What actually is ISIS?
ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levent and is an international terrorist group that currently controls a territory about the size of Maryland. The terrorist group was actually close with al-Qaeda, but during the Syria conflicts, that relationship fell apart, causing tension between the two.
ISIS is an ultra-extreme group of Sunnis who want to establish a form of government based on 7th-century principles. They consider Shiites, such as those ruling Iraq and Iran, to be heretics and must be converted or eliminated.
What does Sunni and Shiite mean?
Like any branch of a specific religion, there are differences and similarities. Sunnis and Shiites are just another example of that.
“At heart, Sunnis and Shiites are like Catholics and Protestants in the commonality of some fundamental beliefs,” according to About News. “But their differences, especially in nations where the Sunni-Shiite split is exacerbated by each other’s proximity (as in Iraq and Lebanon), run so deep that intolerance and violence shadow the two groups, making coexistence difficult. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of all Muslims follow the Shiite branch and majority of the world’s billion-odd Muslims are Sunnis.”
What are the differences?
According to About News, Sunnis believe that the first four Caliphs, or leaders, including Ali were the rightful followers of Muhammad. While Shiites believe imams, leaders the mosque or community, are descendants of the Prophet.
What tension is it causing for Americans?
Americans are being killed and that is the first and foremost obvious tension, however it’s much more than that. It shouldn’t matter if they are Chinese, African, Mexican, American, Candian or whatever, innocent people are being killed and that should remain the most important part of this tragedy.
Some are beginning to wonder, after the horrifying slayings that there is a possibility of another 9/11. However that is just pure speculation. ISIS is using the deaths and slayings of American journalists as business transactions, by selling people for money to then purchase more weapons. They are using these deaths to push fear into the eyes of Americans. In the eyes of ISIS, the U.S. government has been supporting their Shiite enemies in Iraq.
President Obama has said that he has not yet developed a complete strategy for dealing with ISIS in Syria and Iraq. He has to walk a fine line of attacking ISIS directly but not alienating Sunnis even more, because ultimately, some segments of Sunnis need to be empowered to deal with the radical Sunnis in ISIS. This situation is not just black and white, there is a very large-scale of grey in between.
Why is ISIS doing this to so many people?
The reason why the extremists are acting this way is because Nouri al-Maliki persecuted Sunnis, a man that we helped put into his current role as president. Actions that the United States to attack ISIS must not be seen as favoring Shiites yet further.
What is this doing to the economy?
“It is time that the United States stopped waiting for good options that could somehow quickly solve its problems in the Middle East and accept the reality that the United States faces an unstable mess in the entire Middle East/North Africa region that is likely to take at least a decade to play out before there is any real stability,” Center for Strategies and International Studies Anthony H. Cordesman said. “There are no ‘good,’ quick, or simple options that can avoid this reality, or avoid the fact the United States must choose between unpleasant alternatives in many cases.”
According to Business Insider, “ISIS brings in nearly $12 million a month in revenues from extortion and other shady practices in the Iraqi city of Mosul alone in addition to $1 million to $3 million a day selling oil illegally.”
“According to Janine Davidson and Emerson Brookings of the Council on Foreign Relations, ISIS sits atop a volume of resources and territory unmatched in the history of extremist organizations,” Business Insider said. “The group controls approximately 60% of Syria’s oil fields and several oil-producing assets in Iraq.”
Why does this matter to college students?
Because these are complex religious-political conflicts. Few Americans understood the complexity of the geography, politics, and religion in this area when we invaded Iraq. We went in and had a military victory in a brief time. But the military victory was the easy part and set off a chain reaction of divisions that go back centuries. College students have to study these complex realities and not make the same mistakes that we made 10 years ago.
To put it simply, because we live in this society. Some times it may not seem as if the decisions we make now will have any influence over people in generations to come, but if history repeats itself, it absolutely will. We the people make up our society.
The truth can sometimes be skewed by opinions, but the reality is that in the aftermath of the Iraq war, the Sunnis have not been included in the running of Iraq by the Shiite government. They are trying to right that wrong, and, unfortunately, the group of Sunnis who have been most successful is ISIS.
American students have the resources of college – professors, academic resources and a community to discuss these issues with. Most adults in the work world do not have those resources. In other parts of our world, we become the ideal image of freedom because we are allowed to stand up for what we believe in. With the support of our government, because certain countries do not have these freedoms set in stone.
In 20 years from now, do we want to look back and say I wish I had paid attention and did my homework about the Middle East back then.
Anonymous quotes on the survey people said:
“I was raised Catholic and practice my faith today. What ISIS is doing to Christians (and many other groups of people) cannot be defined by the mere word “murder” but more by the word “executions” and “slaughter.” The targeting and slaughter of anyone or any group of people is absolutely terrifying, and the fact that it is happening to people I identify with is downright horrifying.”
“They threaten America, greatest god damn country that’s ever lived, that made it very personal.”
“I feel the ISIS situation does not affect me directly, because they haven’t made a direct attack on US soil. Although, they have taken the lives of innocent American’s, therefore, I believe some type of action should be taken to stop these types of killings.”
“Yes I have friends in Libya that have been affected by radical groups to include ISIS to include assassination.”
“It doesn’t affect me personally but mentally the thought that such a group is out there and could show up on our doorstep with no problems is a scary thought.”
“If it affects people in our country, it somehow affects everyone.”
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