The responsibility of ISIS on crimes committed against Sunni Muslims: Iraq case study

Abstract

Oftentimes, the mainstream media and scholars present the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a Sunni militant group formed in  reaction to the excesses of ‘Christian West’ and ‘Shia rulers’ of Iraq and Syria. However, to what extent does ISIS represent Sunni  Muslims? This unanswered question and the implications of ISIS ideology, as well as the consequences of their actions, definitely merit in- depth scrutiny. Relying on a qualitative study design involving 30 Iraqis of diverse religious backgrounds, this paper investigated the  question and offered a glimpse of ISIS’s ideology and the impact of their actions on Sunni Muslims. The results obtained indicated that  Sunni-Shia or Sunni Muslim-West binaries are not only an inaccurate description of ISIS’s ideology, but a concomitant legitimatization of  ISIS’s actions, while tending to cover up ISIS crimes against populations, including the Sunni/Shia Muslims, Yezidis and Christians. In fact,  Sunni Muslims have suffered the most in terms of violence and socio-economic down-turn in the hands of ISIS, and are routinely  compelled to follow ISIS’s ideology in the areas controlled by them, while being threatened also with death and more violence if they  refuse to comply.