ISIS the Islamic State: Islam’s Most Recent Terrorist Franchise

Mike Scruggs

ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It now prefers to be called simply the Islamic State in recognition that their territorial ambitions are global and will soon extend to Jordan and Lebanon.

They have also revived the idea of the Caliphate--all Islam under one ruler and eventually all the world under Islam and Islamic Law (Sharia). They are fundamentalist Sunni Muslims fully committed to violent Jihad against non-Muslims, secularized Muslims, and smaller Muslim sects considered heretical by Sunni Muslims. They are also enemies of Shia Islam, which is the dominant Muslim sect of Iran and nearly two-thirds of the population of Iraq. Only one-third of the population of the Iraq are Sunni Muslims, and these are about evenly divided between Sunni Arabs, which dominated Iraq under Saddam Hussein, and Sunni Kurds in northern Iraq.

As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pointed out, ISSI is in reality closely related to Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood terrorist franchise active in Palestine and among Syrian rebels. In fact, the chain of origination goes from the Muslim Brotherhood and its political fronts to its chief terrorist franchise Hamas, which spawned Al Qaeda, which in turn spawned ISIS several years ago. It has been noted that each spawning in the Muslim Brotherhood chain is increasingly radical and violent in its commitment to the fundamentalist teachings of the Koran and Muhammad. Estimates of ISIS military strength vary widely. According to a Syrian source, they have grown from only 4,000 under arms in 2013 to 80,000 spread over both Iraq and Syria in recent months.

Most disturbing to many in the West has been the genocidal slaughter of Christians and smaller non-fundamentalist Muslim sects, such as the Yazidi, who find themselves in the path of ISSI forces.

According to several international sources, ISIS has massacred thousands, and many thousands more are fleeing for their lives. According to Crisis Relief International (CRI), when ISIS captured the Kurdish city of Queragosh, they began systematically beheading children.  So far both Iraqi and Syrian military units have retreated from their violent and fanatical assault. The recent public beheading of American journalist James Foley underscored their dedication to the most brutal forms of terror. So far, only the Kurds, known for their fervent Kurdish nationalism and tough-minded military prowess, have successfully blunted their attacks. The United States has thus far done limited bombing of ISIS positions. American experience in the early years of the Vietnam War showed that this sort of nominal and largely public relations level of bombing is not likely to be effective. ISIS is a danger that must be totally crushed and destroyed in detail.  That will require aggressive air warfare and determined effort.

Furthermore, the United States and the West must embrace the reality of Islam’s violent nature. Jihad, violence, vengeance, fanaticism, subservient slavery, beheadings, and all the rest have their origin in the fundamental basics of Islam—the Koran and the teachings and example of Muhammad.  Islam is not a religion of peace and tolerance. It is exactly the opposite, and we need to drop the fairytale version of Islam popular with liberal academics and media and supported by gullible and poorly informed politicians, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, and G.W. Bush. They did not do their homework on the true nature of Islam, and we may pay a heavy price for that negligence.

The prevalent fairytale is a danger to Western survival and certainly to Christians, Jews, and any who dare oppose Islam. There are many moderate Muslim individuals, but the vast majority of moderates are secularized or purely cultural Muslims. Various polls indicate that anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-Western sentiments prevail among Muslims. Over 80 percent of U.S. and Canadian mosques teach hatred of Jews, Christians, and Western civilization, as well as the supremacy of Islam and the necessity to advance that supremacy by whatever means, including deception and violent Jihad.

In his book on Islam' theology, history, and impact on the world, author and scholar, Dr. Serge Trifkovic has said:

“Like the unicorn, we can visualize a moderate Islam, but who can find it?” 

There are, however, a few smaller Muslim sects that do evidence a moderation that is even friendly and protective of Christianity and have in fact been influenced by Christianity, but these are considered heretical by the mainstreams of both Sunni and Shia Islam. One of these is the Alawite sect of Shia Islam in Syria, a 10 percent minority to which most of the ruling Assad regime in Syria belong.  There is also a 10 percent Christian minority in Syria. Both of these minorities are in extreme danger from ISIS, Al Qaeda, and Hamas.

Complicating things, the Assad regime has brought in about 5,000 Hezbollah troops, the principal Shia Muslim terrorist arm of Iran. Hezbollah (the Army of Allah) is probably the best trained terrorist organization in the world and are organized units of the Iranian military.

Obama’s dilemma as President of the United States is that he has strong cultural ties to Islam and strong political connections and loyalties to the Muslim Brotherhood both here and abroad. The Brotherhood and all its terrorist arms are determined to destroy Israel and the United States as primary goals in their Jihad against the rest of the world.  It is increasingly obvious that our President is hostile to any orthodox form of Christianity or Judaism and unsympathetic to the continued existence of Israel. 

Most decent Americans are not willing to stand by while Christians, Jews, and dissenting Muslim sects are slaughtered or enslaved by ISIS, Hamas, or Al Qaeda. The frightening dilemma for the American people is that Barack Obama seems intent upon destroying every aspect of American greatness—constitutional, economic, social, military, moral, and spiritual—from within. He appears to be willfully leading our country into prolonged suffering and inglorious national destruction