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The one thing ISIS is afraid of - and it's not what you think!

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'They present themselves to the public as superheroes, but away from the camera are a bit pathetic in many ways: street kids drunk on ideology and power.'

In a blog written by Nicolas Hénin, posted to TheGuardian.com, Hénin wrote what life was like as an ISIS hostage, and revealed the one thing ISIS fears most.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - During his ten-month captivity, Hénin observed the extremist view of other cultures and wrote, "I know for sure that our pain, our grief, our hopes, our lives do not touch them. Theirs is a world apart."

Hénin opened up about what Jihadists are really like: "They present themselves to the public as superheroes, but away from the camera are a bit pathetic in many ways: street kids drunk on ideology and power ... I found them more stupid than evil. That is not to understate the murderous potential of stupidity."

The stupidity Hénin referred to was the remarkable ignorance of a people who "are totally indoctrinated, clinging to all manner of conspiracy theories, never acknowledging the contradictions."

What really stood out to Hénin was the extremists' obsession with world news and the spread of terror.

"My guess is that right now the chant among them will be 'We are winning'. 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."

One of the main beliefs of Muslim extremists is the world's intolerance of their religion. They believe that no other community in the world can live peacefully alongside Muslims, and Hénin wrote, "every day their antennae will be tuned towards finding supporting evidence. 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."

Part of the driving force behind radicalized Islam thinking is that innocent Muslims are daily persecuted for their beliefs around the world. There are several examples of radicals calling for Muslims to take a stand against the impediment of their religion, but the center of their stance to support extremism is directly contradicted when communities display signs of acceptance, tolerance and the ability to practice religion.

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We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

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Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

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