(Washington, D.C.) -- In my latest novel series --
The Third Target and
The First Hostage -- the leaders of the Islamic State launch a carefully-coordinated plot to blow up an Israeli-Palestinian peace summit, capture the President of the United States, and lure the U.S. and Western alliance into a ground war in Syria.
While the books are fiction, they are based on actual ISIS strategy. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of ISIS, and his inner circle are, in fact, feverishly trying to draw the U.S. into a ground war in Syria.
The question is: Why? The answer lies in an obscure town in northern Syria called "Dabiq." On Fox News yesterday, I explained why Dabiq is so important to the ISIS leadership.
FOX NEWS ANCHOR SHANNON BREAM: The fight against terror -- both home-grown and global -- is a top concern for those tuning into the President's final State of the Union address
Tuesday. What is the President's strategy and how important are the exact words he uses when outlining the global terror threat? Joel Rosenberg is a best-selling author who has written extensively about the realities of the newest threat, which he calls
"Apocalyptic Islam." His brand new book,
The First Hostage, has just been released, and I am at the edge of my seat getting through it -- an excellent book. And you use fiction to communicate ideas that you think are important as a way of helping people learn about the threats and what's going on, but in an entertaining, fascinating way.
JOEL C. ROSENBERG: Tom Clancy did it. Vince Flynn did it. It is a good way. A lot of people don't want to read a 900 page book on Islamic theology or history. But they understand that it's real and it's urgent, and this is a way to get into the story.
BREAM: You and I have talked about the fact that al Qaeda and that threat, obviously, murderous around the globe, but this is -- you say -- ISIS to a new level. It's not simply radical. You're using the word apocalyptic, that they want to bring about the end of the world, essentially.
ROSENBERG: That's right. The Islamic State's magazine is called,
Dabiq. D-A-B-I-Q. Most people have no idea what that means. It's a little town in the north of Syria. Why is that important? Because they believe, based on ancient Islamic prophecies, that the Western world -- "the forces of Rome" -- will be drawn to that spot for the second-to-last battle of all history, and that the West will lose, and the Islamic State will win, and then they head to Jerusalem. The idea is that they believe that the End of Days has come, their messiah -- known as the "Mahdi" -- will come reign over the entire world at any moment. They're driven by an Islamic eschatology that's genocidal. And that's why it's so dangerous. And yet most leaders -- including the President and our two front-runners on the Democrat and Republican side -- they don't understand it. They don't talk about it. That's a problem.
BREAM: Well, what you're saying -- what you're outlining, their whole purpose and mission -- it seems to be driven by theology, by their beliefs about the End Times. But as you mention, we have a lot of leaders who want to say, "This isn't a religious group. They are not Islamic. They've hijacked, or they're using, the religion simply as a vehicle for their violence, but it's not based on religion." But it sounds like the way that you're describing it, it's completely based on they're understanding of it.
ROSENBERG: You can decide that you don't want to want it to be based on religion, but that's what they believe. Now, we're not talking about all 1.6 billion Muslims. You know, I've got characters in here [in my novels] who are Islamic leaders, Arab leaders -- they're Muslims, they're not evil. What's evil is to have an End Times theology, that you're trying to bring about the end of the world, and you believe you need to kill every Jew, Christian, and others you would call an "infidel," to get to your Islamic global kingdom. This is what's defining ISIS. This is what's actually defining Iran's leadership -- not the people, but the leaders. The difference is that ISIS wants to build the caliphate now, so they're killing, slaughtering now, whereas Iran wants to build the pathway to nuclear weapons so when they get ready to launch the caliphate war it will be genocidal by the millions, not just the tens or hundreds of thousands.
BREAM: So how do you respond to those who say, "This sounds like crazy talk. It sounds cuckoo, all these theories and prophecies"?
ROSENBERG: Well, it is. And you have to distinguish this. Jews have an eschatology. Jews -- I'm Jewish on my father's side -- we believe the Messiah is coming at one point. Christians -- I'm an Evangelical -- believe that Jesus is coming to set up a Kingdom. The difference is the genocidal nature [of Islamic eschatology], [they're determination] to annihilate all of Israel and the United States and all infidels. So it is a crazy eschatology, End Times theology, but to ignore it, to ignore what's actually animating both the Islamic State leaders and the Iranian leaders, is incredibly dangerous. Because one of the themes in my novels -- including
The First Hostage -- is, "If you misunderstand the nature and threat of evil, you risk being blindsided by it." This [novel] is about ISIS trying to capture and behead the President of the United States, as they draw us into a ground war in Syria, based on their ancient Islamic prophecies. And you have to understand your enemy if you're going to defeat them.
BREAM: Well, as with all your books, it's a great way to be entertained and informed at the same time. It is a wild ride. We wish you much success with it. Thanks for stopping in, Joel Rosenberg. Best wishes.
ROSENBERG: It's good to be with you.
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