It All Comes Back to Religion by James S. Robbins

Islamic jihadism and its hatred of homosexuality are at the core of what inspired the Orlando terrorist attack.

Jihadists are hailing the mass shooting at the Orlando gay nightclub Pulse as an Islamist victory. The Islamic State terror group has claimed credit for the atrocity, saying “a soldier of the Islamic State has carried out the attack.” President Barack Obama said that the shooter, Omar Mateen, was “filled with hatred” and that the investigation “will go wherever the facts lead us.” They will lead directly to radical Islamism.

Late last year, controversial deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said that the Islamic State group would like to attack the United State but likely lacked the capabilities. Guess again. The Orlando massacre was an Islamic State group victory. The attack cannot be pigeonholed by concepts like domestic, lone-wolf or homegrown terror. These notions are outdated in an era of highly diffused, internationally networked, web-enabled terrorism. Rather, it was an example of “jihad in place” – an out-of-area attack conducted by terrorists in their home countries with little or no operational guidance from jihadist headquarters.

Omar Mateen was part of that extended jihadist brotherhood. He had been investigated twice before by the FBI. He reportedly called 9-11 and pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi shortly before the attack. The Islamic State group, in return, claimed Mateen as one of its own. Like the December 2015 attack in San Bernardino, the tragedy in Orlando shows that the Islamic State group has ways to bring the fight to the American homeland.

For his part, Omar’s father, Seddique Mateen, said that the attack had “nothing to do with religion,” but that his son grew “very angry” recently when he saw two men kissing. Seddique is stridently anti-gay and released a video after the shooting in which he said “God will punish those involved in homosexuality” and it’s “not an issue that humans should deal with.”

Numerous subsequent reports that Omar had strong homosexual urges paints a pictureof a young man trying to reconcile his inner feelings with his strongly homophobic Muslim culture.

Indeed, jihadists have long targeted gays. In his 2002 “letter to the American people,” Osama bin Laden denounced the United States for permitting “acts of immorality” that are considered “pillars of personal freedom” and called AIDS “a Satanic American Invention.” The Islamic State group has released videotapes showing men accused of being homosexuals being thrown from the top of buildings, their favored method of execution in these cases.

For his part, Omar’s father, Seddique Mateen, said that the attack had “nothing to do with religion,” but that his son grew “very angry” recently when he saw two men kissing. Seddique is stridently anti-gay and released a video after the shooting in which he said “God will punish those involved in homosexuality” and it’s “not an issue that humans should deal with.”

Numerous subsequent reports that Omar had strong homosexual urges paints a pictureof a young man trying to reconcile his inner feelings with his strongly homophobic Muslim culture.

Indeed, jihadists have long targeted gays. In his 2002 “letter to the American people,” Osama bin Laden denounced the United States for permitting “acts of immorality” that are considered “pillars of personal freedom” and called AIDS “a Satanic American Invention.” The Islamic State group has released videotapes showing men accused of being homosexuals being thrown from the top of buildings, their favored method of execution in these cases.

But capital punishment for gays is not limited to terrorist groups. Homosexuality may be punishable by death in 10 countries, nine of which have Sharia-based laws. The Islamic Republic of Iran, for one, has hanged thousands of gays since the mullahs came to power in 1979. When former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there were no gay people in Iran, he meant none who could admit it and survive. In most other Muslim-majority countries, homosexuality is a non-capital offense but still criminal.

So to say religion has nothing to do with the Orlando massacre is disingenuous. Rather, it is the starting point for understanding how the sight of two men kissing could trigger a murderous rampage. It is also a signpost to the ideology of jihadism, which is the core of the problem. As Middle East expert Walid Phares points out, there is a difference between homophobia and a jihadist hate crime motivated by an ideology. We owe it to the victims of this horrendous attack not only to understand the difference, but to respond accordingly.

James S. Robbins is senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council, and author of “The Real Custer: From Boy General to Tragic Hero.”