--- title: Ben Carson Traces ISIS to the Book of Genesis description: Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson argued that the roots of Islamic fundamentalism stem from the Biblical story of Jacob and Esau. canonical: https://time.com/3750081/ben-carson-jacob-esau-isis/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-18T22:03:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:21.554Z article:section: Politics og:title: Ben Carson Traces ISIS to the Book of Genesis og:description: He cited the fight between Jacob and Esau. og:url: https://time.com/3750081/ben-carson-jacob-esau-isis/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b40606ed91a23d9/6987823c35ba6f59aec07679/464494604.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4896 og:image:height: 2754 og:image:alt: Conservatives Gather For Annual CPAC Convention og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ben Carson Traces ISIS to the Book of Genesis twitter:description: He cited the fight between Jacob and Esau. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7b40606ed91a23d9/6987823c35ba6f59aec07679/464494604.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ben Carson Traces ISIS to the Book of Genesis > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 18, 2015 10:03 PM UTC  Ben Carson addresses the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference on February 26, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland. Ben Carson addresses the 42nd annual Conservative Political Action Conference on February 26, 2015 in National Harbor, Maryland. Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 18, 2015 10:03 PM UTC Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said Wednesday that the roots of radical Islam are the biblical conflict between Jacob and Esau. In an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, the former pediatric neurosurgeon argued that the origins of groups such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria are the fight between two brothers described in the book of Genesis. “Well first of all you have to recognize they go back thousands and thousands of years. Really back to the battle between Jacob and Esau,” he said. “But it has been a land issue for a very long period of time.” Hewitt, who has a penchant for grilling Republican candidates in detail about foreign policy, pushed back at the comparison, noting that the prophet Muhammad died in 632, while the story of Jacob and Esau is from before the birth of Christ. “The Islamic faith emanated from Esau,” Carson countered. Another set of siblings described in the book of Genesis — Isaac and Ishmael — are more frequently described as the respective forefathers of Judaism and Islam. Carson also said that he thinks the warring factions of Sunni and Shia Islam will one day unite against the United States. “In the long run I think they would gladly unite against us in their attempts to destroy the United States., our way of life, and Israel,” Carson said, espousing a position viewed dimly by foreign policy experts. Carson’s White House bid stems largely from his public speaking ability and willingness to challenge President Obama on the Affordable Care Act at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2013\. But he has a long history of controversial statements, being forced earlier this month to apologize for saying homosexuality is a choice and that prison makes people gay. But his support is already eroding as other presidential contenders enter the field. Here’s a transcript of Carson and Hewitt discussing ISIS and Islamic extremism: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3750081/ben-carson-jacob-esau-isis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3750081/ben-carson-jacob-esau-isis/"},"headline":"Ben Carson Traces ISIS to the Book of Genesis","datePublished":"2015-03-18T22:03:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:47:21.554Z","description":"He cited the story of Jacob and Esau","url":"https://time.com/3750081/ben-carson-jacob-esau-isis/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election","Foreign Policy","Dr. Benjamin S. 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