Why ISIS and Terrorism?

Paris is in pain.  Families beyond France are dealing with the aftermath, hundreds of dead and injured.  ISIS (Islamic State) claims responsibility, a calculated well planned terrorist attack.  State leaders call it an act of war, including President Obama.

Question: Apart from their terroristic methods and their highly touted goal, which is the creation of an Islamic State, do we really understand the inner workings of ISIS?  What is the source of their anger and hatred?  What drives their passion so, or ignites their energy and motivates them so much.  Why are they so determined to wreak this kind of havoc with so much tenacity?

Are we, the average citizen in the West, Europe and the U.S., able to answer the above questions with insight and understanding?  If not, perhaps that is part of the problem and a challenge that we must address.

In short, we should know the ingredients that go into the creation of a radical Islamic group such as an ISIS?  If we are to be wise, rather than simplistic and reactionary, we can’t just blame the religion of Islam, in and of itself, as the sole cause of a terrorist group like ISIS.  There is more to it than that, much more.  Yes, religion and religious dogma, teaching, and influence, play a part in the creation of ISIS.  But it is only one factor, one ingredient among many.  What are the other ingredients?  Wisdom tells us that there must be significant cultural, historical, socio-economic, and political factors that are at play here as well.

In short, what we are lacking is a narrative; we don’t know the story and perhaps are unwillingly to acknowledge that there even is a story to be heard and told.  Collectively speaking, all we know is what’s on the surface, which is shallow and trite knowledge as it were.  Yes, we know that ISIS hates the U.S. and its allies, what is called “The West.”  And we know that they have no qualms about using terroristic tactics to make their point, using terrorism as a means to gain tactical advantage to reach their goals.  And we know that they claim that their version of Islam is supreme, which presumably justifies their terroristic tactics.  Yet, if we know only that much about ISIS, we actually know very little about them.

What we are not hearing is their story.  And, frankly speaking, because of their terroristic tactics, most of us have no interest in hearing their story.  We don’t care.  All we want them to do is to stop terrorizing.  However, the danger is that our own hearts will begin to mirror theirs, if this is not already the case.  Meaning: They hate us; so we hate them.  They kill us; and so we’re more than willing to kill them.  They claim God’s favor, shouting “God is great!”  Meanwhile we too assert God’s favor on us, invoking “God bless America.”  They see us as condemnable infidels and we see them as damnable terrorists.  To them, we are dirt beneath their feet; to us, they are mud on our shoes.  Thus, we have one thing in common—the desire to wipe the dirt off from beneath us.

So I wonder.  How would we respond differently if we understood them at a deeper level?  If we really knew their story, the narrative that explains their development and their reason for being, the story that paints their reality and shapes their identity?  Would it not help to know?  Would it not help to understand their deeper motivation?  Knowledge is power.  Know your enemy.  How well do we know them?  How much knowledge do we have of them?  I think we have some homework to do.