ISIS enthusiasts have reportedly been taking to the streets of downtown London to distribute leaflets and other propaganda urging city dwellers to renounce their homeland and join the Islamic State. This is a brazen and shameless act, not least because it is widely understood that ISIS is committing all sorts of atrocities in the Middle East. To name a few, radical extremists are beheading soldiers, crucifying “infidels,” and taking young girls as their own personal sex slaves. And if that wasn’t bad enough, ISIS is so extreme al-Qaeda (of all terrorist groups) has already renounced them (via The Daily Mail):
ISIS supporters have been handing out leaflets to Oxford Street shoppers encouraging them to leave Britain for its new Islamic state.
The radicals stood in front of posters declaring 'the dawn of a new era has begun' in reference to the caliphate and their literature praised the 'sacrifices' made in the Middle East.
Scotland Yard has said today it is investigating whether the men were breaking terror laws. …
The literature describes the 'glad tidings' that 'Muslims with the help of Allah have announced the re-establishment of the Khilafah (sic) and appointed an imam as a Khaleef (sic).'
It also sets out seven rules for supporters, including to 'obey' the leaders of ISIS, Sharia law, 'migrate' from the UK to the caliphate and 'expose lies' about the extremist group.
Today, ISIS, which now styles itself simply Islamic State (IS), has become a powerful military force that now has control of an area larger than Great Britain.
What's more, ISIS’ recruiting efforts in Western cities have proven alarmingly successful:
The threat of radicalized and battle-hardened Westerners returning from Syria and Iraq to carry out attacks on their home soil has been deemed the biggest security challenge for counter-terrorism officials since the 9/11 attacks. While the exact number of foreign fighters associated with ISIS is unknown, two recent studies put the figure above 10,000 - with about 3,000 coming from Western European countries.
That includes “dozens of Americans,” according to Attorney General Eric Holder. He recently described the proliferation of foreign fighters as “a global threat in need of a global solution” and stressed that the world “cannot simply sit back and let it become a training ground from which our nationals can return and launch attacks.”
Anyone who joins ISIS has categorically rejected Western values and is actuated by a radical and contemptible ideology. These jihadists preach nothing but hate and extremism.
Let us hope, then, that Western efforts to cripple and immobilize this dangerous Islamist group ultimately prove successful.