ISIS

While I have heard many non-Muslims state the opinion that ISIS are not Muslims, it is good to hear a Muslim say it. It is incredibly helpful to have a Muslim state chapter and verse of where these terrorist actions are violating the Muslim tenets of faith.

I know several Muslims who are moderate, yet religious and upstanding members of my community. When I compare them to ISIS, it is obvious to me that ISIS are just another group of extremists who have taken a holy text and chosen to only observe one small portion of it, instead of reading the entire document as a whole and seeing those verses that tell them to kill the Infidel in the proper context.

ISIS are not, in my opinion, Muslims. They are terrorists and fanatics. Terrorists and fanatics take many shapes and forms, but these are by far the worst because they dare to use religion to give themselves credence. They are as evil as those who waged the Crusades, or the Inquisition.

Any religion has its nuts, but the nuts do not, by any means, define the religion. All they define is the depths of the depravity the human soul is capable of, and by so doing, they merely highlight the incredible need we have of God, and the unfathomable grace of God! Even those as evil as these have the opportunity to repent and turn from their life of evil and violence, and find complete forgiveness. That is the scandal of grace.

So it is good to hear a Muslim state that ISIS are religious nuts and not true Muslims. However, saying so doesn't really change anything. ISIS are still waging their religious war against the Infidels, and many are suffering as a result - Iraqis and Saudis as well as foreigners. The world is a global village now, and as long as we stand by and continue to say nothing, do nothing, we will continue to be complicit in their war.

God forgive us for allowing this atrocity to take place on our watch, and for the part we have played in creating the environment in which ISIS can flourish. After all, all it takes for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.