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Who's to blame for ISIS? The political left holds President George W. Bush responsible because of the American invasion of Iraq. The right faults President Obama for pulling American troops out of Iraq. Both left and right agree that ISIS is so appalling and indescribably cruel it even gives terrorism a bad name. I'm a leftist and blame Bush more than Obama, though I also have problems with Obama's purported strategy.
Who's to blame for ISIS? The political left holds President George W. Bush responsible because of the American invasion of Iraq. The right faults President Obama for pulling American troops out of Iraq. Both left and right agree that ISIS is so appalling and indescribably cruel it even gives terrorism a bad name. I'm a leftist and blame Bush more than Obama, though I also have problems with Obama's purported strategy.
Why does ISIS succeed in recruiting so many dedicated members
for its cause? There are many reasons, including one that I call
Theological Terrorism.
ISIS bases its apocalyptic ideology on
Muhammad's prophesies of a final battle against Western infidels, which
will end the world in victory for an established caliphate. "A Caliphate in Accordance with the Prophetic Method"
is the slogan on the coins ISIS has minted, on badges its soldiers
wear, and on a billboard marking the beginning of ISIS territory. The
majority of Muslims in the Middle East believe we are living in the end
times, and they want to be on the right side when the Day of Judgment
comes. While there are relatively few Muslims who support ISIS, there
are many Islamic terrorists (yes, I'm a liberal who uses that phrase)
willing to fight and die to establish an Islamic caliphate to hasten the
end times.
Many Muslims got the preposterous idea that the world
will end soon from interpretations of their holy book, the Quran. But
it's not just Muslims who hold that belief. Portions of the Quran are
"inspired" by the Christian Bible, many of whose adherents also
anticipate an imminent end of the world. Astoundingly, 41% of all U.S.
adults, 54% of Protestants, and 77% of Evangelicals believe the world is
now living in the biblical end times!
Portions
of the Christian Bible are inspired by the Hebrew Bible, some of whose
adherents are also waiting for a Messiah to usher in the end of the
world. The Talmud (commentary on the Hebrew Bible) states that there is a
predestined time when the Messiah will come,
but he might come sooner. This "end of time" will be before the Hebrew
year 6000 (it's now 5776). So the end might be today, but it will
certainly happen within 224 years. Unfortunately, I won't be alive to
hear how yet another false end time prediction is explained away.
In
the Christian Bible, Matthew 24: 6-8 describes when we will be
approaching the end times. There will be wars and rumors of wars, nation
will rise against nation, and there will be famines and earthquakes in
various places. Sounds familiar. No wonder people for millennia have
falsely predicted the end times. Michele Bachmann, a 2012 candidate for
the Republican presidential nomination, predicted that the rapture will
be coming soon because of President Barack Obama's policies on Iran's
nuclear program and marriage equality.
Over the years, many
religious leaders have specified end-of-the-world dates, and
subsequently lost their faithful flock. Some such movements have
evolved, including the Millerites led by Baptist preacher William
Miller. He proclaimed that Jesus would return to earth by March 24,
1844, and many of his followers gave away all their possessions in
preparation for the blessed event. March 25, 1844 is known as the Great Disappointment,
but some Millerites reinterpreted the events of the Great
Disappointment and formed a new religion in 1845. These Seventh-day
Adventists also expect an imminent (but undated) return of Jesus,
preceded by a "time of trouble." Current presidential candidate Ben
Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist.
The most significant false
prophecy in the Christian Bible appears in both Matt 24:34 and Luke
21:32: "All will be fulfilled and Jesus will return before this
generation passes away." Still waiting!
End of days scenarios for
both ISIS and Christianity have frightening similarities in their holy
books, including violent wars and the return of Jesus to fight the
antichrist (though different antichrists). Such similarities might help
explain why ISIS has had some success in converting young people from
Christianity to Islam. They've been taught similar horror stories.
I
sometimes think there are more Christians than Jews because
Christianity promises a better afterlife. So watch out for Islam, which
promises a paradise with sensual young women and unlimited wine. That
sounds like an earthly paradise and a lot more fun than an afterlife of
sycophantic praises and hallelujahs.
The Bible and Quran both
contain ridiculous passages and reasonable passages. People can quote
portions of their holy books to justify loving their neighbor or killing
their (infidel) neighbor. Both books give justifications for
theological terrorism, including genocide, holy wars, slavery, misogyny,
and death for crimes like blasphemy, homosexuality, and worshipping the
wrong god or even the right god in the wrong way.
That ISIS
might have been inspired by biblical passages in no way justifies its
horrendous actions. If someone says he follows a holy book, I want to
know which passages and how he interprets them. ISIS seems to follow the
worst passages of the Quran and interpret them in the worst possible
way. My hope is for the world to move away from such theocratic
terrorism and toward loving our neighbors as ourselves. We don't need
any holy books to justify loving our neighbor.
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