“These things come and go,” declared University of Toledo Islamic Studies professor Ovamir Anjum of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a phenomenon he demonstrated is not an aberration in Islamic history. His December 1 presentation, “ISIS & the Future of Islam,” at Georgetown University’s Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU) indicated that ISIS has far more Islamic legitimacy than many will admit.
Speaking in ACMCU’s small conference room to about thirty-five listeners, including Georgetown Islamic Studies professor Emad Shahin, Anjum stated that “Islam is a discursive tradition; there are many different interpretations on any issue.” In Islam, “to say that something is wrong and I disagree with it – that is easy. To say that something is beyond the pale of any possible legitimate interpretation is very, very, very, very difficult.” Regarding ISIS, “misinterpretations like this in a free-floating enterprise like Islamic law happen all the time.”
As Anjum noted, ISIS consistently seeks justification in “Islamic texts, which they seem to know more or less,” although members “use the hadith and the Quran in a way that is not resonant with the scholarly tradition and with the scholarly consensus.” Nonetheless, the condemnation of ISIS from many Muslim organizations, including the terrorist group al-Qaeda, “does not demonstrate that ISIS does not represent one plausible interpretation of Wahhabi or Salafi doctrine.”
Explaining that ISIS is not unique in Islam’s past, Anjum described the historical example of a “charismatic figure on the margins of the Islamic world agonized by the depraved condition of the community.” He “unites tribes under his leadership to wage war against existing regimes and peoples for their loose practices, [and] sternly and violently imposes moral norms.” “Most crucially, [he] calls his Muslim opponents disbelievers and uses that to declare jihad against them.” “Ultimately, his successors succeed in establishing a powerful dynasty over a large and prosperous stretch of territory.”
Anjum suggested that this description could bring to mind eighteenth-century Saudi Arabian theological founding father Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. Yet Anjum actually wanted to examine the twelfth-century North African Almohad leader Ibn Tumart. He also thought his statements had applicability to the Shiite Safavids in Iran.
Even these qualified theological criticisms of ISIS, which Anjum denounced as an “abomination by any standard,” have flaws. He condemned ISIS’s slaughtering of civilians, claiming that in Islam’s “legal, juristic tradition, you do not kill noncombatants” and that “in Islamic law, taking a life is the biggest crime” and must be “meticulously justified.” Yet these assessments are otherworldly in light of the brutal history of Islamic subjugation of non-Muslims under the dhimmi pact, which ISIS has newly implemented. Additionally, a bearded Muslim audience member noted that historically, numerous Muslim scholars have issued religious opinions or fatwas contradicting an Islamic legal consensus or ijma: “giving fatwa against ijma is not something rare.”
Anjum did not strengthen his argument with jabs at non-Muslims. He opposed “ignoring the direct immediate role of Western imperialism, the two Gulf Wars, and the intervening sanctions on Iraq, and so on, on giving rise to ISIS.” He relativized ISIS in relation to other atrocities, such as Pol Pot’s murder of millions in Cambodia, stating that the “secular Middle East regimes, many U.S.-backed, have for decades killed and imprisoned a far greater number of people.” The former argument disregards that ISIS arose in Syria, not just in Iraq, while the latter argument disregards that secular dictators have kept groups like ISIS in check, as Saddam Hussein’s overthrow indicated.
Anjum’s presentation belied his previously articulated thesis that ISIS is no more Islamic than the Ku Klux Klan is Christian. Glossing over the non-Muslims outside Islam’s “discursive community” who are subject to ISIS’s genocidal rage, he could only conclude that ISIS jihadists are errant Islamic black sheep, no more misguided than others in Islamic history. Given his concession to the historical controversy over such judgments, Anjum’s paraphrase of Princeton University Near Eastern Studies professor Bernard Haykel is far more realistic: “ISIS is as Islamic as anything else.”
Andrew E. Harrod is a freelance researcher and writer who holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School. He is a fellow with the Lawfare Project. Follow him on Twitter at @AEHarrod. This essay was sponsored by Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum, and is cross-posted from The American Thinker.

john spielman says
Dear Ovamir Anjum: WHAT EVER! islam has been, and is, and will always be a DOCTRINE OF DEMONS and muhammed ,a demon possessed mass murderer, thief lair and pedophile pervert!
Stephanie says
‘… The problem with Islam is that it is ROTTEN FROM ITS CORE.
The evil is in its holy book.’ http://quran.com/5/33-40
@AliSinaOrg
Stephanie says
https://twitter.com/schnellmann_org/status/798112459416539136
IQ al Rassooli says
Ovamir Anjam and every single other so called ‘scholar or professor’ of Islam invariably contort facts, ignore reality, dislocate history and pervert the very Islamic scripture they are discussing to intentionally deceive their mostly Quran ignorant listeners
They actually have no other choice since they are attempting to defend the least defensible CULT belief system on the planet
Dear Americans, you don’t need more than two brain cells of logic to understand Muslims & Islam in a nutshell~
Every Muslim is the enemy of every none Muslim Infidel/ Kafir on planet Earth. 80% of current humanity
Every Muslim is a potential Mass Murderer the instant he/ she decides that he/she is NOT Sharia compliant enough
Every Muslim is therefore a Time Bomb primed to go off
All other explanations are superfluous and redundant
IQ al Rassooli
Kafir & Proud!
Walter Sieruk says
Yes ,indeed that Muslim who is an Islamic studies professor is correct is what is said about ISIS being Islamic .For Islam had the Korsn as its the foundation. The cruel ,vicious and murderous jihadists thugs who compose the brutal and deadly jihad entity ISIS are actually putting in to the practice ,with all their ruthless actions, the violence and killing that is part of the teaching of the “holy book” of Islam ,the Koran. Which contain the doctrine of extreme violent force for the advancement of Islam. As seen in the Koran, for example, 2:191,4:89. 5:33. 9:5,111,123. 47:4. So in spite of the strong denials by many, ISIS is an actual Islamic organization. Likewise the malicious, bloodthirsty violence jihadists who make up ISIS are real Muslims. Nevertheless, there are some who might , understandably, wonder and then ask “Just how can those jihadists of ISIS ,being so very religious , also at the time also be so very malice-filled ,unfeeling and deadly ? “ The answer to that question is found in the Bible. For the Bible teaches that there are some people who are extremely heartless, cold, callous and dangerous because they have had “their conscience seared with a hot iron.” First Timothy 4:2. [ K.J.V.] In this case of the members of ISIS this “hot iron” is Islam.
ibrahim itace muhammed says
stephanie,no ,it is filthy christianity that is rotten because it requires you to worship your fellow human being partly a man and partly god,which is an absolute stupidity.christianity was evolved from paganism of mithraism of old.it is contained in an evil pagan book called bible that teachs genocide,sexism,savage slavery, phornography and brigandage,all of which were carried out by the church like brutal crusade wars against muslims,transatlantic slave trade, colonisation of many nation and stealing their resources.the evil bible also tells you that you can dip your finger into your daughter to taste if it is like wine,which is savagery.your evil bible never teachs you how to use water to clean remnant of sperm after sex or remnant of excrement thereby accumulating to produce disgusting bad smells polluting environment.that is why christuans even have sex with animals like pigs which is very dirty.i cannot stay in a room with you filthy christians.get away!
eur says
Take the pill … “sex with pigs” … juajuajua, your obsession with zoophilia is to look at it well, go to the psychiatrist colleague.
Norbert says
You are in a hole, so stop digging. Your own Koran speaks well of Christians and Jews in the Mecca syrahs, as we are all the people of Abraham and the book. Mithraism? You are silly. The bible does not tell me which hands to use when washing my genitals, either, but so what. Nor does it tell me how long to brew tea, or boil an egg. If Muslims need advice on such things as how to wipe their rear ends, maybe they needed Allah to teach them how to do that. Other peoples are perfectly able to handle such daily tasks without divine guidance.
It is written that Alllah has made the way plain through the Koran. This is why you Muslims are still killing each other in disagreement …. because the way is plain. You are funny.
no_one says
Ibrahim, you are full of hatred. Jesus is 100 % God and 100 % man, not half and half. Christians worship the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Filthy is islam and it’s “prophet”, who was a phyco, mass murderer and a pedophile. Many muslims today are pedophiles and they do the things you accuse Christians of. You have never read the Holy Bible, so don’t comment on it. If you don’t want to stay with us in one room, then just get out. I don’t want to stay in one room with devil servants either. Islam is from the devil.
RAB says
Ibrahim, thank you for confirming my conclusions about Islam. You demonstrate admirably the fact that Muslims are incapable of critical thinking. Your two Korans, Mecca and Medina, require you to accept direct contradictions because you are not allowed to question the Koran, Muhammad, or Allah. That’s why you require an ideology that tells you how to wipe your behind when you go to the toilet. You are simply incapable of thinking for yourself. Hopefully, one day Muslims will wake up and throw out half of the Koran. Maybe then we can all go home and live in peace.
RationalVoice says
Ibrahim,
You are mentally ill !
Please go and consult a psychiatrist before you end up like the Berlin truck murderer !
jayell says
Hello ibrahim itace muhammed
1″.it is filthy christianity that is rotten because it requires you to worship your fellow human being partly a man and partly god”……..Don’t think so. The Judaic concept of God is at the centre of Christianity, and Jesus Christ is seen as a kind embodiment, just as a normal son might reflects his father. Not sure what is ‘filthy’ about that.
2. “Which is an absolute stupidity.christianity was evolved from paganism of mithraism of old.it is contained in an evil pagan book called bible that teachs genocide,sexism,savage slavery, phornography and brigandage,all of which were carried out by the church like brutal crusade wars against muslims,transatlantic slave trade, colonisation of many nation and stealing their resources”
Well, this is very odd, because the Great Prophet plagiarised this ‘evil book’ (the Bible) in a very ignorant and amateurish way (or one of his friends did, because he couldn’t read, could he?) as a basis for HIS so-called ‘religion’ (actually just a crude pseudo-religious PR front for his political organisation), and if there was any “genocide,sexism,savage slavery, phornography and brigandage” in it, your ‘Prophet’ certainly found it because his biography (which I’ver read) is a veritable catalogue of all that lot; e.g., the systematic mass murder of a whole Jewish town around 670 (that’s just one example), the systematic abuse and exploitation of women, as specifically codified in your ‘holy writ’ (it’s all set out very neatly!!), the systematic use of slaves as justified by your book which is still going on today and formed a major part of the transatlatic slave trade (you lot supplied the slaves, certain unchristian European types transported the goods that YOU lot supplied); and what the hell is ‘phornography’ (with the ‘h’)? Actually, if you mean ‘pornography’, the islamic picture of heaven with all those ‘virgins’ wouldn’t be amiss in an ‘x’ rated movie, and all that decapitiation video stuff released by ISIS rates with the worst ‘snuff movie’ abhominations, and simply re-enacts what your ‘Prophet’ got up to (yes, a graphic movie version of the ‘Qu’ran’ would probably have to be banned). And as for all the ‘Brigand’ business – isn’t that how your ‘Prophet’ made his living, to judge from reports in your holy books? Oh, by the way, strange how you conveniently forget that the Crusades were planned to allow access to Chrsitian/Jewish holy territtorides which you lot invaded and stole! But let’s not let facts get in the way.
3. “….the evil bible also tells you that you can dip your finger into your daughter to taste if it is like wine….” I suggest you tell us all where that bit is, it sounds interesting, but I’ve never come across that; and I can’t recall Jesus ever recommending that sort of thing, although we all know that Mohammed got around a bit with the ladies, especially if they were 9 years old….. ,”which is savagery”…..yes, we know that, and Mohammed was good at it – according to your holy books.
4 “…..your evil bible never teachs you how to use water to clean remnant of sperm after sex or remnant of excrement thereby accumulating to produce disgusting bad smells polluting environment.that is why christuans even have sex with animals like pigs which is very dirty…..”.i cannot stay in a room with you filthy christians.get away!…..” Oh dear.oh dear, our imagination is running riot a bit here, isn’t it? I didn’t think the Christian bits of the bible said anything much about hygiene or sanitation, or environmental matters. As for the animal bit, the only real mention of animals of any note is Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, but ‘riding’ here actually means SITTING ON IT FOR THE PURPOSES OF TRANSPORTATION, not any dubious mis-interpretations that might occur to the islmaic mind. Also, it might be of interest to you that ‘bestiality’ (sex with animals) has never, ever been countenanced much in Christian areas of the globe, and I believe has been a criminal offence in the UK for a long time – not that I can recall any cases comming to court. There was, however, a rather amusing case in Spain fairly recently when a muslim was admitted to hospital with severe injuries after he tried to’make friends’ with a orse, and the indignant animal gave him a hoof in a rather unfortuante part of the anatomy. The story made it onto the internet, I believe, because it was the first ever such case that people in civilised Europe had come across. Clearly the unfortunate (muslim) patient must have thought that it somehow normal/acceptable, and I believe that I have heard anecdotes about similar occurences with other species in the muslim world. Perhaps there is some need to consort with other species if one suffers from ‘sexual emergencies’, a condition that was given as the legal defence for a muslim in Austria (?) not long ago, when he apparently could not stop himself raping a ten-year-old boy. It’s a good thing there weren’t any camels or horses around, or HE might have found himself in hospital, just like the islamic ‘gentleman’ in Spain!
5….”i cannot stay in a room with you filthy christians.get away!..” Well, it’s a bit much persons such as yourself projecting onto persons such as ourselves practices of which we have little or no experience, but which anecdotal evidence suggests is not entirely unknown in places that you traditionally inhabit. And you do not have to stay in rooms with christians if you do not invite yourselves to places on the globe that are traditionally ‘christian’ countries; and if you were to, logically it would be persons such as yourself that should leave. I can assure you that, following the behaviour of the many millions of persons of a mohammedan persuasion who have decided to invite themselves to so-called’christian’ areas, the local indigenous populations of these areas would not be in the least saddened by your departure.
6. Why are posting on a Christian-orientated site?
gravenimage says
Actually, many non-Christians post here, most of whom are staunch Anti-Jihadists, and include Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Agnostics, and Atheists. Robert Spencer is a devout Christian, but he has never made this a sectarian site.
As to why the vicious Muslim muhammed is posting here, it is Da’wa, Taqiyya, and threats against any who oppose the savagery of Islam.
jayell says
“Actually, many non-Christians post here…..”
True, and that’s very pleasing! But there is a Christian influence, which is no bad thing therse days.
gravenimage says
Unhinged Muslim apologist ibrahim itace muhammed wrote:
stephanie,no (sic) ,it (sic) is filthy christianity (sic) hat is rotten because it requires you to worship your fellow human being partly a man and partly god,which (sic) is an absolute stupidity.christianity (sic) was evolved from paganism of mithraism (sic) of old.
………………………………….
muhammed has spouted this absurdity umpteen times before–he understands nothing about Christianity.
But note: he has *no* problem with his fellow Muslims raping and murdering us on the model of his “Prophet”.
More:
it (sic) is contained in an evil pagan book called bible that teachs (sic) genocide,sexism,savage slavery, (sic) phornography and brigandage,all (sic) of which were carried out by the church like brutal crusade wars against muslims,transatlantic (sic) slave trade, colonisation of many nation and stealing their resources.
………………………………….
This is rich–given that he has no problem with his fellow Muslims throwing gay people off tall buildings, child marriage, stoning women to death, and using unbelievers as sex slaves.
The fact is that the West *abolished* the slave trade–something Islam has *never* done.
More:
the (sic) evil bible (sic) also tells you that you can dip your finger into your daughter to taste if it is like wine,which is savagery.
………………………………….
Of course, there is no such verse. I have called muhammed on this several dozen times at this point; he continues to ignore it and keep spouting this tripe.
More:
your (sic) evil bible (sic) never teachs (sic) you how to use water to clean remnant of sperm after sex or remnant of excrement thereby accumulating to produce disgusting bad smells polluting environment.
………………………………….
No, there is nothing in Bible dealing with bathroom habits, because the Bible is concerned with spiritual and moral matters, rather than telling people to wipe with stones, as do the Hadith.
And yet–as I have also noted many times–it is Westerners who have excellent hygiene, not Dar-al-Islam.
More:
that (sic) is why christuans (sic) even have sex with animals like pigs which is very dirty.
………………………………….
It is Muslim countries that lead in internet searches for bestiality. muhammed here is obsessed with it himself–he has bizarre fantasies about the West importing donkeys for sex. Like so many Mohammedans, he is deeply disturbed.
More:
i (sic) cannot stay in a room with you filthy christians.get (sic) away!
………………………………….
Does this mean that muhammed promises to leave decent Infidels in peace? I hope he and his vicious coreligionists do so.
abad says
Muslim professors – and professors who are converts to Islam – can academicize Islam all they want to but it will not change the following facts:
Followers of Islam all agree on their religion becoming the global norm, backed up by force.
Faith + Force = Fraud
Islam is the most amoral religion on earth, it is the Dark Side, created by the Father of the Lie, Satan.
ibrahim itace muhammed says
stephanie,no ,it is filthy christianity that is rotten because it requires you to worship your fellow human being partly a man and partly god,which is an absolute stupidity.christianity was evolved from paganism of mithraism of old.it is contained in an evil pagan book called bible that teachs genocide,sexism,savage slavery, phornography and brigandage,all of which were carried out by the church like brutal crusade wars against muslims,transatlantic slave trade, colonisation of many nations and stealing their resources.the evil bible also tells you that you can dip your finger into your daughter’s vagina to taste if it is like wine,which is savagery.your evil bible never teachs you how to use water to clean remnant of sperm after sex or remnant of excrement thereby accumulating to produce disgusting bad smells polluting the environment.that is why christians even have sex with animals like pigs which is very dirty.i cannot stay in a room with you filthy christians.your definition of civilisation is that your women are free to walk naked and have sex with beasts.devil trump who looks like baboon will import more baboons and gorrilas to satisfy your free women.all these are part of the teachings of your evil bible teachs.why dont you throw this filthy christianity away and embrace islam to restore your humanity?you are being enslaved by the devil
RichardL says
If I hadn’t lived in Egypt I would believe that you would be a fake Muslim. But I have seen so many retarded mohammedans that I know that you are just a regular follower of islam.
Get well soon!
maghan says
IQ in the 65 range. Only retarded stupid jackasses could believe the BS that some illiterate desert bandit, rapist and murderer has conned them with.
reyol says
What is adulation of “Prophet” Mohammad but the worship of a man? Do you not wish peace upon him at every mention of his name so that he can intercede for you with his PARTNER, Allah? Do you not adore the Koran and hold it up as co-eternal and uncreated as a PARTNER to Allah? Is it not critical that your prayers be directed towards the idol called the Kaaba and that you visit it in your lifetime to personally to adore it? If you have not done so already, go on Hajj and see real filth – mounds of excrement and rivers of urine.
SAKOVKT says
Ya got me, there, Ibrihim.
No, we in the West never received any divine revelations about the out house.
We did, however, invent toilet paper. Feel free!
The Romans also had a thing about baths, IIRC.
What on Earth were ya’ll doing before Mo put out the Out House surahs?
davej says
In other words you can easily find justification for all kinds of horrific acts and violent prejudice within the Quran, as well as reasons to find various Muslim splinter group’s interpretations to be lacking. The end result is always a well deserved bloodletting of your enemies.
The submission cult of Islam is the most confused and perverse ideology on earth. The concept of “Islamic scholars” is just surrealistic.
no_one says
I wonder why no one notices that islam is a fascist ideology and as such should be banned.
davej says
I think it is because:
1) They hide it under a frosting of being a “historical religion” to disguise it and reap the advantages of freedom of religion, tolerance and tax benefits.
2) This is backed up by warnings about being “offended” and none too subtle threats of violence if things don’t go their way.
The combination is a major motivation towards “no one noticing”.
Absent these factors (for instance if they had suddenly appeared from outer space) I don’t think we’d have much trouble recognizing it as a fascist ideology and immediately taking the steps needed to protect ourselves.
Angemon says
With a minor tweak he could be talking about muhammad. Here’s what the article states:
Change “islamic” to “arab”, remove “Muslims” and you get:
SAKOVKT says
Ha!
This is actually how any religion begins to decay, when it’s scholars or high priests concede that there are more than one interpretations of divine scripture.
It’s the intrusion of Rationality that does it to them all.
The pundits and hairsplitters who dissect every word for some new, hidden meaning that is never really anything but a proof for their own biased, preconceived whim of the moment.
Politicians do it all the time and we see how they get away with it, twisting the past into causes that no one, then, ever heard of or even cared about.
Muslims have every reason to fear the West.
Their Islam is as doomed as our Christianity by mere contact with Western Rationality.
Once removed from fundaments, anyone can rationalize anything.
David M says
it will be interesting who the leftists blame in 10 years time when local Muslims plan terrorist attacks, like in Melbourne here in Australia recently. They blamed the Islamic State, even though these Australian born Muslims have nothing to do with the Islamic State. Long after the Islamic State is defeated, local Muslims will be planning these attacks.
I suppose they will blame anything, just like Obama, except the Quran where it all really comes from.
gravenimage says
Islamic Studies professor: “ISIS is as Islamic as anything else”
………………………….
Well, *that’s* true.
More:
“These things come and go,” declared University of Toledo Islamic Studies professor Ovamir Anjum of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a phenomenon he demonstrated is not an aberration in Islamic history.
………………………….
Maybe this is because the Qur’an and Hadith and model of the “Prophet” are viciously violent?
More:
Explaining that ISIS is not unique in Islam’s past, Anjum described the historical example of a “charismatic figure on the margins of the Islamic world agonized by the depraved condition of the community.” He “unites tribes under his leadership to wage war against existing regimes and peoples for their loose practices, [and] sternly and violently imposes moral norms.”
………………………….
Look what Islam considers “moral”–raping unbelievers and using them as sex slaves, mass-slaughtering Infidels, and crucifying kids who run afoul of Ramadan fasting. *Ugh*.
More:
Anjum’s main criticism of ISIS was that it “excludes other Muslims from being part of Islam”
………………………….
I see–he has *no* problem with their selling Christian and Yezidi girls as sex slaves and beheading journalists and aid workers. *Terrifying* that this savage is teaching at an American university.
More:
Yet ISIS “is a group that draws on a very legitimate set of grievances…
………………………….
Right–that the whole world is not under the barbarism of Shari’ah law…
No Fear says
The “prophet” was a military leader. That, for me, is the end of the argument.
davej says
It festers wherever it goes, Islam is much like a spreading cancer reaching into previously uninfected organs. It is a militant and self-reinforcing organism that holds that it’s growth (which involves your eventual submission) is not only more important than your existence, it is more important than every other thing on earth. That is exactly the same logic as cancer.
The dedication that Islam has available to it is formidable, particularly due to their majority young population of males who are already programmed to the cause, plus now sorely tempted by a cathartic acting out in martyrdom, to be followed by glory and virgins in heaven. Powerful stuff, purposely.
The key to this is the Quran. There are hundreds of versions of Islam because it is such a vague and argumentative stupid book. But the vast majority of these interpretations of Islam still favor Sharia law, jihad, death, death, death, etc.
The answer is to ban the Quran as obvious incitement hate speech and let them try to struggle on without it. Hopefully some will be able to find better answers and we should help and protect them in that effort.
ibrahim itace muhammed says
mr no one, that concept of jesus being 100% human and 100% god is a pagan idea and too irrational,which only some one with beast level of thinking will accept.it was evolved in 325 ad at a roman city of nicea from roman paganism of mithraism during the reign of constantine.tell me before that date, was worshiped as god?for detail read bart erhman’s critique on how christianity was invented;and contact me for more debate. thank you