Tomorrow, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the British Labour Party, is going to make a
speech in which he will blame UK foreign policy for the terrorist attack on Manchester (in addition to other attacks on the UK):
Jeremy Corbyn is to take the hugely controversial step of blaming Britain’s foreign wars for terror attacks such as the Manchester suicide bombing. The Labour leader will claim a link between 'wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home', as he relaunches his party’s election campaign on Friday after the three-day pause.
Does Daesh, in fact, commit terrorist attacks in western countries because of their foreign policy?
While reading comments on an article at Harry's Place about leftist responses to the terrorist bombing in Manchester earlier this week,
someone quoted
excerpts from an article in the ISIS/Daesh magazine, Dabiq, about why Daesh attacks people in the West. In the latest issue, #15 (published in July, 2016), there is an article titled "Why We Hate You and Why We Fight You." Although the article was published almost a year ago, it's relevant when trying to understand the terrorist attack on Manchester, as well as other ISIS directed or inspired acts, like the attack on San Bernardino, California, on December 2, 2015, and the massacre at the Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016.
To summarize their reasons: ISIS hates us because we are "disbelievers" who "reject the oneness of Allah" by "making partners for him in worship." This seems primarily to target Christians, who believe that Jesus is the son of God (although ISIS of course also hates Jews). This "disbelief is the primary reason" they fight us, "as we have been commanded to fight the disbelievers until they submit to the authority of Islam." Second, they do in fact "hate us for our freedom" as George W. Bush and many people on the right have contended: "We hate you because your secular, liberal societies permit the very things that Allah has prohibited while banning many of the things He has permitted." These things include: gay rights, drinking alcohol, fornication, gambling, and usury. Third, they hate the "atheist fringe" because atheists don't believe in God. Fourth, they hate us because of our "crimes against Islam," which include mocking Islam, insulting the prophets, burning the Qur'an, and vilifying shariah laws. Fifth, they hate us because our "drones and fighter jets bomb, kill, and maim our people around the world." Sixth, ISIS hates us because we've invaded Muslim lands and they fight to drive us out of those lands.
It's interesting that only the last two reasons have anything to do with the foreign policy of Western countries like the US and the UK, for our invasions of Muslim countries and continued war in those countries. The first three are purely religious reasons - because westerners (or "Crusaders" as they call us) don't accept Islam, live sexually permissive lives of debauchery, and because some westerners don't even believe in God. The fourth reason has to do with hostility by westerners to Islam (the religion), and burning the Qur'an.
The attack by Omar Mateen on the Pulse nightclub falls into reason #2 - hatred of gay rights and gay people. In a list of "operations" published in the same issue of Dabiq, the massacre is described this way:
America – On the 7th of Ramadan, our brother Omar Mateen, one of the soldiers of the Caliphate in America, carried out an attack on a nightclub for sodomites in the city of Orlando, Florida. He succeeded in massacring the filthy Crusaders, killing and injuring more than 100 of them before he was killed. The operation was reported as being the most deadly attack in America since the Manhattan raid 15 years ago.
While many people on the left contend that the last two reasons are truly why ISIS hates us and fights against us (and therefore find it easy to blame ISIS terrorism on American and British foreign policy), the Dabiq article refutes this contention:
"What’s important to understand here is that although some might argue that your foreign policies are the extent of what drives our hatred, this particular reason for hating you is secondary, hence the reason we addressed it at the end of the above list. The fact is, even if you were to stop bombing us, imprisoning us, torturing us, vilifying us, and usurping our lands, we would continue to hate you because our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam."
They fight us primarily, therefore, for a religious reason. As the article continues:
"We fight you in order to bring you out from the darkness of disbelief and into the light of Islam, and to liberate you from the constraints of living for the sake of the worldly life alone so that you may enjoy both the blessings of
the worldly life and the bliss of the Hereafter."
Thus, according to ISIS, the only way we can escape war with ISIS is by converting to Islam. Even if the US entirely stopped warring against Daesh, al-Shabaab, and similar groups, this would not be sufficient.
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To see the entire issue of Dabiq, click here:
http://jihadology.net/2016/07/31/new-issue-of-the-islamic-states-magazine-dabiq-15. If you click on this link, it DOES NOT bring you to the Dabiq website. Warning: the magazine is full of bloodcurdling arguments in favor of genocide, torture, and slavery, accompanied by graphically violent photographs.
For more excerpts from the article, see below the jump.
