President Obama believes that terrors groups like ISIS isn’t “true Islam” and which points to his inability or even willingness to understand the challenge that we face with Islamic terrorism.
Speaking at a conference at the White House, Obama, rather evasively, pointed out, “Al Qaeda and ISIL [a k a ISIS] and groups like it… try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors in defense of Islam. We must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie. Operatives of al Qaeda and ISIS “are not religious leaders — they’re terrorists.”
Of course, these terrorists are now calling themselves the Islamic State which is under a caliph, and whose authority cannot be challenged.
While there is no mechanism for excommunication, even bad Muslims will remain so as long they haven’t rejected the two testimonies which accepts the oneness of God and that Muhammad is his prophet.
And while Islam does allow its believers to move away from those who seem to be misguided or deviant, there aren’t any Muslims who are denouncing the Islamic State or any of these other terrorist groups.
Obama also believes that in order to prevent people from following the “false promises of extremism”, financial opportunities and education for girls and women will have to be offered.
Sadly, this is naive, considering how recruitment for ISIS as well as its administration is run by highly educated people. In fact, there are more jihadis and volunteers for matyrdom from almost every Western country. None of the people are poverty-stricken either.
It’s misleading to say that IS is not a part of Islam although the religion should not be reduced to such an outfit either.
And while humanity is not at war with Islam, a part of it is so with humanity. To ignore such a fact shows a lack of understanding or any kind of intellectual responsibility.