Retired Marine Corps Gen. John Allen was speaking in Kuwait, where representatives of more than a dozen Islamic and Western met to discuss using public communications to combat ISIS (also known as Daâesh â an acronym for the Arabic rendering of the groupâs name, ad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fil-Iraq wa ash-Sham). âAs we seek to expose Daâeshâs true nature,â Allen told the gathering on Monday, âwe must also tell a positive story, one that highlights our respect â our profound respect for Islamâs proud traditions, its rich history, and celebration of scholarship and family and community.â âWe must work with clerics and scholars and teachers and parents to tell the story of how we celebrate Islam, even as we show that Daâesh perverts it.â
The conference in Kuwait City brought together officials from leading Arab states, Turkey, France, Britain and the U.S. to discuss ways their governments are working to counter ISISâ message. The jihadist group, which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq and has declared a âcaliphateâ in those areas, runs a dynamic propaganda and recruitment operation, including a full-color online magazine, video clips, and an active social media presence. The Qurâan and other Islamic texts, along with viewpoints of historical and modern-day Muslim scholars, are central to its messaging, and the U.S.-led coalition is prioritizing attempts to counter the purported religious justifications for its actions.
Allen said that ISIS propaganda serves both to attract recruits and âperverts the innocent.â âIt is only when we contest Daâeshâs presence online and deny the legitimacy of its message â the message that it sends to vulnerable young people â and as we expose Daâesh for the un-Islamic, criminal cult of violence that it really is, it is only then that Daâesh will be truly defeated.â He said every member of the coalition had a role to play in combating the image ISIS portrays of itself. âDaâeshâs online messengers present themselves as the true and victorious representatives of Islam. They seek to portray themselves as winners, true leaders worthy of financial support that attracts and radicalizes foreign fighters,â he said. âI believe every coalition partner, every one, has a unique and a vital role to play in striking down this image â this image within the context of our respective cultural, religious, and national norms.â
Allen noted that leading religious figures in the region have spoken out against ISIS on religious grounds. Last August, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia declared that ISISâ ideas and violent conduct made it âenemy number one of Islam.â The same month, Egyptâs grand mufti launched an Internet-based campaign to discredit ISIS, and urged media to stop using any name for the group that incorporates the word âIslamic.â More than 120 Islamic figures last month signed a letter to ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi â who calls himself âCaliph Ibrahimâ and has called on jihadists everywhere to swear loyalty to him â challenging him on religious grounds.
âIslamic foundationsâ
