Channel 4 documentary: ISIS is Islamic
by Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern:
On Wednesday Channel 4 broadcast a documentary by historian Tom Holland called: ISIS: The Origins of Violence. It is available to view on demand here.
Death threats
Tom Holland previously produced a documentary for Channel 4 on some of the historical questions around the origins of Islam. Islam: The Untold Story was based on Holland’s book In the Shadow of the Sword which shows how the traditional account of the origins of Islam lacks historical support. Inevitably, the film drew criticism from Muslims, resulting in Channel 4 cancelling a private screening on security advice after death threats were made against Holland.
What motivates ISIS?
That was five years ago. Since then, ISIS has emerged and engaged in a shocking display of violence and genocide in the name of Islam. Holland bravely decides it is time to investigate their motivations. His documentary asks the question “Why do ISIS, and groups like ISIS, do what they do?”
To answer this question, Holland steps back into history and discusses the Ottoman Caliphate which ruled over the Middle East for some 600 years. This Caliphate came to an end in 1924, an event viewed with shame by Muslims. Osama Bin Laden made reference to this loss of the caliphate in his warning statement post 9/11 in which he said: “Our nation has been tasting this humiliation and contempt for more than 80 years.” Then in 2014, ISIS declared that it was establishing a new caliphate, an event that clearly reached back in history and sought to unite Muslims around the world.
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