ISIS: Islam on Display

The journalist looks up to the sky as the blind fold is removed. He is awaiting his eminent
death. He is on his knees, hot, clay-colored sand surrounds him. The abyss of sand reflects the
harsh rays of the sun, emitting heat. His mouth is dry, he hasnt been fed in days, and has not had
water in hours. His mouth is cracked and dry. The orange jumpsuit like that of a prisoners
reflects his state of being, He longs for his family, his wife and his daughter. He will never see
them again. He sobs as he is trying to make peace with this reality that hits him like a freight
train. He imagines his daughter going off to college. He sees her as she walks down the aisle at
her wedding. And lastly he pictures his grandchildren, cared for by their lovely mother, and his
beloved daughter. He will never see his grandchildren. Whack! His shoulder burns from the
impact of the rifle. He is not sure if it is broken. The hit brought him down, face in the sand,
hands on his head, crumbled and submissive. He is quickly yanked up by loud men in dark robes,
covered from head to toe. They yell in a language he cant understand pull him back up and
make him sit with his back straight, still on his knees. They start talking to a camera that he
notices has been placed a few feet in front of him. The speech is several minutes long, but feels
like a few moments to the journalist because he knows what is coming. He had written about it,
and he knows that he is going to die. As soon as the speech is over he feels a hand shove his head
down, but only his head. His neck is exposed. The sawing starts. He lets out a writhing scream,
the last noise he will ever make. Then it is over. His life has come to an end. Very quickly his
head is decapitated and removed from his limp, bleeding body. The ISIS militants hold it up to
the camera for the world to see.

I hope after reading that, that your stomach is churning and you are saddened, maybe you
even shed a few tears. But my point is not merely to make you cry, to make you sad, or ruin your
day. I want to make a point. ISIS is dangerous, ISIS is ruthless, and ISIS must be stopped. But
how do we stop them? How do you cure a respiratory infection when you have it? Do you get
Kleenex? Do you take cold medicine? Im sure you do. These things help with the symptoms.
The Kleenex helps with the runny nose. The medicine may help with the fever, and possibly
even the cough and congestion. However, these things are not the cure. If you want to get better,
you have to go to the source of the problem. The source of the infection must be taken care of.
Targeting the cause rather than then the results. You take antibiotics to deal with the infection.
You go to the source causing the problem. You wipe out the infection and the fever goes away.
There is no more runny nose, and no more cough. That is what must be done with ISIS. We must
get to the roots of their roots. We need to examine what makes them tick and what makes them
do what they do. A lot of people, perhaps the majority in the western hemisphere would say that
they want political gains. To destroy the western world, and that Islam is a very small factor, if it
is a factor at all. ISIS on the other hand is very adamant that they are doing what they are called
to do, as stated in the Koran and other Islamic texts that make up the religion. Lets examine
this; if Islam is just a label they use, or if it is something more. This question is of the utmost
importance to answer. You have to figure out the source to determine the cure.
To get an idea of whether or not ISIS is representative of Islam, we must first look at the
Islamic faith. Examining the Koran seems like a pretty good place to start. It is essentially the
guide for Islam. It is the basis for the faith. Without the Koran there is not a Muslim. Just like if
there were no blue-prints for a building, there would be no building. However, there must be
something else examined, even before we take a look at Islamic scriptures. That is how they will

be interpreted. First off, the Koran is supposed to be the word of Allah, the Muslim god. Allah
according to the Muslim scriptures is known to be a perfect being which is incapable of
contradicting himself. Because the Koran is the word of Allah, the scripture must also be perfect
and therefore, unable to contradict itself. Another verse in the Koran says that it is not up for
interpretation, but that it must simply be taken as what it is. (provide verse) This strict rule of no
interpretation is what the individuals in ISIS basis their beliefs around. This means that whatever
the Koran commands to do, must be done. There is no room for a Muslim to either question the
words of Allah, to disobey them, or to take them in a way that they would like. No matter how
they feel about them, they must take them as the words of a supreme god that must be followed.
This idea of strict readings of the Koran and other Muslim scriptures is what is typically found
by Sunni Muslims. They are the faction that make up ISIS. Sunnis are typically thought to be the
more traditional sect of Islam. Shiites believe in innovation of the Koran, forward thinking in
order to make it fit into the context of the circumstances of the present. This stance is seen by
Sunnis as being dishonoring to Allah, and is not to be tolerated. This leads to the perpetrator
being considered an apostate. (Atlantic article) being considered an apostate is grounds for
punishment, and often times killing of someone who dishonors Allah in a brash act against him.
(Atlantic article) This can be seen closely relatable to sin, which is supposed to be forgiven by
brothers of the faith. (Verse) So now that we have the basis for how to interpret the scriptures
and how they are supposed to be perceived, lets see what is in the Koran.
I would like to address the side that would say ISIS is not representative of Islam. That
they are radical Muslims who are not representative of the faith and are despicable. That they are
the reasons that Muslims have a bad rep in the western media, and that they make all people who
practice Islam seem violent and like terrorists. First I would like to say that the statement that all

Muslims are violent is ridiculous. This is obviously false. I know people who are Muslims. Some
are in my classes. They are by no means violent people. They do not commit acts of terrorism,
neither should they be discriminated against. These are some of the same people who would say
that Islam is a peaceful religion, that ISIS is horrible and does not represent what they know to
be true of their religion. I know that the majority of Muslims who are not a part of a terrorist
group are not violent or committing acts of terror. They would point to ISIS and say that at best
they could be considered radical Muslims, and at the other end, they would not be considered
Muslims at all because the things that they do are violent and harm others. Things which they
themselves do not do, or other Muslims that they know do not do. They will cite scripture in the
Koran that says to kill one innocent person is to kill every innocent person. (Verse) These points
that are made are valid. Most of the Muslim population is not violent, with only a small
percentage being parts of groups that commits acts of terror, or other acts of violence. (Provide
statistic) However, I do not believe that this discredits ISIS as being unfounded in what they do,
when looking at the Islamic texts.
When you look at the texts of the Koran, you will see both violent verses where Muslims
are told to kill the non-believers, or brothers that turn from the faith. (Provide verse) You will
also see verses that say to be peaceful with the non-believer and to show them mercy. As already
stated, the Koran cannot contradict itself, else the Islamic faith crumbles upon itself. Therefore,
these verses must coincide somehow. I would provide the option that by looking at these verses
in the context of Jihad, they fit together in harmony. (Provide stages of jihad) One of the most
prominent figures in Islam is Muhammed. He is the one that Muslims are supposed to follow the
example of. When trying to see what a good Muslim looks like, you look at him. When
examining Muhammed, and the contexts of when he said and did certain things, you see this

pattern and template for jihad. (Provide examples from scripture) (Tell stages and explain)
whatever stage a Muslim finds himself in determines what they are supposed to do, guided by
the Koran, and the example of Muhammed. This idea of looking at the scriptures according to
the context of the current stage of Jihad allows the verses that seem to conflict with one another,
fit together. In this way the book is holy and perfect, and the words of Allah are not contradicting
with one another, and remain in perfect unity. So what does this mean? For one it means that
Muslims in different parts of the world are called to do different things and to act in different
ways. A Muslim who stands alone, who is outnumbered is supposed to be peaceful. They are to
treat others with mercy, and to be kind to the non-believer. Muslims who find themselves in the
position of opportunity to take over by force are called to do that. This is ISIS. They have seen
an opportunity and have decided to fulfill the duties found in the Koran. They are gaining more
and more ground and more and more territory. They are ruthless. Killing the non-believers and
apostates alike. They have also gotten a Kalif (explain from Atlantic article) They are not merely
taking land and gaining territories in disregard for what the Koran and other Islamic texts say,
they are actually following them very carefully. This is huge in arguing the case that they are
Islamic. If they were merely trying to use Islam as a cover for their true motives, or if they were
not actually following what the Koran says to do, then why are they actually doing it? Its
simple. They are following what the Koran says.
In addition to them being true to doing what the scriptures tell them to do, I would also
like to point out some interesting numbers, and to make an interesting observation. (Give
statistics from Pew Research center) As you see, not all Muslims are opposed to some of the
same actions that ISIS is doing. What I am about to say is going to be very abrasive. I want to
preface it with explaining that I am not saying that Muslims in the western hemisphere are liars,

That they are hypocrites, that they deserve to be punished in any way or even that they should
fall victim to discrimination based on their religion. I do not endorse any of these things.
However, I would like to point out that if we look at it through the context of the Koran in
reference to Jihad, then we would think that the Muslims here who are greatly outnumbered,
would be doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing. (Give stats on how many there are)
Being peaceful with the non-believers who surround them. Again I am not trying to say that
Muslims in the United States, or anywhere for that matter are liars and that they are saying that
ISIS is not representative of the Islamic faith because they are in a different stage of Jihad from
their brothers over-seas. I am not saying this at all. However, I feel that this is a logical
explanation and would be remised in not pointing this out to the reader.
In conclusion, ISIS and what makes ISIS tick is important because of what they are
doing. That public opinion does not necessarily mean that ISIS is unfounded in the texts for
doing what they do, but would actually say the opposite. I hope you see that looking at the Koran
in perspective does not change the meaning of the verses but merely puts them into accordance
with one another so that they do not conflict with one another. That when you do this, you see
that verses make sense, and that ISIS seems to be doing just what it is supposed to be doing in
reference with the Muslim texts. I would like to again add that opinion polls in African and
Middle-eastern countries shows support for doing some of the same actions that ISIS is taking
part of. That Muslims in the western world would be justified in reference in the stage of Jihad in
not publicly supporting ISIS.

Peer Review Comments for Conrad

You have to figure out the source to determine the cure. Although I understand the context in
which this sentence is written, where beforehand you used the comparative example of an
infection and a cure. However when you started your transition over to speaking on Islam I think
you should reword this sentence so people who are on the other side of the fence dont
mistakenly interpreted the sentence as calling the religion a disease. Perhaps something along
the lines of You have to figure out the source to determine to determine how to address the
issue this would avoid any possible incident of offending those on the other side of the fence
before you have the chance to address them in your essay.
However, there must be something else examined, even before we take a look at Islamic
scriptures. That is how they will be interpreted. In my opinion I believe you can word it a bit
better it just doesnt seem to flow smoothly off the tongue, perhaps Before we can examine the
Islamic scriptures we need to understand the differences in interpretations.
Im glad to see you decided to include my previous suggestion on addressing the differences
between the Sunnis and Shiites Muslim groups.
In general you may want to examine some of your sentences, some of them would flow better
and perhaps be more effective if you combine them or use a comma instead starting a new one
with a period.