Editor’s note: Initially, I planned to write a short series to expose the fallacies in the narrative of ISIS (also called ID, Daesh) to throw the light on the nature of the organization that claims to be rooted in Islam but is doing everything imaginable to harm Islam and Muslims.
This first part was initially published in our subscription-based publication on 12 June 2017.
However, during that period it became quite clear that the United States was systematically creating ISIS in Afghanistan, with possible aspiration of its spread into Central Asia. This changes the entire paradigm.
This series will still remain focused on exposing ISIS, but this time it will do so by spotlighting the source, the author. Ed.
Tariq Saeedi
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction – Newton’s Third Law
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There is only the difference of scale and the ability to proclaim legitimacy – Anon
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The origins of ISIS – also called IS, Daesh – are buried deep in mystery. The fast growing layers of treachery and deception, opportunism and scheming, make it impossible to explain this malignant evil. It is in unpredictable motion and defies any reliable determination of its coordinates.
In this series I will not try to dig into the driving forces behind ISIS. With my limited knowledge and experience, I can only point out some reasons why it has been flourishing and how it can be deprived of new recruits.
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In dealing with ISIS, the first thing should be to demolish its fake ideology. They assert that they are following Islam while doing everything that automatically expels them from the orbit of Islam.
This series will frequently sound like a theological treatise and consequently difficult to follow but there is no other way to demonstrate that ISIS is Islamic only in a very superficial way, far from the spirit of Islam. Opposing ISIS in every possible way, therefore, is actually the duty of every Muslim.
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Quran (also spelled Koran) is the basic source of law and code of conduct in Islam. The secondary source, generally for the sake of clarity of the intentions of Quran, is Hadith, the collection of the words and deeds of The Prophet (PBUH).
In case no clear guidelines can be derived directly from the Quran or the Hadith, there is the institution of Ijma through Ijtihad.
Ijma means general consensus among the main body of Islamic scholars on any given issue and Ijtihad is the process of informed deliberation or debate to reach Ijma.
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Let’s start by quoting a verse from the Quran:
If it were not because God repels some men by means of others, cloisters, churches, synagogues and mosques where God´s name is mentioned frequently would have been demolished. God supports anyone who supports Him – God is Strong, Powerful – al-Hajj 22:40
There is no ambiguity in the meaning of this verse.
If God arranges (by repelling some people by means of others) to ensure that the places of worship of different religions should continue to exist and function, we can safely deduce that is not God’s will that every other religion except for Islam should cease to exist.
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In fact, Quran goes far beyond merely granting the sanctity of places of worship of different religions.
Here is another verse from Quran:
Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous. – al-Baqarah 2:177
This verse describes the basic elements of Iman (Faith).
Please note that according to this verse, it is mandatory to believe in the prophets, not just the Prophet of Islam. The total number of prophets since Adam is not known and only a handful of them have been mentioned in Quran.
Some of the notable Prophets that have been mentioned in Quran are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin, Moses and Jesus Christ (Peace Be on All of Them).
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Another verse:
Whoever kills a person [unjustly]…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind. Al-Ma’idah 5:32
This is actually part of the verse. The translation of the complete verse is: Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors. al-Ma’idah 5:32
The context here is the story of Cain and Abel, the two sons of Adam. By reminding of this incident God forbids the Children of Israel (the followers of Prophet Moses) from taking unjustly any life. However, this is a binding injunction for the entire mankind.
The next verse in this Surah (verse 33) warns of dire consequences for anyone who violates this injunction.
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In the light of these verses from the Quran, we can see that it is not God’s will to eliminate all religions except Islam, a Muslim is required to believe in all the prophets, and it is strictly forbidden to take unjustly a life.
Within this framework, we can see that ISIS is not Islamic except in name.
This is the basic premise on which this series will proceed.
To be continued . . . /// nCa, 12 June 2017