so I may be stepping in it and showing my ignorance by replying. 
But surely no one denies that these are Muslims following an extremely radical perversion of Islam?
They're using religion just as Westboro and others use religion, but religion is indeed involved.
Still, the vast majority of Muslims do not support ISIS or their radical brand of Islam, just as the majority of Christians don't support Westboro and similar radicals and their particular perversion of Christianity.
I say perversion because scriptural, theological debates are, to me, hopeless. Everyone can find passages to support whatever it is they're defending. So while people may point to a radical interpretation as being, on the face of it, in keeping with scripture, the vast majority of followers don't adhere to violent interpretations.
So I won't condemn all Muslims for the actions of ISIS any more than I'll condemn and paint all Christians as crazies because of Westboro.
But, yes, religion is being used.
(Personally, I'm not a follower of organized religion and do believe it has been abused throughout history and lies at the heart of many of Humanity's horrors.)
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