Kerby Anderson

Graeme Wood gives us a chilling picture of what Islamic jihadists are really like. His new book, The Way of the Strangers: Encounters with the Islamic State, is the result of years of interviewing ISIS members. It is amazing that he was allowed to interview them and that they didn’t consider killing him or holding him for ransom. Those who he interviewed were called “The Strangers.” When he asked them why they called themselves that, they said it was a saying that the Prophet Muhammad gave them. Islam began as something strange and will return to being strange, according to their theology. That last point is something I want to discuss. Rachel Martin (of NPR’s Morning Edition) asked Graeme Wood about his belief that many in the West misunderstand the religious roots of ISIS. Since he has interviewed many of them over the last few years, his answer is important for us to hear. He agrees that: “there is a strong urge to say that Islam has nothing to do with religion, that ISIS is a bunch of psychopaths, people with blades cutting off heads wantonly. Unfortunately that’s just not true. ISIS has looked into Islamic history with historical accuracy, with intellectual vigor.” I hope that these new faces that will be placed in the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security begin to understand the religious roots of Islamic jihadists. It has been fashionable to say that Muslim terrorism is a deviation of Islam and is not representative of the religion. That may be so, but that does not mean we should ignore the reason that these jihadists desire to kill innocents and bring down the Western world. Religion plays a much more important part in their actions than many in the current positions of leadership are willing to acknowledge. Graeme Woods spent years trying to understand ISIS and the fighters for the Islamic state. Our leaders need to read his book and understand the motivation of these jihadists.