It&#x27;s more like he is implying that something like Da&#x27;esh will exist no matter if Islam exists or not. Their brand of violence is not rooted in ideological beliefs but rather psycopathic killing for killings sake. That Islam allows a way for them to recruit does not mean they are Islamic only opportunistic. The other issues of famine, fear and a power vaccume are more likely the reason they can last for so long. Groups like this in the United States tend to burn out very quickly or reduce their violence to attacks on rivals and divirsify their actions to more capitalistic actions.