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Barack Obama: Muslim elders too 'boring' to win Isil propaganda war
Islam is not to blame for rise of Islamic State says Barack Obama, arguing people not religion responsible for violence and terrorism
By Peter Foster, Washington11:27PM GMT 18 Feb 2015
President Barack Obama has warned that Muslim community leaders are in danger of losing the propaganda war with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and are often too “boring†to prevent their young people from getting radicalised.
Paying Isil a back-handed compliment for the effectiveness of its gruesome social media outreach campaign, Mr Obama said it was imperative to reach young Muslims and address their social, political and economic grievances in a way that they understood.
“By the way, [to] the older people here - as wise and respected as you may be - your stuff is often boring,†he told a White House summit on combatting the rise of extremism, “compared to what they're doing. You're not connected. And as a consequence, you are not connecting.â€
Mr Obama said it was time to be “honest†that slickly-produced Isil videos of fighting scenes, beheadings other atrocities were succeeding in brainwashing young Muslims.
“That's the truth. The high-quality videos, the online magazines, the use of social media, terrorists Twitter accounts - it's all designed to target today's young people online in cyberspace.â€
His remarks came amid mounting criticism from some hawks in Washington that Mr Obama has refused to directly link Isil’s extremism with the religion of Islam.
However Mr Obama said that he rejected that linkage because it legitimised the Islamic State’s own propaganda that they are fighting a holy war against the West.
“We must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie,†Mr Obama said, “nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. They are not religious leaders; they're terrorists. We are not at war with Islam.â€
Outlining a three-pronged strategy to reduce the radicalisation process that has seen more than 500 British Muslims alone go to Syria and Iraq for Jihad, Mr Obama warned of a long war ahead for the hearts and minds of young Muslims that would not be
“Given the complexities of the challenge and the nature of the enemy, which is not a traditional army, this work takes time and will require vigilance and resilience and perspective,†he said, “But I'm confident that just as we have for more than two centuries, we will ultimately prevail.â€
Barack Obama: Muslim elders too 'boring' to win Isil propaganda war
Islam is not to blame for rise of Islamic State says Barack Obama, arguing people not religion responsible for violence and terrorism
By Peter Foster, Washington11:27PM GMT 18 Feb 2015
President Barack Obama has warned that Muslim community leaders are in danger of losing the propaganda war with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Isil) and are often too “boring†to prevent their young people from getting radicalised.
Paying Isil a back-handed compliment for the effectiveness of its gruesome social media outreach campaign, Mr Obama said it was imperative to reach young Muslims and address their social, political and economic grievances in a way that they understood.
“By the way, [to] the older people here - as wise and respected as you may be - your stuff is often boring,†he told a White House summit on combatting the rise of extremism, “compared to what they're doing. You're not connected. And as a consequence, you are not connecting.â€
Mr Obama said it was time to be “honest†that slickly-produced Isil videos of fighting scenes, beheadings other atrocities were succeeding in brainwashing young Muslims.
“That's the truth. The high-quality videos, the online magazines, the use of social media, terrorists Twitter accounts - it's all designed to target today's young people online in cyberspace.â€
His remarks came amid mounting criticism from some hawks in Washington that Mr Obama has refused to directly link Isil’s extremism with the religion of Islam.
However Mr Obama said that he rejected that linkage because it legitimised the Islamic State’s own propaganda that they are fighting a holy war against the West.
“We must never accept the premise that they put forward, because it is a lie,†Mr Obama said, “nor should we grant these terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. They are not religious leaders; they're terrorists. We are not at war with Islam.â€
Outlining a three-pronged strategy to reduce the radicalisation process that has seen more than 500 British Muslims alone go to Syria and Iraq for Jihad, Mr Obama warned of a long war ahead for the hearts and minds of young Muslims that would not be
“Given the complexities of the challenge and the nature of the enemy, which is not a traditional army, this work takes time and will require vigilance and resilience and perspective,†he said, “But I'm confident that just as we have for more than two centuries, we will ultimately prevail.â€
He believes the problem is socio-economic goals and political activism coupled with a really slick marketing campaign. If those poor sheepherders only had access to single-payer health systems, Quality Education, and grass-roots democracy - the kids would be okay.
The reality is that when the shepherd's sheep are set on fire, his wife is raped, his daughters sold into sexual slavery and his sons killed before they can put out the sheep fires, he's pretty likely to come around to the terrorists' way of thinking - at least in terms of outward compliance and support.
The commander of sheep-burning and woman-raping unit is probably at least partially college-educated and comes out of a middle class family. His troops have probably never read the Quran but they've heard a lot about it and they definitely agree with the raping, burning, pillaging part. If everything goes according to plan, they will have the local version of 40 acres, a mule, and a wife with a few sex slaves. Of course, they already have that opportunity (minus the sex slaves) so economically, life won't change much but that's not the point - the point is bringing Dar al-Harb into Dar al-Islam.
Telegraph
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