For some, ISIS has proven to be much more than a dangerous terrorist group. Instead, the Islamic State has functioned as a paradise for radical followers of Islamic Law, not to be confused with Muslims who are not radicalized/don’t agree with ISIS’ views. Much of ISIS’ views and beliefs completely go against what most Muslims believe and instead represents extremism at its worst. ISIS has gained much of its audience and following by promising those who wish to join a place considered to them as a sort of Muslim utopia.
ISIS’ goal is to establish a caliphate – a radical, extremist state with a supreme ruler. In order to do this, ISIS understands that it needs to supply basic services to the population and the group has begun forming an urban infrastructure around its proclaimed capital, Raqqa, in Syria. From an outside perspective, ISIS is functioning as many classic versions of dystopia do, using propaganda techniques to gain and keep support, while creating a form of Islamist totalitarianism. In essence, ISIS has created an oppressive dictatorship, especially for Shia Muslims and non-Muslims, but also for Sunni Muslims who do not agree with ISIS’ extremist views.
Despite all this, ISIS has been able to recruit Westerners from the U.S., Canada, and Europe to support their endeavors in forming the caliphate. What seems to have sparked this migration came from the Islamic State’s online magazine, with it’s theme of “A Call to Hijrah” or call to come to Muslim-controlled lands. It promises a Muslim Utopia, which adheres to its extremist version of Islamic Law. For some, like Asiya Ummi Abdullah, she doesn’t believe ISIS to be a terrorist dystopia, but instead she views it as the perfect place to raise a family. She believes the Islamic State, protects her and her son from the sex, drugs, and alcohol that she sees as rampant in her homeland of Turkey. She believes that by living under the Islamic spiritual code, her son’s spiritual life is secure, and she is unafraid of the American bombings taking place everyday.
As Americans we are lucky to live in a nation, which there is a separation of church and state, however through the practices implemented by the Islamic State, we can see what a terror of a world we may live in if controlled by extremist religious views. This leads me to worry about the men who could someday be leading our country, whose religious views may be pushing their support for things like pro-life and for not funding certain female health programs, infringing on the rights of women to their own bodies.