Understanding the rise of ISIS - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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#14514972
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a jihadist, Sunni militant group that has captured huge swathes of land across Iraq and Syria. Employing a strict interpretation of Sharia law, the group imposes harsh punishments and oppresses civilians in the territory it controls. Waging violent war against the Syrian government, Iraqi government, Kurdish militias, and the west, ISIS is currently engaged in a full time conflict on all borders. With tens of thousands of well-armed, well trained jihadists dedicated to their cause, ISIS is threatening to conquer even more territory and upset the careful balance of power in the region.

But in order to fully understand ISIS’s origins, goals, and tactics, it’s crucial to understand the ethnic and religious sectarian divides in modern day Syria and Iraq.

http://theglobalstate.com/international ... ding-isis/
#14593137
Azons wrote:The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a jihadist, Sunni militant group that has captured huge swathes of land across Iraq and Syria. Employing a strict interpretation of Sharia law, the group imposes harsh punishments and oppresses civilians in the territory it controls. Waging violent war against the Syrian government, Iraqi government, Kurdish militias, and the west, ISIS is currently engaged in a full time conflict on all borders. With tens of thousands of well-armed, well trained jihadists dedicated to their cause, ISIS is threatening to conquer even more territory and upset the careful balance of power in the region.

But in order to fully understand ISIS’s origins, goals, and tactics, it’s crucial to understand the ethnic and religious sectarian divides in modern day Syria and Iraq.

http://theglobalstate.com/international ... ding-isis/



I would not call the Islamic State as having a 'strict' interpretation of Sharia Law. I would say that they have a moderate fair reading of Islamic Law.

If a law say gays must be killed... then I do not think it a strict interpretation if they kill gays... That would seem a fair reading of the text. Certainly not strict or an extreme reading of the text.

If the speed limit is 35 MPH. OK? is it a strict extreme reading if you say that the speed limit is 35 MPH?

No, I think saying a 35 MPH speed limit being interpreted as meaning a 35 MPH is the speed limit, I would say that is a fair reading of the law. Not extreme, not strict.

What laws do you think the Islamic State is being extreme about? Strict?
#14593178
I would not call the Islamic State as having a 'strict' interpretation of Sharia Law. I would say that they have a moderate fair reading of Islamic Law.

If a law say gays must be killed... then I do not think it a strict interpretation if they kill gays... That would seem a fair reading of the text. Certainly not strict or an extreme reading of the text.

If the speed limit is 35 MPH. OK? is it a strict extreme reading if you say that the speed limit is 35 MPH?

No, I think saying a 35 MPH speed limit being interpreted as meaning a 35 MPH is the speed limit, I would say that is a fair reading of the law. Not extreme, not strict.

What laws do you think the Islamic State is being extreme about? Strict?

Precisely. An 'extremist' is simply a person who takes his or her own beliefs seriously. A 'radical Islamist' is simply a Muslim who takes their own religion seriously. In the West, we long ago stopped taking our own religious texts seriously, which makes us 'moderates'.
#14593291
Potemkin wrote:Precisely. An 'extremist' is simply a person who takes his or her own beliefs seriously. A 'radical Islamist' is simply a Muslim who takes their own religion seriously. In the West, we long ago stopped taking our own religious texts seriously, which makes us 'moderates'.


Damn, I guess I'm an extremist then

Which makes my being an American so interesting, America being literally created as the antithetical 'Anti-Russia', to Orthodox Christian Russia.
#14593304
ISIS are the encapsulation of the 'revolt of Islam', the same title of the poem by the poet Shelley.

They represent a sort of nationalistic expression of a desire for complete autonomy and control, the complete expulsion of all outsiders and a purification of the inner lands of what they consider to be undesirable elements.

The sentiments and material, as well as historical forces which produced ISIS are akin to those that produced fascism and even National Socialism. It is no surprise that many ISIS members are former members of the Ba'athist (Arab Nazi) regime.

This has been brewing for decades, if not for centuries. They have sought this revolt since at least the 19th century. What this is is the ultimate expression of political Islam.
#14593508
Watching the Islamic State is like watching Muhammad and the original followers of Islam doing their work. Like time traveling back to the 7th Century.

The people are showing the world what Islam is all about.

I disagree that a 'Political Islam' exists. Islam by it's very nature is political. The Christian calendar begins with the year Jesus was born. The Islamic calendar begins when Muhammad controlled a land and a population. When he began to institute Islamic Law over his followers. So, Islam is a political entity.

Islam has no natural morality. It's morals are based upon the bad habits of a 7th Century Arabian warlord...
#14593524
Stonewall wrote:Watching the Islamic State is like watching Muhammad and the original followers of Islam doing their work. Like time traveling back to the 7th Century.


And this is how they like to imagine themselves.

Stonewall wrote:I disagree that a 'Political Islam' exists. Islam by it's very nature is political. The Christian calendar begins with the year Jesus was born. The Islamic calendar begins when Muhammad controlled a land and a population. When he began to institute Islamic Law over his followers. So, Islam is a political entity.

Islam has no natural morality. It's morals are based upon the bad habits of a 7th Century Arabian warlord...


Islam is inherently political but if we are to view it through a modern context and through a Western lense then there is definitely such a thing as political Islam. It was a body of literature and philosophy that emerged during the 20th century. That is why we saw "Islamic movements" like those of Khomeini or Hassan Al Bannah. Such movements were revolutionary and had some inspiration from things like socialism and even fascism. The only reason it is necessary to differentiate political Islam as something political is because there exist other secular ideologies like Marxism and secular nationalism within the Muslim world.
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