The Explosion of ISIS and Syria’s Refugee Crisis with Howard Kaplan

Syria’s civil war, ISIS occupation, and refugee crisis that has boiled over into Europe is explored with Howard Kaplan. How the Iraq war helped set the stage for the current instability, the issue of religious conversion for Muslims to Christianity and struggles within Islam between Shia and Sunni, and the different ways that Germany and the US are responding to the displaced Syrians are all looked at. We also discuss why ISIS continues to gain traction in the West with disenfranchised people, and look back at life before the civil war displaced millions, in this Media Mayhem, hosted by Allison Hope Weiner.

Guest Bio

Howard Kaplan, a native of Los Angeles, has lived in Israel and traveled extensively through Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. At the age of 21, while attending school in Jerusalem, he was sent on a mission into the Soviet Union to smuggle out a dissident’s manuscript on microfilm. His first trip was a success. On his second trip to the Soviet Union, he was arrested in Khartiv in the Ukraine and interrogated for two days there and two days in Moscow, before being released. He holds a BA in Middle East History from UC Berkeley and an MA in the Philosophy of Education from UCLA. He is the author of four novels.

Feature film production on his novel The Damascus Cover wrapped in Casablanca on March 23, 2015 starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, and Sir John Hurt.

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Episode Breakdown

00:01 Welcoming Howard Kaplan back to Media Mayhem.

01:10 Refugee crisis numbers.

01:38 Who is responsible for the Syrian refugee crisis and ISIS explosion?

03:58 Handling the migrants: Germany vs. America.

05:35 The Syrian Civil War and destroying Iraq.

07:00 Assimilation and mass Christian conversion.

08:45 The Muslim population and Great Britain.

10:00 Arab nations, monarchies and Shiites vs. Sunni Muslims.

13:01 Life before the Syrian Civil War.

15:14 Language and wealthy European countries.

17:40 US involvement in Iraq and life after.

19:37 Why ISIS continues to gain interest.

22:29 Thank you and goodbye.

Guest Bio

Feature film production on his novel The Damascus Cover wrapped in Casablanca on March 23, 2015 starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Olivia Thirlby, and Sir John Hurt.