Brahim Awad Al-Badri (aka Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi) was a monster. Humanity is definitely better off without the likes of him roaming our planet.
His rise destroyed the illusion many of us tried to maintain that extremists were marginal. After all, thousands if not tens of thousands of people flocked to his horrendous project.
We should remember that after Bin Laden was killed, we tried to move on. “He got what was coming for him,” we said. “That problem is finally resolved.” But killing Bin Laden was not the end of Al Qaeda.
The fear remains that Al-Baghdadi’s ideas live on. The real enemy that needs to be destroyed is those ideas.
Let’s also give a moment of silence for the thousands of innocents killed and raped by this guy’s evil. We remember all the communities wiped out (Yazidis, Shi’a, Christians, and Sunnis). We do not forget the victims of all the terror attacks his followers inflicted in Europe, Africa, Asia, the US, and beyond.
I am inspired that there are numerous young Muslim voices who are openly challenging the fanatical ideas emanating from Salafi-Jihadis, Wahhabis, and Ikhwanis. They are standing up and talking back at these bigots. Gone are the days when these guys could threaten us as “kuffar” we if dared to disagree with them.
Finally, to my fellow Muslims: Let’s hold our heads high and not drop the ball. The more we speak out, the more likely we are to get to the bottom of this problem that Al-Baghdadi exposed but did not create. Ultimately it’s a problem deep inside of our collective that no special forces raid or DC think-tank can resolve for us.