The mentality and nature of the Islamic State group, and its brutal brand of terrorism and radical Islamic ideology, pose a challenge to moderate, tolerant, progressive Islam. Tackling ISIS requires an extraordinary breakthrough possible only through extraordinary measures, starting with primary education and not ending with the policies of both major and smaller powers in the region and the world. No one is innocent of this devastating scourge, and everyone is responsible for stopping it and stopping all kinds of extremist ideologies, be it Christian, Jewish, Shia Muslim, or even secular. The primary responsibility is Sunni and Islamic. Indeed, ISIS, al-Qaeda, and similar groups are the offspring of a rigid interpretation of Sunni Islam and authoritarian regimes and forces in many Islamic countries. The responsibility is also Arab, because most members of these jihadist groups are Arabs, from the Gulf and the Levant to North Africa. But "others" too are responsible. The manufacturing of Sunni fundamentalism in Afghanistan proceeded under US-Pakistani-Arab partnership, particularly with Saudi Arabia. It was this that spawned al-Qaeda and led to the Soviet Union's collapse, marking the point at which the US avenged its defeat in Vietnam. For its part, Shiite fundamentalism seized power in Tehran with European-American support. Decades earlier, the same Euro-American partnership helped create Jewish fundamentalism with Israel, which today boasts of its relentless construction of illegal settlement, rejecting an end to its occupation and effectively rejecting the two-state solution. With the release of the report of Sir John Chilcot, chairman of the British Commission of Inquiry into the Iraq War that was led by former US President Bush and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, it became clear that the invasion had been prepared immediately following 9/11, and that the "mistake" of disbanding the Iraqi army and subsequent de-Baathification were a direct precursor to the creation of ISIS. Then the war in Syria came, and Russia found an opportunity to avenge itself for its defeat in Afghanistan. Russia thus turned Syria into a magnet for terrorists, as Bush had done in Iraq, thinking this would keep terrorism far from its own cities. However, Russia is now implicated in the Syrian war as a party to the ongoing conflict. At the same time, it is part of a partnership with Washington that includes engineering factions and militias to decide who is qualified to fight ISIS, but the deal between the two powers is fragile. Their policies have contributed to the rise of groups like ISIS, but no one is innocent of this. The biggest dilemma is that ISIS appears aware of the fragility of the stakeholders, and of the foolhardiness and arrogance of those who are enabling its adventures as we are seeing in the US presidential campaigns.
Indeed, ISIS may decide to become the swing voter in America. If it manages to carry out a major terror attack before election day in November, this would be a vote in favor of the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is appealing to the instincts of the American people, pledging to banish Muslims and promising fantastical schemes.
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