"So exactly what is driving ISIS?" Topic

This is well worth a read if you want to know about the driving philosophy of ISIS.

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Thanks for that!

Duck

Toyotas, from the looks of it!

So in a nutshell – homocidal xenophobia.

There is also the theological concept of the world at war, which means that because Islam is under attack any Quranic rules can be broken, to defend the faith. So anytime you read about Islamic restrictions it does not apply to these people. The Madrid suicide bombers were permitted to drink alcohol and behave like Westerners, because of this doctrinal addition.

It's a shame that TMP doesn't have an emoticon for sarcasm.

There is also the theological concept of the world at war, which means that because Islam is under attack any Quranic rules can be broken, to defend the faith. So anytime you read about Islamic restrictions it does not apply to these people. The Madrid suicide bombers were permitted to drink alcohol and behave like Westerners, because of this doctrinal addition.

Convenient.

Remember that we're christians fighting them, thou shalt not kill must also be suspended!

Actually the suspension of that doctrine led to the development of the 'rules of war' and eventually to the doctrine of Just War. A humanitarian doctrine that dictates our current strategy and ROE, by putting a premium on such things as making sure war is the last solution to be tried, minimising civilian casualties and ending conflict as soon as possible.

The ability to completely disregard such rules, for the sake of political expediency are now vanishingly remote in the West, whereas, in the ME they are still tied to an 8th Century theology. A theology whose current dominant iteration is now harsher, more bellicose and less sophisticated.

Time will tell, the first two middle eastern invasions overcame the "world order" of the time and came to think of themselves as superior maybe the new world order is really the caliphate but we don't know it yet?

Well, ISIS seems to be more of a well trained army than a terrorist group. In battle they tend to act like a "professional" force than a terrorist group. I think that they are far more a danger than many are giving them credit for. We may have to put boots on the ground to aid the Kurds in the long run. Of all the groups that have shown up in the ME these are possibly the most frightening. Us Armchair Generals shouldn't underestimate them.

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Regardless, whatever drives a fanatical idealogy, especially a corrupted version of islam as we see with ISIS among other similar groups. As already noted, homocidal xenophobia sounds about right. And may I add religious homocidal xenophobia. The West as well as moslems need to see what a clear and present danger ISIS and their like are to the world. As we all know, never underestimate your enemy. But also like we saw in the WWII North Africa Campaign, we need not create sort of a "bogeyman" … Which it appears that sort of thinking has already affected much of the Iraqi Security Forces … Hopefully, other moslems in the region will understand this and along with US[and others] Spec Ops and CAS, can attrite ISIS to the point of being ineffective … hopefully …

People fighting for something nobody can see will fight the hardest and most bitterly of all.

The motivations also cause ISIS to perform actions which undermine its strategic purposes.

Sharia law is being imposed in Mosul, for instance. A man was reportedly beheaded today for infidelity, and it was broadcast.

Such harsh actions, combined with economic difficulties in the ISIS zone, may cause the population to stop thinking of ISIS as liberators and to see them as another danger.

Not too different than the Ukrainians welcoming the Nazis?

Extortion and the destruction of lucrative but forbidden produce is also increasing resentment. The Ba'athists who helped ISIL win their Iraqi victories will have to calculate if and when to turn on ISIL, before they get collectively blamed for their 'allies' excesses.

Meanwhile AQ is licking it's wounded pride and will be waiting to regain top spot again. Too many enemies, too many fronts, too many commercial businesses threatened, too many toes stepped on. ISIL have already lit the fuse for their own spectacular and bloody destruction, the question is, how long will it take to burn?

Can anybody beside ISIS, AQ, BH, AS, etc., types see any good coming out of Sharia Law ? A completely corrupted and backward, primative idealogy … Regardless of some of the locals jumping on the bandwagon for various reasons. As we see some Sunni in Iraq and other anti-Assad forces in Syria doing … I think in the long run, the traditional tribal, ethnic, religious, etc. differences in the region will blunt ISIS. That and as I said, along with US[and others] Spec Ops, CAS, log, intel support etc. … Of course if ISIS and the other groups like them stopped threatening the West, Jews, infidels, the Pope, creating a Caliphate worldwide, murdering everyone who is not like them, exporting their terrorism, etc., etc., etc. … Kept it only a local conflict among moslems, we'd probably just let them work it out among themselves … Which in the long run, they are going to have to do … Or like we see with the Palestinians and Isrealis … it will be generational continuous state of varing levels of conflict …

When the Jews started returning in numbers to the Middle East, the "troubles" started right up again, which had been on and off for thousands of years already. It isn't Muslim against Jew, it is Semite against cousin Semite. Outsiders mixing it up with that "genetic" clan dispute are truly clueless….

Really? Muslims are the same as Jews? I know, in these fashionably secular days, one is encouraged to have a lack of inquisitiveness about theological matters, but come off it!

It isn't a religious war, it's a family fight and always has been between them. Muslims in the Middle East are mostly Semites of one kind or another. Of course it's a religious war too, but subordinated to the original favoritism claims, the prejudice, the persecutions and countersuch, and on it goes, round after bloody round. Just because parts of it get complex because of modern scenarios doesn't change the animosity that powers the wars. They will never agree on religious tolerance principles until they agree to stop trying to get power over each other and ignore each other like other cultures do for the most part. Religion is just the excuse to fight, one of many excuses "they" use. Hamas has stated bluntly that Israel is to be destroyed, that it has no right to exist. This isn't a religious feud but the ancient family one. Minor motivations aside, that's the real dynamic that powers the wars between them. The IS caliphate can want Israel dead too when they hypothetically come into contact, but Hamas will not survive as a separate Muslim power unless it is more powerful than the IS caliphate….

There's an interesting BBC article here regarding a possible Sunni backlash against IS in Iraq:

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