French journalist and former hostage says ISIS expects bombs but 'fears unity'

French journalist Nicolas Hénin spent 10 months as an Islamic State hostage, and in an op-ed for The Guardian published Monday, wrote that he knows "for sure our pain, our grief, our hopes, our lives do not touch them. Theirs is a world apart."

Before being released in 2014, he was subjected to mental abuse and mock executions by fighters he describes as "street kids drunk on ideology and power." In France, Hénin wrote, "we have a saying — 'stupid and evil.' I found them more stupid than evil. That is not to understate the murderous potential of stupidity." Although they "follow the news obsessively," the ISIS militants only process it through their worldview, he said. "The pictures from Germany of people welcoming migrants will have been particularly troubling to them... Cohesion, tolerance — it is not what they want to see."

Their end goal is for Muslims around the world to believe they can't live with non-Muslims, Hénin said, and following the Paris attacks, "they will be heartened by every sign of overreaction, of division, of fear, of racism, of xenophobia; they will be drawn to any examples of ugliness on social media." Hénin said he believes bombing the terrorist group's de facto capital of Raqqa, Syria, is a mistake, not only because of concerns over civilians, but because it's "what ISIS wants." Instead, Hénin first wants to see Syrian President Bashar al-Assad removed from power, and France to battle ISIS without weapons. "The key is strong hearts and resilience, for that is what they fear," he said. "I know them: bombing they expect. What they fear is unity." Read the entire op-ed at The Guardian.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up