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Iraq’s Sunnis wrestle with militants’ religious legacy; some find positives in Islamic State group’s murderous reign

Mosul, Iraq • Even as the Islamic State group’s rule is being torn down in Iraq, the seeds are there for it — or a successor extremist group — to rise again one day.

It’s a disquieting fact: There are those among Iraq’s Sunni Muslim minority who find some good in the group, though they denounce the militants for suffering inflicted during their nearly three-year rule.

Listen to the words of a young Iraqi who was impressed by an Islamic State cleric — a compassionate man, Mowafy Abdul-Qader said, recalling his “sweet demeanor” as he gave lessons on Shariah law.