"Talking to a diverse group of experts, officials, religious scholars and former jihadis makes clear there is no consensus on a simple strategy to defeat the Islamic State. But there are some themes — like the need to take a decisive role in the Syrian conflict and to pushing a broader reformation of Islam — that a range of people who follow the group say must be part of a solution...
An effective, long-term strategy to defeat the Islamic State requires an uncomfortable acknowledgment, some experts say: that there is an internal conflict within Islam over the direction of the faith, with a radical strain that has enlisted thousands of fighters to its side.
“The statement that this has nothing to do with Islam is disingenuous,” said Maajid Nawaz, a former recruiter for a radical Islamist group who was imprisoned in Egypt from 2001 to 2006.
“We need to have a candid conversation about this and recognize that there is a correlation between scripture and this,” he said.
This is a complex and delicate problem that must be confronted on multiple levels, within the religious community, for sure, but also in international diplomacy, experts say.
In particular, Russian experts said the wellspring of radical religious ideology was Saudi Arabia and the Sunni states of the Persian Gulf. Their support of Islamic fundamentalist causes — radical imams and schools — has bred the sort of extremist ideology that is the backbone of groups like the Islamic State, the experts said.
“The roots are not in Syria, but far away,” said Gennady V. Gudkov, a former colonel in the Federal Security Service and former member of Parliament. He says a source of the problems is the Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, which have also supported jihadists as a proxy force fighting Iranian influence. “The problem is far more serious. All the world leaders should think of this: A significant part of the Islamic religion is infected with a tumor that is metastasizing.”
An ultimate defeat of the group cannot happen without a reformation within Islam, experts say, and that necessitates a recognition that interpretations of Islam are at the core of the problem, and an outreach to moderate Muslims. The public, said Amaney A. Jamal, a professor at Princeton University, has to see Muslims as part of the solution, not just the target of strategies.
“Where is the panel this morning on the Sunday talk shows where you have Muslim leaders alongside Western leaders to talk about how they’re going to conquer this problem?” she asked. “Instead, you’ll get panels of Western leaders and public policy intellectuals telling you what they will do about Muslims, talking at Muslims.”
Nothing short of a sustained effort among Muslims to offer an alternative to extremist versions of the religion is needed, religious leaders say. “ISIS is the one that is saying, ‘We have something to offer you: a sense of purpose, a sense of fulfillment.’ That is what is missing,” said Imam Mohamed Magid, a spiritual leader in Virginia.
“We need to have a strong religious identity that calls people to action, but action in a way that is constructive, not destructive, and promotes life, not death,” he said."
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