The Young Turks on French Journalist’s Statement on ISIS and Bombing of Syria

Okay, this is yet another video from the left-wing American news show, The Young Turks. Here the Turks’ main anchor, Cenk Uygur, talks about Nicholas Henin, the French journalist, who was held captive by the mad butchers for over a year. He saw Mohamed ‘Jihadi John’ Emwazi murder six of his friends for their wretched propaganda videos, and still wonders about how many Syrians were butchered by him and who cares for them?

I blogged about this video yesterday, when it was included by Tom Pride of Pride’s Purge in an excellent piece he had written about not bombing Syria. Henin states that bombing won’t work, as it will only lead to further radicalisation. ISIS want to alienate Muslims and create division between them and the West, so that they can win them over by posing as the religion’s true defenders. In stark opposition to their dreams of creating hatred for the West amongst Muslims is the mass exodus of Syrian refugees to the West. It’s a slap in their face to their claim that they have created an Islamic ‘dreamland’, and they are mightily dismayed when the refugees are welcomed, rather than received with hatred.

Henin also states that they see the world through an ancient prophecy that states that Muslims will fight a battle against an army of 80 nations. I commented yesterday that this appears to be an Islamic belief about the end of the world. It’s similar to the Christian belief about the Battle of Armageddon, in which Christians will fight a battle against the forces of the Anti-Christ. Henin believes that this is the reason why ISIS is attacking so many countries, such as America, France and so on. They are hoping to create this army of 80 infidel nations, in order to fulfil the prophecy, or their interpretation of it.

Here’s the video.

Uygur adds a few more pieces of information about ISIS’ millennialist beliefs. He states that Sunnis believe in one version of the prophecy, Shi’ah another, and that many Muslims don’t believe in it at all. He points out that what’s important is that ISIS do believe in a poisonous version of it, and are acting to fulfil this interpretation. And so, he warns, we should be careful to avoid falling into their trap and doing exactly what they want us to do.

Like bomb Syria.

My guess is that ISIS are deliberately fighting for control over Syria as part of their end of the world beliefs, and not just because they see it as an important part of their projected caliphate. One of the Muslim prophecies about the end of the world concerns the rise of an anti-Christ, al-Dajjal, who will lead the Muslim community away from true belief and attack the remaining true believers. Muslims believe he will be killed by Christ Himself. Before Christ does, the Muslims will seek refuge at Jabal al-Dukhan in Syria, where they will be besieged by al-Dajjal and his forces of evil. (See IBN Kathir, The Signs Before the Day of Judgement (London: Dar Al Taqwa 1991), p. 52). I think the West and its allies would be extremely wise to consider how any military action they might pursue in Syria may be perceived and twisted to seem as a fulfilment of the ancient prophecies.

Hope Not Hate, the anti-racist, anti-religious extremism organisation, reported a new initiative by moderate Islamic scholars to combat the teachings of extremists like ISIS, al-Qaeda and the other Islamist groups. This is Imams On Line. If any Muslim has encountered Islamist propaganda, and is worried about it, they can go there to see it authoritatively refuted by mainstream Islamic scholarship.

Tags: 'The Signs Before the Day of Judgment', Al-Dajjal, al-Qaeda, Anti-Christ, Armageddon, Cenk Uygur, Christ, End of the World, Hope Not Hate, Ibn Kathir, Imams Online, ISIS, Jabal al-Dukhan, Journalists, Mohamed Emwazee, Ncholas Henin, Pride's Purge, racism, Refugees, The Young Turks