BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As writers of Flowers Against Bullets, we believe that it is our responsibility to educate the readers on who ISIS really is. Many people only know of ISIS as a recently active terrorist organization with Sunni roots. However, without the understanding of ISIS's origin and history, one cannot truly know who ISIS is. Here we provide a short recap of ISIS's background information.
Origins
Contrary to popular belief, ISIS began 16 years ago in year 1999 as a part of the umbrella group - Al Qaeda. Their old name allows us to get a deeper understanding of the organization - Al Qaeda in Iraq. It was originally Al Qaeda’s goal to set up a caliphate, an Islamic State. This goal fueled radical brutality, which lost them the support of Sunnis in Iraq. This temporarily drove Al Qaeda in Iraq out of Iraq - with the backing of the US. But the organization was not destroyed. They began remodeling their organization more effectively as they became heavily involved in Syria. Al Qaeda in Iraq used abominable methods such as beheading to demonstrate influence in Syria. The methods of Al Qaeda in Iraq were so brutal - even in the eyes of Al Qaeda - that Al Qaeda eventually disowned the branch. In February 2014, Al Qaeda in Iraq renamed themselves as ISIS.
Origins
Contrary to popular belief, ISIS began 16 years ago in year 1999 as a part of the umbrella group - Al Qaeda. Their old name allows us to get a deeper understanding of the organization - Al Qaeda in Iraq. It was originally Al Qaeda’s goal to set up a caliphate, an Islamic State. This goal fueled radical brutality, which lost them the support of Sunnis in Iraq. This temporarily drove Al Qaeda in Iraq out of Iraq - with the backing of the US. But the organization was not destroyed. They began remodeling their organization more effectively as they became heavily involved in Syria. Al Qaeda in Iraq used abominable methods such as beheading to demonstrate influence in Syria. The methods of Al Qaeda in Iraq were so brutal - even in the eyes of Al Qaeda - that Al Qaeda eventually disowned the branch. In February 2014, Al Qaeda in Iraq renamed themselves as ISIS.
Purpose
The stated goal of ISIS is to create a caliphate - an Islamic State. From the organization’s point of view, the Islamic State has been established (as they self-address themselves as IS), but it is certainly not recognized by the international community. But what does becoming a “caliphate” entail? What does that mean to Muslims and the rest of the global community?
ISIS has a vision for a worldwide state of all Muslims - excluding the Shiites. Through the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate, the organization wishes to “eliminate the greyzone.” There will no longer be “western muslims.” Muslims will simply be either part of the Islamic State or not. Therefore, the attack of ISIS is not directed solely towards non-Muslims. The attack is against anybody who are not ISIS or any Muslim who does not follow ISIS. To put simply, ISIS’s ultimatum for Muslims and non-muslims alike goes like this: “Either get killed or get on board.” Through the Caliphate, ISIS aims to divide the world into their own Islamic terms - ISIS and the rest.
Sources:
https://theintercept.com/2015/11/17/islamic-states-goal-eliminating-the-grayzone-of-coexistence-between-muslims-and-the-west/
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE
Just within the year of 2014, ISIS has committed more than 4 million human rights abuses against the Iraqi people - according to the Iraqi Minister of Human Rights. Raping, kidnapping, burning humans alive, beheading, selling children, and recruiting children soldiers are simply the tip of the iceberg -- the list goes on. The violation of human rights is exacerbating as ISIS has taken the role of a governing body in ISIS controlled regions. Civilians in ISIS territory - not to mention the constant bombings and shootings - are subjected to sexual harassment, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, unfair trials, and eventually death. According to the Amnesty International Humans Rights Report, women and girls primarily from the Yezidi community are being taken for forced marriage, rape, and sex trade.
Sources:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east-and-north-africa/iraq/report-iraq/
ECONOMIC STRUCTURE
From a financial standpoint, ISIS is a business - a very lucrative one. The organization’s economic profit grows as they seize and control more territory; the more territory they control the more they have to steal. ISIS will steal and seize anything that will get them money. The organization has financially thrived through oil smuggling in Syria and expropriation of banks in controlled territories. Just in 2014, ISIS made more than half a billion dollar through taking over banks. They also rob houses, steal cars, and sell automobile parts from the stolen cars. They trade weapons and people - mostly women and children. ISIS also made at least 20 million dollars from kidnapping. Although we do not believe in negotiations with terrorists, many European countries and wealthy arab families have given large sums of money to ISIS for ransom.
In the controlled territories of Iraq and Syria, ISIS controls every aspect of the economy. The organization determines price of products and the distribution as well as salaries of jobs. Although self-proclaimed as a state, ISIS is not economically functioning as a state; They resemble more of a mafia. All of the resources in the controlled regions benefit ISIS directly; “If they don’t take it, they will tax you for it.” In Iraq, public services like electricity and water have barely managed to stay on. For the few hours the services are running within a day, ISIS members come around to collect fees for the public service usage.
In the controlled territories of Iraq and Syria, ISIS controls every aspect of the economy. The organization determines price of products and the distribution as well as salaries of jobs. Although self-proclaimed as a state, ISIS is not economically functioning as a state; They resemble more of a mafia. All of the resources in the controlled regions benefit ISIS directly; “If they don’t take it, they will tax you for it.” In Iraq, public services like electricity and water have barely managed to stay on. For the few hours the services are running within a day, ISIS members come around to collect fees for the public service usage.
Sources:
WHY WOMEN?
This clip is an interview on Crime Time - a talk show on an internet TV channel - between a former FBI special agent Steve Moore and the host Allison Hope Weiner. This short interview tackle the issue of ISIS ‘s gender-specific recruitment and why women are vulnerable targets. Steve Moore juxtaposes the ISIS recruitment strategy to the white supremacist movement - an accurate and comprehensible analogy. For the final comment, Allison fires away the question which everybody is curious about: “If we (the Americans) are the primary architects of social media, why are we so bad at it?” Click on the youtube link to find out Steve Moore’s response.
Q&A with the NY Times Reporter for the 3 Bethnal Academy girls
This Q&A session is an enlightening interview providing firsthand account from the reporter who studied the Bethnal girls in East London. The reporter tries to explain the motivation behind the girls and why they found ISIS appealing. One key point in this Q&A article was that the Muslim girls brought up in western cultures in fact feel more liberated by going to ISIS. For them, “going to a place where women have to wear veils and need escorts outside the home, could feel liberating and empowering to some girls”
“These girls are smart, they often perform better at school than the boys and yet they are subject to very conservative social norms at home and in their community. They don’t feel that they benefit from Western freedoms and opportunities. Rather, they feel let down by Western society and by Western feminists who look at the hijab as a symbol of oppression.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/18/insider/isis-lures-3-teenage-girls-reporters-notebook.html
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