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I understand the urge to claim that ISIS is not Islamic because of the bigotry and backlash against Muslims after every terrorist attack but ISIS is Islamic. Those who claim that Islam is a religion of peace are doing as big a disservice to a much needed debate than those who claim Islam is a religion of violence. It is neither inherently peaceful nor inherently violent, neither exclusively the poetry of Rumi nor the savagery of jihadists. To elevate a religion to a pure form of beauty or to reduce it to a pool of blood is to negate history and to deny reality. We can't just say those who do good things are Islamic and those who do despicable things are not. We can't appropriate Muhammad Ali as "one of us" and disown Osama Bin Laden as a charlatan of our faith. The KKK and Elie Hobeika were as much Christian as Martin Luther King.
Because ultimately, ISIS are people that look at the Middle East - a region where inheritance laws are glued to sharia, where the majority of women wear the veil, where civil marriage is non-existent, where homophobia is normalized, where atheism is heresy and where Muezzins are public MCs - and come to the conclusion that "this shithole is not Islamic enough"
So yes it is unjust to be asked to apologize or vocally condemn ISIS every time they strike because only the individuals that commit the crime should be held responsible for their actions but it is equally as counterproductive to remain in a defensive and reactionary posture. Reactionary rather than proactive rhetoric and actions - even when triggered by legitimate grievances/fears - tend to always lead us down the rabbit hole. Just look at Abdel Nasser, The Patriot Act, Brexit and Meg Ryan's face.
So it would be nice to have a mass demonstration where we could collectively give them the finger and tell them that not only is our region islamic enough but that perhaps it is a bit too islamic and that their constant bombings in the Muslim world and reverse crusade against the West is making our already bedan lives even more bedanable.
And if we do that, it wouldn't be to appease Western Paranoia nor to play into the hierarchal identity pyramid imposed by white privilege, but simply to begin challenging what is rotten inside the herd so that we can first straighten our backs and then earn the right to point fingers.
