What compelled ISIS to
perpetrate the horrendous
murders of two American journalists? A brief a
nalysis of the mentality of ISIS may be illuminating
and instructive.
It is abundantly clear that
ISIS is an extreme
manifestation of radical Islam. But, what does
that
really mean? Into what aberrant behavior does
that translate? What are the
implications and
ramifications of that existential posture?
Firstly, ISIS is assuredly
not synonymous with
the totality of Islam. But, ISIS does –quite
unapologetically- find its roots,
its ideology, its
guiding principles, its core considerations, its
motivating
impulses and its modus operadi in
the Quran. So, a cursory review of pertinent
passages is in order.
It is initially critical
to understand that there
is no mandate that Moslems must believe in
Allah. That
matter, i.e. Allah's existence, is taken
for granted. Allah's
reality is -to use a theological
phrase- an ontological presupposition.
On the other hand,
Moslems are unquestionably
required to submit to Allah (Q. 2:136).
That
obligation is the sine qua non of Islam. That
mandated submission
undergirds absolutely every
aspect of Islam. Absent submission to Allah, a
Moslem is not deemed to be a Moslem. That is
undisputed.
Moreover, submission to
al-Illah (i.e. Allah--The
God) requires unquestioning obedience governed
by the
intense clarity of the absolutely unadulterated
monotheism that is so critical
to Islam. Indeed, the
Quran is unequivocal on that score. Therefore,
the
Quran forcefully proclaims: "Those who say God
hath begotten a
son...have uttered a monstrous thing!"
That expression is
powerful and provocative; it should
not be lightly dismissed or glibly
disregarded. Indeed,
the term monstrous sheds light into the existential
realities surrounding ISIS' savagery.
Assuredly, that
iron-clad submission to Allah (the
only God) in the Arabic root SLM
is a far cry from
the seemingly identical Arabic root SLM. The former
can be
vocalized as SILM and means submit or
surrender. The latter is vocalized
as SALAM and
means peace. It is egregious folly to confuse the two.
Submission and/or surrender is not peace and peace
is not submission or
the obligation to surrender!
For staunch believers,
that theological submission then
rapidly translates into an affirmative duty to
subjugate,
to dominate and to assure the supremacy of Islam
(Q. 2:109; 9:29).
The Quran is explicit as to precisely
how that task to be prosecuted.
One critical Quran verse
mandates: "Keep fighting
until Allah's religion reigns supreme" (Q.
2:109-194).
Another passage unhesitatingly affirms that: "Fighting
is
obligatory...although you may dislike it...it is good
for you (Q. 2:216).
The believer is then adjured to
recognize that: "For you must
gain mastery if you are
true in faith" (Q. 3:139).
Given those scriptural
obligations and predispositions,
the ideological and practical thrust that
undergirds ISIS
becomes readily apparent. Indeed, ISIS unquestionably
finds succor and consummate authority in the Quran's
directive that
explicitly asserts: "Instill terror into the
hearts of unbelievers.
Smite ye above their necks...
Allah is strict in punishment" (Q.
8:9, 12-13). It was
thus that the two American journalists were summarily
beheaded.
All the foregoing
notwithstanding, it is neither my
thrust nor intent to besmirch Islam, the
Quran or all
Moslems. That is because the Quran also passionately
and unequivocally asserts
that “there is no compulsion
in religion” (Q.
2:256). Indeed, a case can
be made
that “Islam
is egalitarian, peaceful and pluralistic.”
That position was taken
by the Imam of New York
City's Mosque of Divine Ease in his book What
Is
Right With Islam. On the other hand, the Quran
lamentably
supplies an abundance of material that
the utterly savage minions of
ISIS wittingly use to
perpetrate and justify their particular brand
of barbarism.
To cavalierly disregard
the source that motivates
and activates ISIS is tantamount to
remaining silent
for the sake of that which may seem to
be politically
correct. In short, there is no such thing as "benign
jihad." ISIS
knows that. Is it not time that the West
was similarly educated?
