Imagine, if you will, a world without ISIL. For the vast majority of us, it is an appealing piece of imagery. For those unfortunate enough to live in the areas of Iraq or Syria that ISIL has seized and occupied, the terror group is more than just a ferocious nightmare, but a daily reality that few people – this writer included – could ever truly begin to imagine.
As you read this, British, French and American jets are quite probably pounding ISIL targets across Syria and Iraq – two Arab states that know war and bloodshed all too well. Syria’s brutal civil war appears to be a conflict without end, putting Iraq’s myriad security issues in the shade.
Yet, both countries are connected by their mutual submission – to varying degrees – to ISIL, whose actions have chilled and genuinely shocked even the most seasoned observer.
Indeed, the group began the new year with a video that purported to show the killing of five men who ISIL said were spying for the UK. It included a young boy who appeared to be wearing military fatigues and who could be heard making threats to kill on behalf of the group.
As the world seeks the group’s destruction – and ISIL itself seeks the same of the world – the hope that this one small protagonist in the globe’s many troubles can be subdued remains ever-present. Yet, if and when ISIL is finally purged from its last remaining piece of Arab territory, an overriding sadness will surely be the enduring legacy of inhumanity that, in its present state of action, has shown no limits.
Wretched, deluded and angry, ISIL has made killing a twisted art form, as it demonstrated on Sunday with the abduction and killing of hundreds of civilians. But it has also shown the world that there are no bounds to human cruelty, even if Al Qaeda first took the 21st-century headlines with the likes of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York and the execution of The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002.
ISIL burst on to the international stage in 2014 when it took military control of large parts of Syria and Iraq. It has become known for beheading, drowning and immolating hostages – and has also taken to throwing so-called “offenders” off the top of buildings to their deaths.
But it is not just human beings who have met their end at the hands of ISIL. Cultural sites and artefacts, such as those in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria whose only crime was to be rich in historical wonder, have also been destroyed. Few things have retained their integrity as ISIL looks to maintain and promote its self-declared “caliphate”.
But, where does this rage come from? Perhaps it is a deep personal unhappiness, an apparent disenfranchisement and a fear of failure in the real world that drives ISIL and its followers. After all, it is a near certainty that few of those flocking from the UK and France to join the swelling ranks of ISIL are happy and contented individuals – both within themselves and in the place they once called home.
From this rage – against the West but most probably against themselves, conveniently wrapped-up in Islamic religious fervour – has come a thirst for murder. Despite wishes to the contrary, this comes from our world and no other. Few of us could claim to truly understand their motives, but what they have shown us is the human capability to reach new depths of horror that, even with ISIL’s eventual passing, will probably never be forgotten. Indeed, that they are from our world makes them one of us – and us one of them, as uncomfortable as that is to accept.
Is it possible to defeat an idea, however warped? Some argue in favour of a compelling counternarrative but for me, the simple answer is no. Defeating organisations like ISIL with fighter jets and guns is as close as we will probably ever get to crushing their belief systems. Yet there is worth in attempting to really understand the mentality of someone who is pushed to commit the kinds of violent acts in Syria and Iraq that sadly have today become commonplace.
In the gloom of the world’s continuing struggle against ISIL’s actions and beliefs, there is a very real and visceral humanity that continues to unite us all in the face of such threats. It is, thankfully, the majority view – and one that will always prevail when confronted with the ISILs and Al Qaedas of this world.
Only the continuation of daily life – in all its wonderful forms and cultures and faiths – has within it the ability to regularly defeat the group and its ideas. It is what will outlast them – and outlast us all.
Alasdair Soussi is a freelance journalist who has worked in Africa, Europe and the Middle East
On Twitter: @AlasdairSoussi
