Would we not care as much about ISIS if they weren't "Muslims"?

So ISIS, horrible group running awol in Iraq and some parts of Syra. Literally every other person knows about them and western country do airstrikes because they say "ISIS's crimes are unique and no longer practiced by anyone else" etc..

Would you really know so much information about them if they weren't "Muslim" though? Or would you be that concerned?

I read an interesting article today so I'd thought share it. It's seems to be aimed at Americans but I'm sure we can also fit into the shoes of those Americans for this thread.

So ISIS vs Mexican Drug Cartels. Lets compare:

A recent United Nations report estimated nearly 9,000 civilians have been killed and 17,386 wounded in Iraq in 2014, more than half since ISIL fighters seized large parts of northern Iraq in June. It is likely that the group is responsible for another several thousand deaths in Syria. To be sure, these numbers are staggering. But drug cartels murdered more than 16,000 people in Mexico during 2013 alone, and another 60,000 from 2006 to 2012 - a rate of more than one killing every half hour for the last seven years. Even worse, these casualty estimates are from the Mexican government, which is known to deflate the actual death toll by around 50 percent.

I think it's probably safe to say that the drug cartels are the more murderous group, in numbers anyway.

People may say ISIS murder people more cruelly, they behead innocent people(and so perhaps seem more "primitive" and therefore they are worse.

But the casualties alone do not convey the depravity of the narcos: They carry out hundreds of beheadings every year. Beyond decapitation, they are known to dismember and otherwise mutilate the corpses of their victims - displaying piles of bodies prominently in towns to terrorise the public into compliance.

The cartels routinely target women and children to further intimidate the communities they occupy. And much like ISIL, the cartels use social media to post pornographic images of their crimes.

"They" in the first paragraph is referring to the cartels. The cartels do it too. Not in any area(in this paragraph)do they seem worse then ISIS.

Heres, what they do to children.

Like ISIL, narcos recruit child soldiers, molding boys as young as 11 into assassins or sending them on suicide missions during armed confrontations with Mexico's army. They also kidnap tens of thousands of children every year to use as drug mules or prostitutes, or to simply kill and harvest their organs for sale on the black market.

I would perhaps say the Cartels are far more brutal then ISIS in their treatment of children.

I guess people may say that ISIS attack innocent Journalists

While the Islamic militants have killed a handful of journalists, the cartels murdered as many as 57 since 2006 for reporting on cartel crimes; much of Mexico's media has been effectively silenced by intimidation or bribes. These censorship activities extend beyond professional media, with narcos tracking down and murdering ordinary citizens who criticise them on the Internet, leaving their naked and disemboweled corpses hanging in public venues. Yet intellectuals such as Sam Harris appear to be more outraged when Muslims protest or issue threats in response to blasphemous or anti-Muslim hate speech than when cartels murder dozens of journalists and systematically co-opt the media of an entire country.

They seem fairly similar in this area too.

Next we can compare them in terms of slaves.

Similarly, Westerners across various political spectrums were outraged when ISIL seized 1,500 Yezidi women, committing sexual violence against the captives and using them as slaves. Here again, the cartels’ capture and trafficking of women dwarfs that of ISIL. Additionally, narcos systematically use rape as a weapon of war and hold tens of thousands of Mexican citizens as slaves for their various enterprises.

They both do it, not sure about specfic slave numbers but the cartels are probably worse in this too.

ISIS have killed western citizens. So have the cartels, the cartels being the far worse too.

ISIL beheaded two Americans this summer and has warned about executing a third; additionally, one US soldier has died in efforts to combat the militant group. By contrast, from 2007 to 2010 the cartels have killed 293 Americans in Mexico and have repeatedly attacked US consulates in Mexico. While ISIL's beheadings are no doubt outrageous, the cartels actually tortured, dismembered and then cooked one of the Americans they captured - possibly eating him or feeding him to dogs.

I don't think even ISIS have resorted to possible cannibalism yet.

Full article - http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2014/10/there-are-groups-more-depraved--201410238520512942.html Have a read, I missed other paragraphs out from there.

So even though potentially worse groups then ISIS exist, our Media is not constantly reporting about them, nor are nations talking about wiping them off the face of the earth. Is it because ISIS are "Muslims" or do people not care about innocent Mexicans?

Edit: A lot of people use ISIS's actions as a basis for their hate and anger against them. What I'm trying to put across is that these same people should also be as passionately against drug cartels as they are against ISIS. The drug cartels do worse and they've been killing for far longer. But a lot of people seem ignorant of their existence(and actions).

(edited 9 years ago)

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1

Catholic_

You really are trying hard to criminalize coverage involving ISIS. Comparing a rebel force who want to conquer Iraq and the entire world under Islam is very different to gangbanging drug cartel wars.

Reply 2

username945663

Original post by Catholic_

You really are trying hard to criminalize coverage involving ISIS. Comparing a rebel force who want to conquer Iraq and the entire world under Islam is very different to gangbanging drug cartel wars.

Why can't I compare them? Is it because the cartels have actually done worse acts(in comparison of sheer number)?

Me trying to criminalize the coverage? lol no. The real question is why are you skimming over the cartels like they're a pint of milk?

Reply 3

beautifulxxx

Edit. I don't think its allowed to say that ISIS aren't Muslim hence I've removed that.

To answer the question, No they woudn't. The media only cares when its 'muslims'.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 4

username945663

Urggh you people know what I mean.

Reply 5

BefuddledPenguin

ISIS wouldn't be ISIS if they weren't following their interpretation of Islam. We care about them because they are killing innocent people, including our citizens. If they were Christian and doing the same thing due to their interpretation of the bible then we would care just as much.

Reply 6

Dhul-Qarnayn

Islamic terrorism and barbarity did not start with ISIS. They are only the most recent strand from the religion that has produced by far the greatest number of 'extremists' out of the rest in modern times.

Reply 7

Enoxial

Original post by IdeasForLife

XQUOTE]

ISIS awol in Iraq and Syria? What have you been smoking? :laugh:

I see you're using AJ, not a good idea...

Reply 8

james22

Original post by beautifulxxx

ISIS aren't Muslim.

They believe in the Quran, and that Muhamad is Allahs messenger. That makes them muslim.

Reply 9

username945663

Original post by BefuddledPenguin

Original post by Dhul-Qarnayn

Look the point is. ISIS is bad. Mexican drug cartels are bad. Mexican drug cartels probably do worse and they've been doing it for longer then ISIS. So why do people go on about ISIS like they're some unique never before seen thing on the face of the planet. We have worse groups but people don't generally care.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 10

username945663

Original post by Enoxial

ISIS awol in Iraq and Syria? What have you been smoking? :laugh:

I see you're using AJ, not a good idea...

Where are they fighting then? France?Germany? Russia? *sarcasm*

AJ is pretty good.

Reply 11

al_94

Why do we focus on ISIS? All the rebel groups such as FSA, SRF, Islamic Front etc essentially have the same goals in Syria. They all work together in Syria to eliminate Assad. The only difference is that these groups are backed by Western powers or Saudi Arabia, Qatar.

Reply 12

tim_123

Original post by IdeasForLife

Your acting like the UK doesnt try and help the armed forces in places like mexico, we can't exactly bomb the country to the ground, but we have long been sending military advisors to countries like that to help them stop the cartels.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 13

james22

Original post by al_94

The ISIS are committing the most barbaric acts by far. There was a significant threat of genocide if we didn't get involved.

Reply 14

ko111

Why is it always Wahabis/Salafis commiting violent acts in the name of Islam?

Reply 15

beautifulxxx

Original post by james22

They believe in the Quran, and that Muhamad is Allahs messenger. That makes them muslim.

They're not Muslim till they believe in Allah first and pray 5 times a day. I don't give a crap if they say otherwise. The Quran doesn't say you're suppose to commit such acts, nor does the sunnah. Hence they do not follow it. And if I was a terrorist, I wouldn't have time to pray; some scholars of Islam say that if you don't pray, you're not Muslim.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 16

Zamestaneh

Original post by ko111

Why is it always Wahabis/Salafis commiting violent acts in the name of Islam?

Because they tend to learn how to be 'scholars' first before they learn to be human...

Reply 17

al_94

Original post by james22

The ISIS are committing the most barbaric acts by far. There was a significant threat of genocide if we didn't get involved.

So the SRF, FSA, Islamic Front, Army of the Mujahideen & Al Nusra Front are not as violent only ISIS? I'm sorry but you don't know what you are talking about I have seen videos of the FSA beheading people, mutilating bodies and even cutting out a dead man's heart and eating it.

Reply 18

Zamestaneh

Original post by beautifulxxx

To be Muslim is to hold a certain belief; praying may affirm a belief but prayer is not the act of believing itself. By the definition you provided, I wouldn't be a Muslim as I do not pray 5 times a day :K: