Many individuals have placed a stereotype among terrorism in the Middle East that has created a blind hatred towards an entire culture instead of a specific group of terrorists.
What individuals need to notice is that ISIS consists of members from all over the world. Their methods of recruiting involve the usage of social media such as Twitter, SoundCloud and WhatsApp, and they are using these programs to reach out and advertise in all languages.
Their tactics are more primal compared to other terrorism we have seen in the past. Since August of 2014 two American journalists— James Foley and Steven Sotloff have been beheaded. ISIS publically posted both the executions of both Foley and Sotloff on the Internet. Social media outlet Twitter is doing their best to block all accounts supporting ISIS, but whenever one is shut down another is created.
What this tells us is that ISIS does not just consist of Islamic extremists in the Middle East. In fact, these Islamic radicals are located all over the globe. What needs to be understood is that not all Muslims are terrorists, and that innocent people are being slaughtered in Iraq and Syria by these terrorists. Before we stereotype out of fear we need to stop and take into consideration the trials the individuals we are judging are facing.Â