having a superior career, what 'things' you have or lack, the ridiculous beauty standards that are placed on women, the unrealistic demands sometimes placed on men, all of the pressures to confirm to a particular societal type, and the lack of religious fulfillment they feel.
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| These two teenage girls were beaten do death trying to flee ISIS after seeing first hand how brutal it is. |
A lot of men (and women), possibly the majority, who have joined ISIS regret it. However, Daesh is almost cult-like in the way that once you're in, you're stuck. It doesn't seem to matter what rank of command a fighter gets to either.
So, Daesh (ISIS) is selling a good story to those that are down and out, disgusted with globalism, Western-ism, or believe its the way to get closer to God, but the truth of what is going on is much more cruel, disgusting, and horrific. Media outlets should be blasting these stories everywhere. To show people the truth, educate them about what Daesh is really doing. Unfortunately, those types of stories do not make the big bucks for the networks like reporting on terrorism. Perhaps if they did, it would dissuade potential members from making that mistake that is only escaped by death.
Because ultimately Daesh, propaganda wise, is not much different from any other cult selling religion for closeness to God. Jim Jones (Jonestown Massacre) did the same thing, the Heavens Gate Cult did to, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, and countless others. The same story plays out--desperate people seeking some sort of acceptance and closeness to God, join a cult, realize it's a horrible place, try to leave and are killed, and eventually every cult member who doesn't manage to escape dies. The only difference, aside from Daesh claiming Islam and the ones I mentioned claiming Christianity (or aliens), is the military power that Daesh possesses; and their desire to wipe out everyone else outside their cult. They have weapons, tanks, bombs, and the means to obtain more in order to take out "infidels" and capture lands. But in the end they are nothing more than a militarily powerful cult that has perverted a religion.
Works Cited
Crooke, Alastair. "You Can't Understand ISIS If You Don't Know the History of Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Aug. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Black, Phil, and Salma Abdelaziz. "'I Was a Believer': Face-to-face with ISIS inside an Iraqi Prison." CNN. Cable News Network, 24 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Frye, Patrick. "DAESH: The Meaning Behind The ISIS Or ISIL Nickname That The Islamic State Hates." The Inquisitr. The Inquisitr, 17 Jan. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.
Oliphant, Vickiie. "ISIS Defectors Who Saw Commander TORN APART Reveal Brutal Reality of Terror Group." Express.co.uk. Express.co.uk, 11 June 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.
Wood, Graeme. "What ISIS Really Wants." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 14 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2017.