Where Can I Apply for an IS Visa for the Wife and Kids?

     

      The leader of the notorious Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has finally achieved the minimum requirements to establish his state: occupied areas in Iraq and Syria, controlled check points at regional borders, thousands of followers from salafists worldwide, access to oil and resources, decent weaponry confiscated from Americans and promised state/personal funding (controversial is the source). That is why the group’s leader’s announcement of his appointment as the khalifa of all Muslims, after having established/revived the Khilafa in the Levant, crowned the triumphant trajectory of the ISIS throughout the past year or so (as a fully independent group).

 

     The establishment of an Islamic State, led by the new Khalifa Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, and the call for immigration to the new State should be very worrying as the idea does appeal to many. The foundations of a state are present: land, check; resources, check; army, check; philosophical base of founding the state; check; promises of guaranteed economic well-being and social justice with the enforcement of divine rules, check; a political system based also on divine revelations and interpretations, also check. ISIS, after all , managed to achieve what other salafist groups, mainly Al Qaeda, failed to. It founded an Islamic state (and is not worried about UN recognition) whose foundations appeal to the oppressed and the poor, a state that gives hope to the many who have been done injustice, and promises dignity of a nation that has long been suffering oppression, utilization, exploitation and humiliation.

 

     The Sunday call of the Al Baghdadi on all Muslims to immigrate to the newly established state should be taken very seriously by regional and international authorities; signs of actual support and allegiance to the group have already been demonstrated with the affiliation of thousands with the Group….having a state where they can call the shots and practice/enjoy full sovereignty should be just as popular.  But then agaon, how worried should these countries be? When Muslims in the UK, Spain, France, USA, Jordan, Chechnya, Indonesia and other countries across the globe  who sympathize with the ISIS hear the call, how will they react? Will they pack and leave?

    The main question is the following: how attractive would it be for a jihadist to uproot his family from a safe and stable country (despite economic woos and other complaints) and start anew in the new Islamic State? When it comes to the practicality of the issue, when all rhetoric fades, when the urge to kill and put mortal combat techniques in practice dwindles, and when fighters choose to take a rest and go back home for a while (as many do), will the Islamic State still be an attractive alternative to one’s won homeland? Nearly one hundred years have passed since the existence of an all-encompassing Islamic Empire, during which nation-states have been up and functioning…do these one hundred years not have any impact on the preference of citizens’ lifestyles? Is it not too early to tear down borders and mesh people together under the name of Islam? Are these questions considered by ISIS followers and their families?

 

    The ISIS perhaps did not take into account the psychological aspect of human behaviour, considering that rhetoric and heroic slogans - as attractive as they may be -  reflect differently on actual day-to-day life styles. Did they not see how miserably the Taliban movement failed and how many rejected its doctrine? A movement – no matter how supreme and idealistic and acceptable its slogans are – should separate what people say and believe and what they actually are ready to do.

 

     The few coming months are critical; immigration to the Islamic State is possible as the ISIS controls many border check points and can, for a while, sustain an economy and provide basic services. Perhaps regional countries' dilemma would be whether they should let these enthusiasts leave and never come back, where they can suffer from their own poor choices and what becoming an IS citizen means, or, as always championed in this blog, try to win their people back by carrying out promised political and economic reforms, guaranteeing a dignified life and therefore rendering IS completely unnecessary. If not, then please expedite the inauguration of an IS embassy or a consulate for visa services.

Ps: please note that I am very proud of my Islamic heritage. Many Islamic states today, and most Islamic empires before, have contributed generously to the world, serving as the heartland of science, philosophy and art. Islam was, is and will always be an elegant and peaceful way of life…a divine revelation that blessed us. These fundamentalists will never speak in the name of Islam and will never represent believers.