This actually dovetails with something that I have been saying for a decade, though both my conservative and liberal friends are hostile to the concept.
Many (most?) modern liberals and many (most?) modern conservatives seem to think that the Islamists are acting out of irrational hate. They place the animus on different sources, however. Liberals seem to think that the root of this homicidal instinct is poverty, Palestinian statehood, Western presence in the Mid East, and related concepts. Conservatives seem to think that the root of the homicidal instinct is an irrational hatred for western classical liberal culture and values. Both have a point - indeed, I think the animus branches from both of those things (to an extent), but it’s not the root of it.
For over fifteen years, I’ve argued that it’s in fact rooted from what many in their movement would understand as “love,” but the western mind can’t deal with it, either because of a lack of intellectual capacity or an unwillingness to face such a construct.
If the goal is to save an immortal soul, the fact is that logically, you can’t limit your tactics in any way. The stakes (by definition, really) could not be higher. So if you have to kill 100 people to save 100 immortal souls from eternal damnation, you shouldn’t hesitate.
So they must combat what they consider to be “sin.” Sin, by the way, in the broadest sense - “missing the target.” And we’re all guilty of missing the target, in one way or another. Christianity has a remedy for the wages of sin - the immortal soul can be saved, and the vessel need not be destroyed towards that end.
But the Islamist worldview faces a dilemma - when in their judgment, entire cultures and worldviews “miss the target,” they threaten the spiritual salvation of everyone on the planet.
So the stakes are incalculably high: the eternal salvation of immortal soul. So as they understand it, the worldview threatens to contaminate their wives, husbands, children, family, and loved ones.
Is there any limit to the lengths you’d take to save someone you loved from eternal damnation? Of course not. So you have no choice but to destroy the contaminant, before it damages the soul further and contaminates (and therefore eternally damning) other souls.
Further, when someone is destroying their own soul, probably the greatest thing you can do for them (if you accept the premise) is to quickly destroy the earthly vessel so you can stop it from damning their immortal soul for all eternity.
So from a certain point of view, there is a moral logic to the approach. I won’t say it’s flawless, but I think this is the operating system the holy, devout Islamists run on.
I think the vast majority of people can’t recognize this dynamic, and an understanding of it is essential towards combating the growing threat.
Just one man’s opinion. I didn’t read it on a bubble gum wrapper. I just researched and thought about it a lot. The battle of The West vs Islamic World isn’t about “hate.” It’s about an understanding of “love” that few Americans can wrap their minds around.
So you’re saying this massacre is a variation on “If your right eye offends you, pluck it out”?
You may be correct, as far as their fears of unbelievers infecting them or other islamists.
However, I think to a great degree they are trying to be true followers of their religion. Their holy book tells them to kill unbelievers, so ISIS and "radical" islamists are following it to the letter.
I think another factor is the mental disposition of people involved. They all learn violence and killing from an early age, and some of them delight in their barbarity. Basically those who would be considered a part of the criminal element in our culture are revered in theirs.
The people prone to violent acts can direct them toward infidels or other people deemed undesirable and be looked upon as a great person in fighting for Islam.
Sorry for the quick edit. I'm running late so I have to go.
Excellent analysis of the root Muslim/Islamic theological issue/problem. Tagline