I’ve spent a lot of time reading articles about ISIS and
what makes them tick, and so with some authority I can tell you that I still
have absolutely no fucking idea what they’re all about.
The basic gist of things seems to be that according to the Quran
there is an impending apocalypse, which is nice. In the countdown to the big apocalypse,
the Muslims will defeat Rome aka the west in a long drawn out battle which will
ultimately be finished off triumphantly and bloodily by none other than Jesus
Christ himself. What a twist. I didn’t even know Jesus was part of Islam, but
it turns out he is considered a very powerful prophet. And he’s going to kill
us all. Happy days.
ISIS believe that they have a “Caliphate”, which I think (I
think) translates to an Islamic government/empire ruled by a “Caliph” who is
seen as a successor to Prophet Muhammad. Basically (I think) the objective is
to keep expanding the boundaries of this Caliphate so that their interpretation
of Islam can be dictated to anybody living within it. Until eventually, it all
kicks off and there’s a proper nawty, nawsty little ruck and ISIS win. I think.
Woohoo.
It all sounds nuts, and there’s a couple of good reasons for
that. The first is that I don’t even know if I’m 100% right with the above, so
it could well be nuts in the literal “where has he got all that random shit
from?” sense. The second reason is quite simply that it just is stark raving bonkers.
Considering how mad it all is it’s no wonder there’s
confusion and the same old myths are peddled every time something happens. One
such myth is that ISIS supporters aren’t “real” Muslims or that they are “un-Islamic”.
Whilst clearly, obviously, it goes without saying etc that the vast majority of
Muslims want nothing to do with this apocalyptic death cult, ISIS are taking
everything they believe in straight out of the Quran, word for word. Whilst it may
be a terrible brand of Islam it’s no less legitimate than the friendlier,
peaceful beliefs shared by others. It’s too easy to just say they aren’t
Muslims. They are.
On the flip side there are of course the types who’ll just
blame all Muslims, which is also total rubbish. Clearly, obviously, it goes
without saying etc. The lad on Twitter summed it up when he put something along
the lines of “People keep telling me I need to get rid of ISIS when I can’t
even get a girl to text me back” which was a point that was equally hilarious
as it was well made. So who is to blame?
The next lot of people who get the blame are “us”. “Who me?”
“Yes you”. “Couldn’t have been.” “Then who (stole the cookie from the cookie
jar) is responsible for the rise of ISIS?” While some hold the extreme view
that it’s all down to Islam others have decided it’s “cuz of Bush and Blair
innit”. Well, not exactly. While foreign policy obviously hasn’t helped matters
over the years I don’t think you can account for a load of blood crazy savages
to be running around chopping people’s heads off, shooting concert goers and
blowing up train stations.
There’s a racist undertone to that kind of thinking that
says people anywhere east of our fair Isle are simple minded types, prone to
pre-historic savagery if you dare upset them in any way. They have a cause they
believe in, they are well organised, they are backed up by a holy book that nobody
dares to question and they don’t need some toff from the UK or an absolute
imbecile of a Yank part time golfer to reinforce their beliefs.
So who is to blame? And what can we do about it? God/Allah
(delete as applicable) knows. There are too many reasons to list and I don’t
know half of them. Don’t ask me, I’m just a little twat who writes a blog once
every 35 years.
The way I see it, these loons are like the dementors off
Harry Potter. They thrive off misery, pain and suffering. They want you to
spread hate, it’s the only way their message will spread and help their borders
to expand. Don’t become their most powerful recruiters by blaming innocents and
leaving them disenfranchised. Basically, without wishing to sound like a
flipping great hippy (cuz I’m not mate, alright?) we’ve just got to keep going
about our lives spreading joy, happiness, and all those other hippy type
things.
When, inevitably, they come after London again, and it is
inevitable, the same applies. Don’t turn to Farage or some other crackpot of
his ilk. It’ll be tempting, deep down, to strike out. You'll feel that rage in your stomach usually reserved for your team conceding a last minute winner. But that’s how they win. Don’t
let them win.
