Islamic State: A Rhetorical Analysis

Every day, as I turn on the news, I sigh in despair. The world is a total mess; innocent civilians being bombed, slavery, and poverty still evident in many countries. Why the world is so corrupt- in 2014, is beyond me. I try to avoid headlines about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) but the ever-growing presence of their existence has amplified so much that it cannot be ignored. ISIS is a militant terrorist group that has struck fear into the hearts of many Iraqi’s. Through the use of violence, mass rape, and propaganda, ISIS has conquered much of Iraq and Syria. The objectives of ISIS are to establish an Islamic caliphate in the Middle East. I can’t get it through my head why people would do this, especially if it would backfire on them in the long run. By making their acts of terror known to the world, they only provoke international awareness. They absolutely will not last without end in the hands of the U.S army, whom they have mocked and threatened in the past.

Motivations for recruits vary widely and surprisingly; motives vary partially depending on country of origin. “Foreign fighters from places like the United States and Western Europe were far more likely to be facing some sort of identity crisis, a desire for a personal sense of recognition that ISIS can provide. They were also more likely to be motivated by a rejection of Western culture… People who joined ISIS or similar groups from another Muslim country, however, were far more motivated by the perceived plight of the Syrian Sunnis.” (Tucker). One thing that ISIS did well was to spread its propaganda online. Not all recruits actually left their homelands to join; the recruits could be radicalized at home. “ISIS recruiting pitches on the Internet are warm and welcoming… They are expertly targeted to address real or imagined ambitions and grievances… to offer an attractive cause worth fighting for.” (Graham). ISIS uses its egregious ideology to sway people to join; they use their beliefs to build a sense of “us vs. them.” Propaganda is ISIS’ biggest weapon, with large numbers of people leaving their homelands to join it. As the group grows, we must wonder how the adversaries of ISIS are going to counter their propaganda and how to have the same reach as

There is no denying that Muslims are treated differently now, and ISIS has seen that and has used that to their advantage. ”Some are alienated by harassment or discrimination against Muslims at home, and want to join what they see as a pro-Muslim movement. Some, according to the ISD, enjoy the shocking violence.The ISD study, which examined the social-media postings of Western women who joined ISIS, found the women "celebrate the violence of ISIS, unequivocally."” (Why girls join) In the past women were seen as the people in society that would never condone violence, but the changing role of women has also changed the way they see violence. ISIS wants to find people who celebrates another western terrorist dying, and they do not care what gender. They have found a new demographic and because of that they are increasing the amount of people willing to commit acts of terror. Females often long for the sense of family and community, and when that is taken away since they can easily go into a state of depression, especially if that is all they have, “And for some women, there are benefits to joining ISIS. Many are given free housing and food. Others find a sense of camaraderie and sisterhood" (Why girls join). IS has invaded many Middle Eastern countries and turned them into war zones and has left thousands of people dead or living in terrible conditions. ISIS promises the people that are barely living everything that they desire. This can consist of a safe home, food, water, and most importantly the feeling of community once again. ISIS has created a plan to ensure that people will join the “cause”, and everything they have done, whether it was creating social media accounts or raiding countries for all of their belongings has had an end goal of getting

Throughout the course of history, particularly over the last century, the Middle East has been identified as a growing source of hostility and violence due to its extensive involvement in religious conflict, ethnic rivalry, territorial dispute, and war. Poor governance, as well as the absence of an effective civil society and the lack of the rule of law, has led to the demise of several states within the region. Such instability has fostered the growth of religious extremism and brutality while insurgent groups and established terrorist organizations have converted these territories into safe havens to facilitate their radical operations. As a result, almost every country in the Middle East

ISIS strategic objective is to establish a caliphate in Iraq and the Levant, control and govern the caliphate, expand Islam and sharia law worldwide, and recreate the power and the glory of (Sunni) Islam. The ways employed by ISIS include, marginalized grievances of Islam and radical interpretations of Quran to recruit extremist Islamic insurgent fighters. Social media is used as their primary means by spreading hatred among society. ISIS utilizes twitter, YouTube, and Facebook which is accessed by many teenagers all over the world. However, due to unemployment rate globally, lack of security awareness, and lack of patriotism. Men, women, and children are easily persuaded to join ISIS and other extremist groups.

The current state of the Syrian conflict could be described as an asymmetric conflict, an important proposition of both conventional warfare and nuclear war (Mingst 256). These asymmetric conflicts often lead to unconventional tacts, such as terrorism and propaganda. ISIS takes advantage of both. Recently, three young British teenage girls left their country for Syria to join ISIS. Young people are becoming key to ISIS’ growing power. In the group’s propaganda, children are becoming the focal point. One video even shows boys in camouflage and ISIS bandanas learning how to fight. Now the focus is on luring in young women to be brides for its members. The group uses its social media platform to appeal to those with anti-Western views. Twitter, Facebook, and other social media websites make it increasingly easier for ISIS to reach their target audience in other countries. Through the use of “trending” features, young people can easily search for the group’s hashtags, which ISIS is able to use to disseminate their message. ISIS is able to appeal to individual’s religion and desire to escape a life of Westernized stress. ISIS even offers loyal members gifts. A British teen who left home for ISIS in 2013 claims to have left for a rent-free living situation with free electricity and water (Mullen). To combat ISIS’ use of social media, the United States needs to up its efforts in getting rid of poisonous

The Islamic militant group ISIS, also known as the “Islamic State of Iraq” has grown rapidly over the past decade. ISIS is a terrorist group that was formed as a small group in Iraq in 2006 by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. In 2009 ISIS shifted its focus from Iraq to the civil war in Syria. He started the group to focus based not just on fighting the Syrian government but to rather fight the people that rebel their ideas. Today ISIS is a group of an estimated 200,000 ruthless killers on a mission to wipe out anyone and everyone from any religion or belief system and to impose Shari’ah law. ISIS has executed more than 10,000 people, including women and children, in Iraq and Syria since 2014. According to the Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR), “the soldiers and civilians who have been beheaded, shot dead, blown up, stoned to death and thrown off buildings for violating ISIS’s twisted laws all contributed to this mammoth death toll.” ISIS has

around the world who commit acts in the name of their cause. The question is: how are

Social has made it easier for interested Westerners to connect with an ISIS recruiter and join the ‘cause’. Recruiters use messaging apps to communicate with those wanting to travel to Syria.

Picture mass pandemonium and chaos, what once was a peaceful world where society can freely go online and enjoy hysterical videos and share pictures of family events and things they enjoy, are now poisoned with streams of Isis beheading videos and the latest victim of the ruthless regime. One prime example of this is how Isis is successfully recruiting and terrorizing people through social media and using fear tactics to worry us. They are also showing that they have the numbers, not only on the ground, but through people who sympathize with them and support their cause. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that Americans are gravitating toward the militant organization by engaging with ISIS online”, just by simply posting violent videos or reaching troubled youth, they are using the one thing we did not expect, social media, to recruit people.

ISIS’s use of digital media has helped them become a powerful terrorist organization and a global threat. ISIS is able to recruit a variety of people online by using “just about every tool in the platform box- from Twitter to Youtube to Instagram- to great effect, attracting fighters and funding” (Morell). ISIS utilizes the internet by using several different social media platforms to attract new recruits online. On these social media platforms, ISIS generates sophisticated propaganda due to their effective use of 21st century technology. This appeals to potential followers because ISIS uses fancy, expensive technology to glamorize the terrorist organization. ISIS has a “multilingual propaganda arm known as al-Hayat, which uses GoPros and cameras mounted on drones to make videos that appeal to its followers” (Morell). ISIS now has a dominant presence on social media sites, and these sites are accessible to people across the globe. In a iCONN article called “ISIS on the Recruitment Trail”, the author explains ISIS’ vast presence on Twitter, one of the world’s most popular social media sites. The article states, “About one out of five (21.4% to be precise)...that is how many tweets with the acronym ‘ISIS’ in them were in support of the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria...in the fall of 2014”(Moore). This

In recent events in our society, terrorism has been relevant and obvious in everyday life. It floods through the media, splashing headlines, and is a common topic being debated. There is much debate on whether religion is the cause of the wars we are fighting in this modern day. The most current terrorist group today is ISIS or The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. They are oppressing and destroying their fellow Syrian’s and Iraqi’s and they are spreading alarm and panic across the world with their violence and destruction. ISIS is a Muslim society, which paints a negative picture on the religion, but they are extremists. ISIS does not speak for the Muslim society and people; in fact most Muslims detest them. In these circumstances it is important to not get lost in the big picture, but realize that groups like these are radical and not a fair representation of these religions. Extremism, politics, and interpretation are the face of wars; Religion does not cause war, people do.

For many Americans, September 11th 2001 gave insight for the first time about Islamic extremism and that even America was vulnerable to attacks on a grand scale. Aside from promoting fear among Americans, the motivations backing the attacks and the messages expressed thereafter through broadcasted beheadings, kidnappings, suicide bombings, and other attempted attacks in and outside of United States borders have attracted some American citizens to join the global jihad. In recent months, the Al Qaeda splinter group ISIS have made headlines for their recruitment of American citizens unbiased of age, gender, or ethnicity. In fact, associations to the group inside the United States are targeting individuals to join the cause. To understand why the idea of radical Islam is so appealing to individuals, it is important to first identify the history and grievances associated with the west that created the foundation for their religious ideology, ultimately leading to the only course of action being violence. With their grievances towards the West builing up long before that fateful day in September 2001, and how the opportunity of utilizing the internet and media to spread their message globally, at the click of a mouse. (FIX THIS!!!!!!!!) “what was once an obscure movement on the other side of the world has become the subject of unprecedented attention.”

How could a platform such as Twitter or Facebook possibly be the link to the spread of the world’s largest terrorist organization? For years, ISIS has targeted young people, particularly teenage girls, to join their organization of terrorism and misleading persuasion in hopes to globalize the spread of Jihadism. The ongoing spread and recruitment of ISIS instills much fear into not only people of the Muslim religion, but the lives of people all around the world. Through various social media tactics, ISIS targets insecure youth in attempts to not only recruit them into their terrorist organization, but to broadly communicate their messages through a platform of which 80% of people use globally. The spread of ISIS throughout the world presents the idea of social media being the main culprit for the ongoing spread and recruitment of ISIS sympathizers throughout Western nations; although, could the main culprit to the global awareness of this organization come down to a lack of proactive parenting at home?

I am arguing that Isis: The Islamic State is a radical extremist terrorist group which uses the Quran to justify its agenda to enslave, torture, and kill its fellow Muslims and Christians. According to the Clarion Project, “The Islamic State is not only a terrorist group. It is a political and military organization that holds a radical interpretation of Islam as a political philosophy and seeks to impose that worldview by force on Muslims and non-Muslims alike.” Isis uses verses and text from the Koran and Hadith to justify their believe in jihad (holy war) thereby, forcing Muslims and non-Muslims to convert to their views or risk death by torture or enslavement of women and little girls for sexual gratification which they see as their right through conquest.