The Apostasy of Patriotism: ISIS and the Nice Attack

By Jacob Olidort

Dr. Jacob Olidort is a Soref Fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where his work covers jihadism, Salafism, and Islamic political movements. He received his Ph.D. in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University, where his research focused on the intersection of Islamic law, theology, and modern politics.

On the French holiday of Bastille Day, Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel drove a truck into a crowd of people celebrating in Nice, killing 84. What does Bastille Day have to do with Islam? To the world, nothing. To the Islamic State, everything.

The tragic truck attack in Nice is a manifestation of a theme at the core of the Islamic State’s doctrines, as it has been for Salafis (or Sunni fundamentalists) of all kinds for decades – that any expressions of support for nation states is a violation of God’s oneness and unduly divides Muslims according to unauthorized forms of personal identity.

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