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Annotation by Kenneth Garden at 2016-09-28 01:39:26

I think this is a more generalized claim than you have been making.  Previously you argued that ISIS, as a minority sect proclaiming its legitimacy in the face of widespread rejection among the world Muslim community, most closely resembled minority Shi’ite sects, especially the Fatimids, in their use of rhetoric and invocation of scriptural passages declaring the sanctity of a minority of right-believing and practicing Muslims in the midst of a broader community that has gone astray. Similar situations led both groups to similar self-presentation.  Here you are introducing a new element, namely the idea that there exists what could be thought of as a catalogue of symbols, ideas, and scriptural passages and interpretations that can be and are brandished by groups who find themselves in situations in which they can be useful.  So here you have minority groups availing themselves to scripture that proclaims the sanctity of the righteous minority. A majority group trying to delegitimize the minority could just as easily avail itself of the catalogue of scriptural verses that proclaim the sanctity of the majority.

Annotation by Kenneth Garden at 2016-09-28 01:39:26

I think this is a more generalized claim than you have been making.  Previously you argued that ISIS, as a minority sect proclaiming its legitimacy in the face of widespread rejection among the world Muslim community, most closely resembled minority Shi’ite sects, especially the Fatimids, in their use of rhetoric and invocation of scriptural passages declaring the sanctity of a minority of right-believing and practicing Muslims in the midst of a broader community that has gone astray. Similar situations led both groups to similar self-presentation.  Here you are introducing a new element, namely the idea that there exists what could be thought of as a catalogue of symbols, ideas, and scriptural passages and interpretations that can be and are brandished by groups who find themselves in situations in which they can be useful.  So here you have minority groups availing themselves to scripture that proclaims the sanctity of the righteous minority. A majority group trying to delegitimize the minority could just as easily avail itself of the catalogue of scriptural verses that proclaim the sanctity of the majority.

Annotation by Kenneth Garden at 2016-09-28 01:39:26

Annotation by Kenneth Garden at 2016-09-28 01:39:26