Know thy enemy

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We are told ad nauseam by our president and his administration that ISIS is not Islamic; but members of ISIS certainly understand themselves to be Muslim. After all, they call themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,[1] and claim to be the only true and faithful representatives of Islam. One can gain a pretty good understanding of their religious motives by simply listening to what they have to say in their latest promo video:


We know, of course, that not all Muslims are radicals or terrorists, hell-bent on world conquest. The problem is that Muhammad was. Consider the teaching of the Quran and the Hadith (the sayings of Muhammad). You can find numerous passages from both sources quoted and explained in their context here. And since the adherents of a religion generally attempt to obey the teaching and follow the example of its founder…



[1] Alternately, ISIL, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The Levant is a geographical term for the territory on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean, including the countries of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.

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