By: Junaid Zahid
ISIS emerged as a monstrous phenomenon born from extremist ideologies that opposed both humanity and religion. From its inception, the group demonstrated ruthless determination, sparing nothing in pursuit of its calculated and destructive aims. Its short yet devastating history reveals a pattern of absolute moral bankruptcy, trampling sacred values, religious sanctities, and human dignity without hesitation. Nothing was too precious to sacrifice for its agenda.
A key factor behind ISIS’s rapid global notoriety was its brazen assault on religious sanctities, particularly its deliberate targeting of devout Muslims’ most sacred beliefs. The group treated religious individuals with disproportionate cruelty, revealing its true mission: not mere political domination, but an ideological war against faith itself. Its actions sought to obliterate Islamic identity and replace it with an ideological void devoid of faith.
Throughout its existence, ISIS launched relentless attacks, both overt and covert, against Islam. Its goals were twofold: to tarnish the noble image of this sacred religion and to alienate those who had devoted their lives to defending its principles. Through campaigns of terror, ISIS dismantled social cohesion, creating ideological vacuums that secular and anti-religious forces eagerly filled.
In territories under its oppressive rule, legitimate leadership was dismantled and replaced with lawless tyranny. A handful of self-appointed rulers, devoid of religious authority or moral legitimacy, imposed their warped vision through brute force. They demanded absolute submission, suppressing dissent and critical thought as if the people existed only to serve their twisted doctrines.
This mentality bred dangerous delusions of superiority. With hubris reminiscent of ancient tyrants, ISIS proclaimed itself the sole representative of true Islam while excommunicating the broader Muslim world. In their view, only they were the true believers; all others were condemned.
The consequences were far-reaching. For a time, ISIS’s ideological and physical assaults distorted global perceptions of Islam, especially among non-Muslims unfamiliar with the faith’s true teachings. Yet as its crimes mounted, resistance grew. Sincere scholars, courageous mujahideen, and principled Islamic thinkers united to expose ISIS’s deception.
At the height of its power, ISIS reveled in its military strength, making Pharaoh-like claims of divine authority. Yet its downfall came at the hands of those it sought hardest to destroy: the very believers it had tried to erase. Through immense sacrifice and unwavering conviction, the true defenders of Islam dismantled ISIS’s ideological foundations.
By Allah’s will, the truth prevailed. The world came to see ISIS for what it truly was: not a reflection of Islam, but its greatest enemy, a malignant force that had temporarily cloaked itself in religious symbolism before being exposed and defeated by the light of true faith.