We're all auxiliary troops in a holy war

The identity of “Jihadi John”—the well-spoken butcher who presided over gory executions staged by the Islamic State, ISIS—was a bit of a surprise last week, though his Western connections were long-suspected. Turns out that Mohammed Emwazi spent most of his life in London after his family moved from Kuwait, earned a degree from the University of Westminster, bought stylish clothes, landed a computer job and a fiancée in Kuwait, and drifted to Syria sometime in 2013, where he guarded Western prisoners and developed a taste for bloody beheadings.

Also last week, the FBI arrested young Akhror Saidakhmetov, an Uzbek immigrant, and two compatriots at New York’s JFK airport, where they were about to board a plane for Istanbul. Their purpose, it’s alleged, was to find their way to ISIS. Saidakhmetov lived most of his life in Brooklyn, where he was seduced to holy war over the internet.

The line peddled by this White House administration and the last, that Muslims become radicalized by poverty and low employment, was discredited long ago. Leaders, and most followers, are drawn from the middle to upper class, well-situated and well-educated. In a much-discussed article from The Atlantic, Graeme Wood reports on his conversations with some prominent supporters of jihad who reside in the West while their hearts and loyalties are with the Islamic State. “What ISIS Really Wants,” though long, is well worth a read for insight into radical Islam.

By declaring a caliphate in its conquered territory (the last official caliphate being the Ottoman Empire) and establishing Sharia law within it, the Islamic State has cleared the way for what it believes to be the return of the Mahdi (a messiah-like figure), accompanied by Jesus himself, ringing in the last days. Control of geography is vital, and the more land the Islamic State controls, the higher its hopes. There’s a downside, though: By committing itself to land while recognizing no outside authority (like the UN) or set boundaries, the Islamic State alienates itself from other Islamic nations and ensures unending war. War is an enormous drain on resources, physical and economic and emotional—a fire allowed to rage unchecked will eventually burn itself out. Wood believes ISIS can be contained by airstrikes and ground support, so long as it doesn’t reconcile with its parent al-Qaeda.

One serious flaw in Wood’s article: He claims that ISIS is more a threat to other Muslims than to Christians, who are tolerated so long as they accept second-class status. At that point, he seems as deliberately blind as President Obama in insisting the Islamic State is not Islamic. Muslim corpses may outnumber Christian ones in those killing fields, but ISIS is dedicated to the annihilation of “the people of the cross.” The row of orange-clad prisoners baring their necks while chanting the name of Jesus—that’s the front line in this war, just as it was in the time of Nero and Diocletian. Faith can only be fought with faith. Christians all over the world are the auxiliary troops, and our weapon is prayer—daily, hourly, without ceasing. It’s past time to enlist.