Life under religion

Take this story about ISIS and defectors as a story writ large about life under religion.  You could substitute medieval Europe and Christianity as the back drop for the same brutality and oppression: it is not the people but the religious justification that allows evil in the name of righteousness.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34313337

The International Centre for the Study for Radicalisation (ICSR) at King's College, which published the report, estimates that hundreds of former militants have now defected or attempted to defect.
Dozens are thought to have made it out via Turkey while others have reportedly been caught and executed. The ICSR claims that the 58 cases in their study are "likely only a fraction of those disillusioned, ready to defect and/or willing to go public".

---

What the defectors said

• "I opened up my jacket and said, 'I have a suicide vest, but I don't want to blow myself up'" - Usaid Barho, Syrian teenager
• "Anything that contradicts their beliefs is forbidden. Anyone who follows what they reject is an apostate and must be killed" - anonymous defector
• "The restrictions on leaving made it feel a bit like a prison" - Abu Ibrahim, 'Westerner'

Read more case studies in full

---

The researchers identify several key narratives among the reasons for leaving IS. Most defectors said they were concerned with brutality against fellow Muslims and perceived "un-Islamic" behaviour among members, including corruption.
Some admitted they were disappointed with the quality of life under IS. "They were typically among the ones who had joined the group for material and 'selfish' reasons, and quickly realised that none of the luxury goods and cars that they had been promised would materialise," the report says.
Two fighters said they defected after learning they were to be suicide bombers. Speaking to the BBC last year, one defector, who asked not to be named, said the "brutality of IS terrifies everyone".
"Anything that contradicts their beliefs is forbidden. Anyone who follows what they reject is an apostate and must be killed," he said.

 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32831854

Best quote of the article:

 IS is the enemy of humanity

Zaid

 

And yet, religious groups seem to think they have some moral authority here in the west; when Ben Carson said he wouldn't support a Muslim president, Islamic groups demands presidential candidates meet their expectations, agree with us or drop out of the race. Remember that defector: "Anything that contradicts their beliefs is forbidden. Anyone who follows what they reject is an apostate and must be killed".