At first glance the attack by ISIS on Paris is just sickening. Most people see terrorist running amok and don’t truly understand what is making them tick and why they seen so successful in recruiting new followers. But the answer is very simple and most don’t grasp to concept until the dots are connected.
To understand how all of this comes together, perhaps it is best to talk about religious cults. Perhaps the best cult is the “Peoples Temple” that was head by Jim Jones. In the end over 900 people committed mass suicide by cyanide. Later there was “Heaven’s Gate” lead by Marshall Applewhite where people also committed suicide. In both cases there was a variety of opinions as to why it happened. Some said it was just a case of Darwin’s theory of evolution and natures self-pruning, to brainwashing and programming by cult leaders meant to control.
However the true answer is all those people thought they were following a religion and they had removed themselves from mainstream religions to join the cult. For those people it was a one-way trip and no going back. Many had sold or given away all their personal belongings and even deposited their life savings into the coffers of their newly adopted cult/religion. For them life would be a community that even offered sexual perks.
So now enter ISIS and their underlying religious drive is based on Sharia law. That is the same law that does not allow women to drive in some countries like Saudi Arabia. However when it comes to ISIS there is no such thing as tolerance of other religions. Some verses in the Quran talk about killing non-believers, and that is exactly what ISIS is doing.
ISIS sees attacks against them as attacks from non-believers and for that they must die. Now most people may think that Sharia law is outdated and barbaric, but in recent poling many Muslims in the United States think Sharia law to some extent should be applied in the United States. Collectively that number is not too far short of 50%. Because that number is so high in the United States alone, there are plenty of potential candidates to recruit in countries that have a Muslim population. This links to the fear many countries have of domestically born terrorists as was the case in Paris.
Now if you consider when that Sharia laws were first written, the world was a very different place. Religious leaders ruled the lands and for the most part the seedlings of modern day governments would not be seen for several centuries. Even back then Catholic Cardinals were feared with the so called Spanish Inquisition that was established in 1478 being hundreds of years after Sharia laws. In all cases they were meant to insure religious compliance.
All things considered there are some countries that have not evolved from the days the Sharia laws came to be. The governments are weak and corrupt and the population being primarily Muslim feel that Sharia laws are the way to go. Afghanistan is such a country and because of the weakness of government, the Taliban came to be and like ISIS they use the most extreme interpretation of Sharia law where regular public executions were held. That included running a bullet through the heads of woman and men who were suspected of violation of Sharia law.
So when it comes to the attacks on Paris, it all comes back down to a religious war against non-Muslims and even Muslims who they feel are not as devout as they should be. Living in a country that does not have Sharia law appears to be enough to get that classification.
