REL 526- Religions of the World NAME:
Reading Assignment #4
It is difficult to discuss Islam these days without thinking about and considering current global events. This week’s reading assignment is from the most recent issue of The Atlantic and is currently and widely being discussed and debated. The article can be accessed with the following link: http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/

1. Choose the option that most accurately describes how much of the following reading assignment you have completed: Graeme Wood, “What ISIS Really Wants,” The Atlantic (March 2015).
a. I read 100% of the reading.
2. There is currently a fierce debate in Washington about whether ISIS should be described as “Islamic.” According the article, how does Princeton scholar Bernard Haykel address the issue?
Havkel discusses the importance on identifying that Islam and its fundamentals nothing other than Islamic and are rooted in a concept known as “the Prophetic methodology.” Unlike Islam, America is a nation that was not founded with a set religious ideology, but rather with an exceptionalism outlook, and in the past was quick to accuse terrorist reigns on the blind following of Muslim scriptures rather than focus on the fluctuating external conditions within the society. Haykel argues that though the Islamic State is infect deeply rooted with religious fundamentals, what we must take into account more so is how different regimes of Muslims interpret the sacred scriptures and policies that reflect “God’s Law.” It’s best if America controls arrogant propaganda and stays out of the matter altogether.
3. According to the article, what are the basic differences between Al Qaeda and ISIS?
Isis members believe a literal interpretation and act in assiduous implementation of conservative practice of the Quran. This ideological purity of state at the very least makes the regime far more predictable then that of Al Qaeda.
4.