Is ISIS Right on Islam?

Every time ISIS commits another heinous atrocity in the name of Allah, we hear the Western apologists tell us that they are not true Muslims because Islam forbids such acts. I am talking about people like CAIR,  the numerous Western-based imams, and even President Obama himself. Of course, those of us who have taken the time to study the teachings of the Koran, the hadith, and the life of Mohammad often come to a different conclusion.

This is not to suggest that all or even most Muslims approve of ISIS or agree with their ideas. Most Muslims do not engage in violent jihad. Yet we in the non-Muslim world must come to grips with this phenomenon because we are all threatened by it. Thus, we have the right to openly discuss it, and we should without having to worry about being called Islamophobes or bigots.

But in discussing ISIS, Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hizbollah and other Islamic terror groups, there are certain questions that keep popping up in my mind. Let me focus on ISIS in particular.

We already know that literally thousands of Muslims residing in Western countries have traveled to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS. My question is how many Western Muslims have we documented that have gone to Iraq or Syria to fight against ISIS? I am unaware of any. I am only aware of a few non-Muslim Westerners who have gone to join forces with fighters such as the Iraqi-Kurdish Peshmerga.

It is true that ISIS has killed many more Muslims than Christians or other minority religions. One reason is that ISIS is made up of Sunni Muslims, and they have an age-old hatred of Shi'ite Muslims, witness the Sunni-Shi'ite split in Iraq or the Sunni-Alawite split in Syria. Among the Alawites, a division of Shia Islam, is the Assad ruling family.

Then there are the various Muslim armies fighting against ISIS. Here I include the Syrian army, the Iraqi army, and the Iranian army, the latter of whom are Shia. Of course, these soldiers are not fighting to take back Islam from those who have "hijacked" it. They are fighting because their rulers have sent them to fight in order to maintain their political power, or in the case of Iran, to exert hegemony in the region.

In addition, there are the Kurds, who are fighting for their independence. The Peshmerga is the fighting force of Iraqi Kurdistan. They are engaged in battle against ISIS and badly need our weaponry. Instead, Obama prefers to supply the Iraqi army, but that is another topic.

So my question returns to the point: If ISIS is made up largely of previously non-military types who have joined the jihad fighting under no national banner, where are their civilian Muslim adversaries? Where are the armies of Mohammad who have banded together to rescue Islam from this evil force that has given it such a bad name? If jihad is such a positive concept in Islam, where are the anti-ISIS jihadis? If one definition of jihad is defending Islam, where are the jihadis defending Islam against the "perversions" of ISIS, perversions that are doing so much damage to Islam's reputation in the world?

Or does ISIS really represent the pure teachings of Islam?

As always, my Muslim readers are invited to weigh in. I promise you a respectful exchange of ideas. I think it is a fair question and deserving of discussion.