The State

Stop! Don't believe the one star reviews.

As a conservative, I too had a negative reaction to just seeing the promotional material advertising this TV Series. Mainly because I expected your usual left-wing propaganda from liberal cabal that is running the entertainment industry, hammered into my brain. Or worse, glamorizing Jihadis much like Rolling Stone did with Tsarnaev Brothers.

But I assure it is not so. I have no idea who this Peter Kosminsky is, but he did a great job of bringing the story of five British would be Jihadis going to Syria, and their travails as they battle the Kurds, Assad's Army, Western backed coalition... But mostly battle with their own doubts.

The State shows in vivid terms what was happening in parts of Syria ISIS controlled during their heyday from early 2014 to late 2017.

The State is a fascinating insight for someone like me, a citizen of the West, who was affected by it during that time period. To see all those young men and women running off to join these cruel butchers, after we threw open the doors for their parents and gave them a chance at a better life in the West...

It deeply changed me who I am as a person. From a young, left-wing liberal secular progressive I used to be during 2000s, to a right-wing conservative Atheist considering conversion to Christianity or Judaism I am today.

After only half of first episode I was immersed into it. All along, I was expecting to be suddenly disrespected, or have my intelligence insulted by bankrupt liberal ideology, but... It didn't come.

Kosminsky just told a good story. Left it to us to be the judges. Which is what a good artists should be doing. Otherwise they are not artists. They are propagandists. Did he do that because he is aware of a deep cultural shift undergoing in the Western world (trust me, I wasn't the only one who was "Red Pilled" by ISIS), or because he just happens to be a good director, it doesn't matter.

What matters is that the first 4 episodes are among the greatest I've seen in British television. The liberals might be crying how there should have been another episode explaining the motivation behind joining ISIS, presumably so the filmmakers could blame the West...

But I'm glad they didn't do it. We don't care. We are sick and tired of excuses and blame. We are furious. And I'm glad that at least for the first 4 episodes we weren't made fools of.

We don't care about "why". We care about "because". The reasons they joined ISIS? It is BECAUSE they are Muslim. Looking for a way into paradise. If not in this life then in the afterlife.

It is an immersive, vivid portrayal of people caught up in the events in Syria. Some of whom would kill us if they had the chance. Following them along their journey is a deeply moving TV watching experience. So do yourself a favour and see this show.

Sooner or later, there will be yet another Islamic State of This and That, somewhere in the Muslim World. And there will be more young Muslims joining them in droves... But hopefully some of them will see this show and think twice what they are doing.

Reading some reviews of The State, it seems some have completely missed the point of this mini-series. Far from glamourising IS this excellent series lays bare the lie that is at the heart of the death cult of Daesh. That lie draws impressionable, idealistic young Muslims across the west into a situation way out of their depth. Some argue that all who join IS know exactly what they are doing, which seems to leave some viewers unable to find anything sympathetic about the four young Brits portrayed here. Frankly, being unable to experience empathy for these characters says more about the person reviewing than it does about the situation itself.

Far from idealising and glamourising IS this remarkable mini-series shows the brutality and evil at the heart of it in a way nothing else I've seen quite does. Several scenes are incredibly difficult to watch, clearly intentionally so, and I found the changes of focus from the young jihadis experiencing the terror of battle and the brutalisation of witnessing torture, to the stories of the women and children equally brutalised and adapting (or not) to an almost alien culture, incredibly compelling.

This was brave television and for the most part well done. I feel it would have benefited from more time given to the ending, as this felt rushed and uncertain, but otherwise an excellent and compelling story.

I am amazed at the scathing reviews of 'The State'.

Trust me, as a man who has been on the front lines against daesh in Iraq, this is worth the watch. I think this show did an amazing job of showing the realities of living under a daesh state of power. All while doing it without crossing the line and keeping it clean enough for a younger audience. As someone who has actually been there, it is mind-blowing to me that this show is portrayed by other reviewers as wishing to be sympathetic to the recruits. It shows the brutal reality which those in areas under daesh rule face.

This show does an amazing job of captivating while educating on the beliefs of daesh and their twisted views of Islam. I am very disappointed in seeing how the masses received this show and hope it doesn't lead to Nat Geo closing the books permanently on the mini-series.

Great portrayal of the heinous nature of ISIS. And how regular British Muslims can get sucked in by the internet propaganda. And then are shocked when they actually arrive and see the true nature of these people supposedly called Muslims. When they are just extremists like every Religion has. It really put into perspective for me that Christians & Muslims are not that different. And both have radical extremists that use religion as an excuse for violent and offensive behavior. I don't know how anyone saw this as propaganda for ISIS. Who would want to live that way? It wasn't glorified at all. It showed the harsh reality of everyday life. And it didn't look fun to me.

Story of 4 Brits going out to Syria to support IS state in the overthrow of the Syrian regime. As the majority of British Moslems are Sunni and IS state supports the Sunni Muslims against the Shia followers, it doesn't take much effort for Sunni Muslims in Britain to go and support their fellow believers in Syria. The series pulls no punches of the brutality of the IS State and shows where it ignores the teachings of Mohammed "for their own ends" thereby corrupting the teachings of Islam. You can see how the four Brits start to slowly realize that the teachings of Islam is not really the main force of the IS leadership, they are looking for power and control and are just using the teachings of Mohammed, to lure the stupid and vulnerable, for their own ends. It shows how decent people are used, against their wishes to be humane, because of a corrupt ideology.