Inciting Murder

Pursuing this agenda, the Islamic State has ramped up its incitement. On September 21, it disseminated a speech by its chief spokesman, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani. Amidst other ranting statements, Adnani called on Muslims to murder unbelievers.

“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European—especially the spiteful and filthy French—or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State .  .  . kill him in any manner or way however it may be.”

This is a familiar line, the Islamic State’s version of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri’s lone-wolf strategy. By inspiring Muslims to commit acts of personally orchestrated violence, the Islamic State wants to spread terror. And what makes its advocacy of lone-wolf killing more dangerous than al Qaeda’s is the former’s global reputation with Salafi extremists. Witnessing the Islamic State’s energetic seizure of territory and its seeming invulnerability against America, these sick minds see it as a movement destined for victory.

Thus, IS seeks to convince extremists that by slaughtering civilians they can become part of a growing global army. At a secondary level, just as IS seeks to purge the Middle East by forcing civilian subjugation to narrow sectarian identities, it believes lone-wolf terrorism will force Western societies to repress their Muslim populations and thus indirectly aid in the recruitment of new IS legions.

What makes this strategy dangerous is its diversified presence on social media. Knowing that intelligence services are unable to keep up, every day, Islamic State supporters post new target lists and re-post previously deleted online IED training courses. The group’s leaders know that every attack will be widely reported in the media—and that even an atrocity prevented spreads fear and so partly succeeds.

Some would simplify the issue to a war between Islam and the West. But just as the Islamic State’s power is rooted not in sectarianism but in the politicization of sectarianism, IS exploits not Islam per se, but the rot of corruption, hatred, and economic failure within political Islam. It is this rot that incubates an audience responsive to the Islamic State’s propaganda. To youths swimming in a sea of discontent, without empowerment, education, or opportunity, IS offers the thrill of violence and a narrative of divine purpose.

For those who believe in democracy and the rule of law, the Islamic State’s evolving strategy is an urgent wake-up call—an alarm for “the coalition” and a summons to immediate action for the Obama administration. Washington should encourage Islamic leaders (if necessary by embarrassing them) to condemn the Islamic State unequivocally. We need to see an end to condemnations with strings attached, such as critiques of U.S. foreign policy. Those discussions are for other times; there is no justification for the Islamic State’s evil.

Second, the administration should prioritize direct action against the Islamic State’s strategic messaging networks. Simply trying to rebut Islamic State propaganda on State Department websites is grossly insufficient. Instead, whether in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, or elsewhere, the United States should confront those who develop the messages of death. Where governments refuse to crack down on them, the United States should find ways of acting unilaterally and robustly.

The risks are clear. If the administration doubles down on its preference for hesitation, the incidence of atrocities—like the murder in broad daylight in a London street of Lee Rigby, hacked to death by Islamic fanatics—will only increase.

Tom Rogan is a columnist for the Daily Telegraph and holds the Tony Blankley Chair at the Steamboat Institute.