Salafi-Jihadism ideologically underpins both the Islamic State and al Qaeda. Its adherents seek a world of domination in which all others either share their beliefs, or kneel in submission to them. But Salafi-Jihadism has an easier definition: evil.
I note this in light of the ISIS-related murder last week of two Norwegian tourists in Morocco. 28 year-old Maren Ueland and 24 year-old Louisa Vesterager Jespersen were camping in a tourist spot when a cell of ISIS fanatics decided to murder them. A verified video of one of the women’s murder shows her brutally inefficient decapitation.
I assessed ISIS’ 2014-2015 hostage videos for National Review, and I can attest that this latest video is even worse than most of those. But while I don’t believe others would gain anything from watching it, I am glad I did so. Because it reminds me of the morality of the war on terror and the necessity of defeating those who would build a world upon the wreckage of innocent dead.
This is not to say that we should simplify this struggle in the manner of Islamophobes such as Pamela Geller, or draw blurry lines between Islamic extremists of different ideologies. Nor is it to say that military and intelligence activity will be the primary means of defeating these adversaries over the long term. The moderation of political Islam, and the expansion of economic and social opportunities are crucial towards persuading presently reconcilable minds to pursue alternatives to terrorist activity. Still, fanatics like those who carried out the murder of Ueland and Jespersen can only be defeated by force.
Because as much as they testify to evil, Salafi-Jihadist murder videos also testify to the delusional commitment of their purveyors. Interspersed with references to perceived Islamic honor, and to the supposed purity of purifying nonbelievers by death, these videos remind us that the enemy is no simple criminal. The enemy is determined and willing to die in service of their agenda. Which is why, as Jim Mattis once observed, those who have chosen the jihadist path deserve only destruction.
