The Islamic State’s ‘Destructive Ideology’ is Shariah

Last night, President Obama called on the nation to defeat the Islamic State’s “destructive ideology.” To do so, we must be honest about that ideology – and all its adherents.

In much of the Muslim world, the Islamic State’s ideology is known as “shariah.” That brutally repressive, supremacist doctrine animates every other jihadist group – including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Taliban, Boko Haram and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Unfortunately, it’s also regarded as the true practice of Islam by nations like Saudi Arabia and Iran, and by the religious authorities of Cairo’s Al-Azhar University.

While many millions of Muslims don’t practice their faith in accordance with shariah, many millions do. If we are to survive the shariah-adherent Muslims’ determination to force the whole world to submit to their ideology, we have to recognize that reality – and forge a strategy for defeating it.