Who are ISIS?

Perhaps the popular vision or impression of Isis has focused too much on what Isis could become in the future, as opposed to understanding what they are now and where they came from.

The leadership of Isis appears to be largely old Baathist generals, who, with perhaps the exception of Al Baghdadi,  do not seem to be particularly religious. The original core of soldiers appear to be Iraqi Sunnis and al-qaeda. ISIS  have been effective, however, in luring young men, particularly westernized young men, to fight and die for them. Essentially they seem to be after recovering the power they lost after the American invasion of 2003, and they have used a Nazi like version of Islam to appeal to lost young men who feel disenchanted with Western life. In another time, these boys may have become communists, but often due to their heritage, they have found a fascist version of Islam. Due to our own media and effective use of social media, Isis seem to be the most prominent recruiter of Westerners, but in fact a cursory look at the rebel groups in Syria in particular reveals many Islamic groups battling each other. Even when Isis are defeated,  there will be other Islamic groups to deal with. It seems we may have to resign ourselves to dealing with a dictator or a caliphate, or a moderate government besieged by terrorism such as Iraq's or Afghanistan's.

Many of the lone wolves responsible for recent attacks in Europe and America appear to be recent converts who have little real understanding of Islam. Some have parental backgrounds that are linked to Islam. Most have a history of mental illness and have fallen easy prey to online radicalisation. The recruitment  last year of a young Canadian who had neither an Arabic or Islamic background hints at a simplistic narrative that is superficially seducing, much like Hitler's was in the circumstances of the Great Depression. There is a grain of truth to Western callousness to Muslim death, and a little truth is a dangerous thing. "Oftentimes, to win us to their ways, the instruments of darkness do tell us some small truths".  Some recruits , like the young girls from Bethan Green, London, are intelligent but young and naive, led by emotion and the instability of a teenage brain rather than rational thought and analysis; since Isis kill more Muslims than anyone, it would follow that the best way to help your Muslim brothers would be to fight Isis!  There is little evidence that Isis follow the Koran ; they violate numerous passages, and instead seem to follow a personal interpretation of the Koran that is universally condemned by real Muslims who bother to study their faith. Their appeal then, lies more in slick advertising and a particularly extreme brand of Islam that seems to appeal those already of a criminal and mentally unstable nature. In this respect then Isis is more a mental health and criminal problem than a religious or terrorist problem.

Further reading here ;
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29052144