I understand the argument that Daesh is not Islamic, that the caliphate is a fraud (it has to be, there is no consensus among Sunni Muslims, let alone all Muslims, and the "caliph" is probably lying about his ancestry and educational qualifications--not that those are necessary to be caliph but considering that he's a liar, thief, and murderer, that would seem to disqualify him).
And I agree. But that's not the point.
My point is not so much that Daesh is Islamic; my point is that for whatever reason, Muslims are disproportionately represented among violent armed thieves and it can't be explained by simple "lack of jobs" or poverty (despite Obama's attempt to do that), because there are many jobless poor non-Muslims that don't go crazy like that. See, e.g.,
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/opinion/bergen-terrorism-root-causes/
You can argue that Daesh is not representative, and there is truth to that. In fact if I may draw a parallel: saying all Muslims are bad because of groups like AQ/Daesh, is like saying all males are bad because 90+% of violent crimes are committed by males. In both cases you wind up with a clearly wrong result. Most males are decent. Similarly, most Muslims are decent.
Yet that still doesn't answer the question of why Muslims are disproportionately represented among the current worldwide population of people who murder, rape, steal, and enslave. If it's not because of their (mis)interpretation of their religion, and if it's not because of jobs/poverty, then what is the explanation? And they ARE Muslims--as you've admitted already. Daesh may be filled with really bad Muslims who are going to hell, but they are still technically Muslims if they obey the five pillars of Islam.
Furthermore, I'd say that their apparent acts are clear enough for anyone
with average Islamic studies to debunk Daesh myth completely. I like how it once was called "دولة الخرافة" instead of "دولة الخلافة".
But I do agree with you completely that hearing about their numbers, presumably it's a correct estimate, is honestly a very scary and daunting subject, for me as a Muslim before any other nation.
Personally, I divide them between two groups; either mercenaries or religious fanatics. Yes, it's a fact that perhaps
most of their followers are really religious, no doubt about that, but what matter is: did they get it right?
There is one Hadith that mentioned "The Jews has parted into 71 or 72 groups. And my nation would part into 73 different groups that all would be in hell except one, it's whom would assemble me and my followers (i.e. follow their guide)". Narrated by multiple Imams.
As I said before, if you read the Prophet biography and compare his morals, life and circumstances, then you might answer the question; do they really follow the prophet's guide or they're acting completely otherwise.
Yet that still doesn't answer the question of why Muslims are disproportionately represented among the current worldwide population of people who murder, rape, steal, and enslave. If it's not because of their (mis)interpretation of their religion, and if it's not because of jobs/poverty, then what is the explanation? And they ARE Muslims--as you've admitted already.
And you're right again. But still no reasonable and complete answer currently in my mind. But suffice to say, especially as an Arabic, that as much as we blame ourselves over here (you guys don't hear much about this, but assure you it's almost happening everyday), that we also believe in foreign reasons/conspiracy theories that might me be part of our current problems, and I'm talking about the period since the overthrow of Ottomans till our present day.
As for the different kinds of crime, I don't agree completely, although I won't claim that we're holding a true Islamic morals, but can claim that the overall Arab countries are generally considered safe (for respective natives at least).
Take for example the infamous hellhole Iraq, our former neighbor used to travel to Baghdad for trade business, he told us you might walk at day or middle of the night and it would be very safe. To confirm this you might ask a veteran who had served in both 2003
right after the invasion and at another subsequent tour.
I said that crime reporting is less than ideal. I gave an example of underreporting of rapes in Arab countries.
You called that a lie. So you think that all rapes in Arab countries are reported?
Definitely not, as it's considered much more shameful in Arab countries than perhaps rest of the world.
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