THE TERRORISTS “ISIS” ARE EVEN MORE FRIGHTENING THAN ONE HAD THOUGHT

…The use of their black banner goes back 1400 years.

 

The black ISIS flag display’s the foundation of ISIS' beliefs.

 

I guess it was inevitable.  If we were not going to put boots on the ground against ISIS, the (Islamic State of Iraq & Syria), they would eventually come after the West, as eventually did al Qaida.  Now ISIS says  after Paris, they will soon be coming to our nation’s capital. 

 

The basis of these terrorist’s warped ideology is over 1400 years old, and so is the symbol of what they say is their reason for survival and for our intended demise.

 

But regarding their black flag symbol, did you even wonder just exactly what the writing in Arabic on the ISIS flag actually says?  And did you ever ask about the significance of the black color and their symbol of always using a raised index finger?

 

Well, I have to tell you that as compared to how it is here in the West, their raised index finger does not exactly mean they’re saying “We’re # 1 !”

 

First, the flag in the Muslim world is referred to as the “Black Standard” or the “Black Banner” and the black color of the flag goes back to the 8th century.  That was when the Second Dynasty of Islam came to power with their display of black banners.

 

The ancient looking font on the flag’s Arabic writing is meant to evoke an image of the historical Islamic “caliphate”. 

 

A caliphate is a form of Islamic government led by a “caliph”, or a person considered a political and religious successor to the original Islamic prophet Muhammed.  They are usually the leader of the entire Muslim community. However, the massive historical caliphate of the “Levant” that ISIS claims to have begun resurrecting actually consists of parts of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iraq and Jordan.

 

The white writing that you see at the top of the ISIS flag is the first half of an Islamic phrase called the “shahada”, or declaration of faith, which reads: “There is no god but God, Muhammad is the messenger of God.”  The entire shahada is found on many different flags throughout the Islamic world, including the official flag of Saudi Arabia.

 

According to the experts, the appropriation of this phrase by ISIS actually twists the meaning of the original Islamic principle.

 

Jonathan Bloom, a professor of Islamic Art at Boston College has stated, “Their [ISIS] use of this phrase is sending the wrong message.  If we all accept that this is what this message means, they are co-opting a phrase that has brought millions of people over thousands of years great comfort and solace and meaning in their lives."

 

Another appropriated symbol on their flag is the white circle at its center, which contains the second part of the shahada: "Muhammad is the Messenger of God." It’s meant to represent the official seal of the Prophet Muhammad.  However, Professor Bloom says scholars have long debated what that seal from 1400 years ago actually looked like.

 

As to their use of always using a raised index finger, Nathaniel Zelinsky of Foreign Affairs writes that the finger gesture refers to the “tawhid”, "the belief in the oneness of God is a key component of the Muslim religion."

 

But more specifically, though it refers to their fundamentalist interpretation of the tawhid, Zelinsky writes that when ISIS uses the gesture, it is affirming an ideology that demands the destruction of the West or anyone that is not Muslim. For potential recruits around the globe, it also shows their belief that they will eventually dominate the world.  This is their total warping of the 1400 year old religion.

 

The more I understand about the Islamic State, the more frightening they become.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2015