The ISIS Crisis; The Plan to Defeat Radicalism©

 

By Mark Siljander
BridgestoCommonGround.org

 

The Problem:  The “War on Terror” is Failing

Governments are responsible for protecting their people. However, governments around the world have failed to develop or employ a comprehensive strategy against radicalism. Consider the efforts of our own government:

 

•        Four failed wars.

•        Multiple military escapades.

•        Invasive surveillance programs of unprecedented scope.

•        4-7 trillion dollars spent since 9/11 on the “war on terror.”

 

Despite these costly measures, applied over many years, those charged with our protection now tell us that the world is worse off today than before these wars began. February 2015 marked the official beginning of a war with ISIS, and a war with Boko Haram will likely follow.

 

The U.S. is so desperate to find a military solution to ISIS that Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appears to be accepting the help of Iran.[1] There may be some small measure of recent progress pushing back ISIS and Boko Haram, but as CIA Director John Brennan affirmed to Harvard students on 4/8/5; “we cannot kill our way out” and must, “address underlying factors and conditions (causing radicalism).” Yet in the face of such horrific atrocities, we have no choice but to fight.

These atrocities, along with a basic misunderstanding of the nature of Islam, have sparked fear and antipathy in the West. Leaders and media elites labor to drive national policy toward meeting the violence of radical Muslims with violence of our own. The problem with this, as noted by Dr. Tawfik Hamid M.D., is that “killing Jihadists is actually positive reinforcement … because ‘to be killed for Allah’ is the ultimate dream; it saves them from hell and allows them to enter paradise.”

 

The Solution: “War on Radicalism”

 

Terror is not an enemy, it is a tactic.

- Foster Friess,  activist, businessman, philanthropist (FOX March 10, 2015 interview).

 

No matter how well-trained our armies, how advanced our technology or how massive our budget, no amount of violence alone can bring resolution. Violence on our part serves to intensify the long-term crisis, creating yet another generation of willing martyrs avenging the deaths of family, friends, and loved ones. Killing those who are already radicalized is like plucking those pesky yellow dandelion tops. The lawn may appear to be clear, but the roots remain. In this war, radicalism is the root. This is what must be eradicated.

 

What options are left, but to declare a new kind of war, a war on radicalism itself? Truly defeating ISIS and radicalism will require a multifaceted, holistic and long-term approach. ISIS is currently filling the perceived needs of their recruits - a desire for revenge and significance, using ‘religion’ by distorting it to a violent and merciless end.

 

The kind of war we outline here offers an alternative path. It also uses ‘religion’, but does so redemptively and restoratively. This alternate approach undermines the driving pseudo-Islamic ideology that underpins the entire radical movement.

 

The Strategy: How to Execute this War Against Radicalism

 

Carl Sagan once said “the notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both.” Considering both science and spirituality yields insights into psychosocial factors often ignored when dealing with these kinds of conflicts.

 

Only by utilizing elements rooted in both science and faith can we understand the process needed to turn people from radicalism, and even to prevent the phenomenon itself. This is relevant for both Muslims and Christians as each struggle to grow into more fruitful and peaceful versions of themselves.

 

Multiple factors will play a role in defusing radicalism:

 

1.      Understanding of what drives the radical.

2.      New understandings of the Scriptures.

3.      Timely insights from neuroscience.

4.      Unprecedented global awakenings.

 

Elements of the Plan

 

Bridges to Common Ground (BCG) maintains that defeating ISIS, and radicalism itself, will require a unique blend of science and spirituality, including four factors that actively promote a healthy view of Islam and the Qur’an. This is especially critical among the Muslim youth that constitute well over 50 percent of the Arab population. These essentials include:

 

•         Profiling radicals.

•         Neuroscience.

•         Linguistics.

•         Spirituality & religion.

 

The Profile of a Radical

 

It is crucial to know our enemy. Muslims per se are not the enemy, but rather those with the radical mindset - and the ideology itself. We must come to understand the psychological and spiritual factors which lead to radicalization. Unless and until we embrace this approach, it will be impossible to learn what techniques are required to fight this new kind of war.^[2]

 

A growing body of data provides us with the profile of a typical radical.^[3] Young vulnerable Muslims are losing hope that democratization will deliver them from ruthless regimes. They are disillusioned with the failure and corruption of once-trusted institutions. In desperation, they turn to groups like ISIS who cleverly hijack Islam by manipulating Muslim grievances and taking Qur’anic verses out of context so as to justify bloodshed and martyrdom.

 

Perhaps surprisingly, recruits are not especially poor, uneducated or mentally unstable. Critical elements driving recruitment are:

 

1.      U.S. foreign policy in Middle Eastern & Islamic countries.

2.   Christian disdain toward Muslims, the Qur’an, and the Prophet Mohammed.

3.      Religious dogma that offers assurance of paradise to those who play a role in the “end of days” apocalyptic struggle.

 

Radicalization offers vulnerable candidates the illusion of fighting Satan near the “end of days” and martyrdom as the only assurance of eternal life. Any effective strategy in this new kind of war must spiritually and scientifically undermine the elements that create and motivate radicals.

 

Inclusion of Neuroscience

 

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

– Aristotle.

 

The science of neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to rewire neuropathways as a result of training or practice, either short-term through a shocking experience, or over time. Parts of the brain responsible for radical or violent thinking are not set in stone; these impulses can be weakened over time. A recent study suggests new habits can be formed in as few as seven days.^[4]

 

Persons of faith believe the power of the Holy Spirit can rewire the human brain quickly - from hate to mercy and compassion. The more the West demonstrates these attributes taught by the scriptures, the more anger and hatred will be defused, helping to undermine the attraction of radicalization.

 

BCG proposes a careful application of brain remapping to counter radicalism through education, psychological approaches, ideological reassessment, and fresh interpretation of scriptures that promote peace and extinguish violence.

 

According to an article by Graeme Wood, published in The Atlantic, “ideological tools may convince some potential converts that the group’s message is false, and military tools can limit its horrors.  …Few measures short of these will matter….”^[5]

 

Using Linguistics & Religion to Undermine Radical Dogma

 

Policy makers have no idea how to deal with the spiritual/religious dimension of these conflicts and thus tend to leave it unaddressed. This is a fatal flaw in current strategy.

 

More than 20 years ago, founders of BCG discovered scholarly evidence embedded within the Semitic words of the three Abrahamic holy books that render impotent the religious dogmas used to target the “other” as “infidel” and hence, “worthy of death.” Once seeing the true meaning of key words in the holy scriptures, many adherents begin immediately to rewire their thinking. How many Christians for example - or even Muslims - know that Jesus is mentioned in the Qur’an as Messiah, Word of God, Spirit of God, supernaturally conceived, able to heal the sick and raise the dead, and taken up to heaven to be near to God and presiding on Judgment Day? These references do not occur occasionally, but 110 times.

 

This new realm of understanding helps to establish substantial common ground on spiritual issues heretofore considered forbidden, heretical and impossible to bridge. A quiet peacemaking and bridge-building process incorporating these insights has evolved into a proven and successful “fifth track” model in notable and obscure conflicts alike, both in the U.S and abroad.^[6]

 

In January 2015, BCG used this process to help leaders from the Christian faction in the Central African Republic to release two French hostages unharmed in just 12 hours. In a videotaped interview, they cited the BCG team’s methods as the principal factor in their decision, underscoring the continued efficacy of this approach.^[7]

 

Do Bible Prophesies Offer Hope in Defeating Radicalism Through Religious/Spiritual Awakenings?

 

The West (Christians?)will stand in awe (fear) at the name of Jehovah (God) and wake up (sunrise) to His glory … and when evil rushes in as a flood; the Spirit God will rise up a force (awakenings) to chase it away.^[8]

 

If the “West” mentioned above refers in any fashion to the church, it makes sense in that the church can play a decisive role in the war to defeat radicalism.  Prophesy is a driving factor in shaping the worldview of many Western Christians, who view the establishment of the state of Israel as miraculous Biblical history unfolding.

 

There are little-understood Old Testament prophecies that speak of a spiritual awakening that will sweep the Middle East and North Africa and usher in a time of transformation and renewal for all three Abrahamic faiths. Remarkably, they all will be a blessing to God, will worship together and offer sacrifices, and more!

 

It will be a sign and a witness to Jehovah of hosts in the land of Egypt (much of present-day North Africa); when they cry to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a savior (Hebrew: yasha or Jesus), and will defend and deliver them. 21 Jehovah will be known to the Egyptians on that day, and will worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the Jehovah … 22 Jehovah will strike Egypt, striking and healing; they will turn (convert) to Jehovah, and he will listen to their prayers and heal them. 23 On that day there will be a highway (or spiritual path) from Egypt to Assyria (present-day Middle East) … and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians (Middle Easterners). 24 On that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria (Middle East), a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria (Middle East) the work of my hands, and Israel my heritage.”

- Isaiah 19:20-25  

This interpretation of prophesies should serve as a motivating factor for Western Christians to apply love (friendship), compassion and mercy in place of fear and one-dimensional calls for expanded military solutions. Doing so would resonate with the prophetic “end of days” scenario some Muslims embrace, and at the same time refute the radicals’ distortion of prophecy to attract recruits seeking to be part of the “end days.”

 

Three Awakenings

 

 Awake at all times and pray that you are worthy to escape from the things that are about to happen.

- Jesus, in Luke 21:36.

 

Islamist radicalism is at a point similar to where the Christian church was in the 17th century: plagued by a devastating 30-year war; engaged in inquisitions, pogroms, burning witches at the stake; drawing and quartering “heretics” who only wanted to read the Bible; and committing genocide against Anabaptists for their nonviolent views. It took widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo to birth the awakenings that led eventually to lifting the Christian faith out of barbarism.

 

While there are awakenings sweeping the globe, three in particular are impacting Islam. Christians would do well to catch up with what God is already doing in the world, and become a vital part of the solution, not a chronic part of the problem!

 

First Awakening: Challenging the Status Quo

 

Arab Springs are occurring all over the region. These depict a new willingness to challenge authority in most every context: political, economic and even religious. The demands for political and social justice reflect a much broader rethinking of the status quo. After four presidents, disenchantment in Egypt remains. Those who have lived through this protracted turmoil may well be receptive to a spiritual “reawakening.”

 

Second Awakening: Mass Rethinking of Islam

 

The second awakening expresses dissatisfaction with the extraordinary blood-lust of ISIS and other radicals who claim their actions are “Islamic”. The Arabic term for this awakening is Ijtihad.  It involves dramatic rethinking and reinterpretation of the Qur'an and its application in the modern context. The disgusting brutality of Islamist radicalism is prompting record numbers of Muslims to search for a fresh and more complete understanding of their faith. Amazingly, disenchanted ISIS fighters are seeking refuge by the hundreds.^[9] They are prime candidates for Ijtihad, which offers alternative reformist religious constructs.

 

Egyptian President al-Sisi has said: "I see that the religious discourse in the entire Islamic world has cost Islam its humanity…and desperately needs a religious revolution.”  

 

Since 9/11, Christians have demanded Muslims strongly renounce radical interpretations of the Qur’an and related terrorist actions. Countless Muslim leaders now echo President al-Sisi’s call for reassessment. These include Professor Dr. Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar University, Ahmed Aboutaleb, the Muslim Mayor of Rotterdam, and Dr. Radwan Masmoudi, the Founding President of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID). He calls for a new, moderate Islamic narrative for the 21st century from credible, independent Muslim scholars to combat radical Salafism and Wahabism. Accordingly, Dr. Tawfik Hamid M.D. has authored a profound peace-centered commentary entitled A Modern Qur’an Interpretation that remarkably has received more than two million likes on his Arabic-only Facebook page.^[10]

 

Together, these demonstrate a striking trend toward what Malcom Gladwell wrote of as the “tipping point.” More than ever before in its 1400-year history, Islam is on the verge of an awakening that is bringing about a new tafsir (Arabic for “interpretation”) of the Qur’an.

 

Clarification of the precepts of Islam in general is creating an unprecedented openness to new ways of thinking. This should incentivize all concerned parties, especially Christians, to support and reinforce any effort that seeks a peaceful resolution of the current state of perpetual conflict. Western Christians can help tip the balance to the side of those seeking peaceful interpretations of holy books.

 

Third Spiritual Awakening: Hope in the Messiah

 

The third awakening is a global spiritual revolution toward Jesus and his teachings among Muslims, Christians and Jews. The Muslim portion of this awakening currently spans an estimated 70 Islamic regions worldwide.^[11] Untold numbers are dreaming and seeing visions of Jesus the Messiah, and millions are awakening to an enlightened spiritual path. For Muslims this involves emphasizing what Jesus taught about love, mercy and compassion and how every chapter (but one) in the Qur’an and every Muslim prayer begins with the statement “In the name of God who is merciful and compassionate,” or “love” in Aramaic.

 

These revelations are Spirit-driven and rooted in a fresh understanding of Jesus the Messiah that actively undermines the factors that make ISIS, and radicalism in general, such a relentless foe. It offers a different paradigm for those devoted Islam. It replaces the lure of violent, barbaric End Days scenarios with a reverence for life, and an eschatology that envisions peace. Instead of elevating war and a violent death as the one true way to heaven, it provides a nonviolent, noble path to Paradise for eternity. This view is prevalent in global Messianic awakenings, where millions of Muslims are rejecting the suicidal “only way to paradise” mentality.

 

Christians would do well embrace this awakening, and respond with some rethinking of their own.  Muslims are not the enemy. Islam is not the enemy. Radicalism is the enemy.  The Bible may well have predicted these expanding awakenings, which prepare the way for peace.^[12] NCG offers linguistic research that forges new common ground on previously divisive issues that replaces debate with welcomed discussion that allows the Holy spirit to transform the participants thinking which will further facilitate peacemaking among the Abrahamic faiths. All other efforts have failed to mitigate the threat.

 

These indicators point to a renewal in Jesus’ teaching of hope, faith and love (friendship) that extends to every Christian’s Muslim “neighbor.” Christians can either feel hurt by Muslims or hurt for them. Indeed, incredible breakthroughs in peace and reconciliation are possible. Christians can either support the awakening that is currently sweeping through Islam, or remain asleep and unwittingly continue to strengthen radical ideology through actions and words that reinforce radical misperceptions.

 

The disenfranchised are seeking freedom, and through this awakening millions are learning that “where the Spirit of the Lord is there is (true) freedom.” By changing the image - and reality - of Christians from adversaries to partners in Islam’s struggle for justice, Christian believers can directly affect the outcome of these movements. In so doing they will rob the militant recruiters of the essential foundation of their ideology.

 

These three awakenings address the hope reflected in Isaiah 59^’s “force” to “chase away the evil flood” and parallel aspects of human nature: flesh, soul, and spirit. Engaging all three is the best hope to undermine radicalism and encourage the redefinition of Islam, so that it reflects its actual meaning: peace and submission to God.

 

Leading the War Against Radicalization

 

History has demonstrated that the courageous acts of a few, such as Mandela, Gandhi, Mother Teresa and William Wilberforce, can spark movements for monumental social and political change. Even the small acts that an individual makes when they post on Facebook and Youtube, and forward emails to family and friends, have an impact. These small efforts can grow virally, either feeding the fire of radicalism or quenching it by supporting the Spirit-inspired awakenings. 

 

Fundamentally changing the Christian posture towards the Muslim world begins with just a few leaders who have the courage and vision to exchange fear of Muslims for the desire for reconciliation via seeking what we have in common, that will intern create friendships, opening new vistas of opportunity. If this became the new global norm, it would deny the radicals one of their most compelling recruitment tool.

 

The Clash of Civilizations

 

Professor Samuel Huntington stated that East and West are facing a “clash of civilizations,” but author Tim Timmons argues we are really facing a “clash of the kingdoms of Good & Evil. It is not Islam; it is evil that we stand against!” 

 

BCG’s distinctive Trac5 model applies the sciences of profiling and neuroplasticity to shape and spiritually remodel the radical mindset.  Carefully applying this approach can provide the resources needed to defeat ISIS and radicalism. Actually, Jesus anticipated this science through his culturally revolutionary teachings and sparked a spiritual awakening that undermined that most powerful military force of the ancient world - one bent on exterminating his movement.

 

Without his followers ever lifting a sword, the empire ultimately adopted the very path they set out to annihilate. How did this happen? By the power of courageous faith in the face of ultimate terror. Over time, this Way transformed the hearts and minds of those possessed with hatred and bloodlust. Is ISIS more powerful than the 4^th century Roman Empire?  Is it so unthinkable that it could happen again?

 

 

Mark Siljander is a former U.S. congressman & deputy U.S./U.N. ambassador and author of award an winning book, A Deadly Misunderstanding; A Congressman’s Quest to Bridge the Muslim-Christian Divide (Harper One).  He is President of Bridges to Common Ground, an NGO dedicated to peacemaking, crisis management and discovering new common ground among the Abrahamic faiths.

www.BridgestoCommonGround.org