How ISIS Has Deviated from Islamic Values

Today I will be writing my blog about some thoughts on ISIS. Now, you may be thinking what does a terrorist organization have to do with NRMs and the answer is that the religious propaganda pushed by ISIS serves as an interpretation of Islam that deviates so far from the norm that it essentially constitutes its own religion of sorts. ISIS (The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is a terrorist organization with the goal to create a Caliphate and destroy all disbelievers. For the average observer, ISIS followers may seem to be too serious about Islam to a violent extent, but the truth is that ISIS has deviated far off mainstream Islamic beliefs to a heretical level.

Islamic scholars have called ISIS takfiri and almost khawariji. The description takfiri refers to the quality of unjustly declaring groups of people as disbelievers. Anyone who doesn’t support ISIS ideology is deemed a disbeliever (kaafir). The problem with such a stance is that it is highly improbable (and completely unreasonable to say) that most Muslims aren’t understanding Islam correctly to such a degree that they shouldn’t be Muslims. ISIS backs their tafkiri ideology by claiming that Muslims are obligated to live under a Caliphate (which ISIS claims to be) so any Muslim not supportive of ISIS necessarily would become a kaafir. However, since ISIS has no stability and doesn’t follow Islamic law, mainstream scholars do not consider ISIS a Caliphate, which further destabilizes their arguments. Because of ISIS’ willingness to shed Muslim blood for their “crimes,” Islamic scholars have drawn ties between ISIS and the Khawariji Movement which held beliefs that Muslims who commit major sins leave the fold of Islam and therefore should be killed.

These qualities of ISIS help solidify some aspects of what it means to leave the fold of Islam, but present other questions that I hope to get answered with my research. For example, where do Islamic scholars draw the line when considering a group takfiri or not? Also, how controversial can your beliefs be before they deviate enough from the mainstream that you are not considered a Muslim anymore? Although the 5 Pillars of Islam (Believing in Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, fasting in Ramadan, praying, paying zakat, and performing pilgrimage) are the basic requirements to consider someone a Muslim, each of these pillars has their own corollaries that must be explored in order to truly understand what the boundaries of Islamic beliefs are. And with this understanding, I would be able to truly identify what being a cult means from an Islamic and academic perspective.