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posted by CoolHand on Thursday April 30 2015, @05:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the someone-make-up-my-mind dept.
calmond writes:

Related to the earlier discussion about where ISIS gets its weapons, I wanted to share this great in-depth article from The Atlantic about the motivations of ISIS. Then In order to provide a more nuanced view of ISIS, here is criticism of that Atlantic article from thinkprogress.org.

From the Atlantic:

The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse.

We can gather that their state rejects peace as a matter of principle; that it hungers for genocide; that its religious views make it constitutionally incapable of certain types of change, even if that change might ensure its survival; and that it considers itself a harbinger of—and headline player in—the imminent end of the world.

The thinkprogress.org criticism by one of the primary sources cited in the Atlantic article:

One of the oft-mentioned criticisms of The Atlantic piece is that it echoed the inaccurate belief that since ISIS’s theology draws upon Islamic texts to justify its horrendous practices, it is an inevitable product of Islam. Haykel didn’t say whether or not he thought Wood’s article says as much, but when ThinkProgress asked him directly whether Islamic texts and theology necessitate the creation of groups like ISIS, he was unequivocal.

“No,” he said. “I think that ISIS is a product of very contingent, contextual, historical factors. There is nothing predetermined in Islam that would lead to ISIS.”

He was similarly unambiguous when responding to the related critique that Muslims who disavow ISIS are somehow deluded or not “real” Muslims.

“I consider people … who have criticized ISIS to be fully within the Islamic tradition, and in no way ‘less Muslim’ than ISIS,” he said. “I mean, that’s absurd.”

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @05:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 30 2015, @05:53PM (#177184)

    Right on cue...

    Funny that when someone as bloodthirsty as you has to choose between hating teh mooslims and loving the killing, they pick loving the killing.

  • (Score: 2) by wantkitteh on Thursday April 30 2015, @10:28PM

    by wantkitteh (3362) on Thursday April 30 2015, @10:28PM (#177290) Homepage Journal

    There are literally hundreds of translations of the Bible. Picking and choosing between them, you could make out that God decreed "kids shall not go to bed when their parents tell them to if they're still playing Grand Theft Auto."