ISIS, ISIL, IS, or The Islamic State

What is it?

What is it? Islamic State- a radical Islamist group that has seized large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq.

What is the Islamic State or ISIL? Islamic State (IS) is a radical Islamist group that has seized large swathes of territory in eastern Syria and across northern and western Iraq. Brutal tactics including: mass killings and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities the beheadings of soldiers and journalists have sparked fear and outrage across the world and prompted US military intervention.

ISIL Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant The War in Syria has become a religious one. ISIL so radical an islamist group Al- Qaeda rejects them has taken control of parts of Iraq & Syria

Origins/History

Origins ISIS can trace its roots back to the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who set up Tawhid wa al-Jihad in 2002. A year after the US-led invasion of Iraq, Zarqawi pledged allegiance to Osama Bin Laden and formed al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), which became a major force in the insurgency.

Leader

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Born Ibrahim Ali al-Bakri, 1971 Also uses nom de guerre – Abu Duaa “Father of the Summons” Doctorate in Islamic Studies “Khalifa Ibrahim” or Caliph Abraham 7 Aug 2014 NSF Caliphate

Beliefs and Goals

Beliefs of the Islamic State ISIS members are Jihadists who have an extreme interpretation of Sunni Islam They consider themselves the only true believers The believe the rest of the world is made up of unbelievers who seek to destroy Islam They have justified their brutal behavior by citing the Koranic verses that talk of “striking off the heads” of unbelievers Muslims have denounced them

Goals of the Islamic State The group aims to establish a “caliphate”, a state ruled by a single political party and religious leader according to Islamic law, or Sharia. The want to create this Islamic state across Sunni areas of Iraq and Syria. Islamic State has promised to “break the border” of Jordan and Lebanon and to “free Palestine”

Sunni-Shia Hatred Muslims are “required” by jihad to go to Syria. I call on Muslims everywhere to help their brothers be victorious. Everyone who has the ability and has training to kill is required to go. Alawites are more infidel than Christians and Jews and HezbAllah is the Party of the Devil. 26 Jun 2014 OBP Palm Springs

The World as ISIS Sees It From Daniel Pipes, The Washington Times 5 August 2014 7 Aug 2014 NSF Caliphate

Funding and Wealth

Funding and Wealth Islamic State is reported to have $2bn (£1.2bn) in cash and assets, making it the world's wealthiest militant group. Initially, much of its financial support came from individuals in Arab Gulf states. Today, Islamic State is a largely self-financed organisation, earning millions of dollars a month from the oil and gas fields it controls, as well as from taxation, tolls, smuggling, extortion and kidnapping. The offensive in Iraq has also been lucrative, giving it access to cash held in major banks in cities and towns it has seized.

ISIS and Oil ISIS exports about 9,000 barrels of oil per day at prices ranging from about $25-$45 (£15-£27).

Fighters: Who Makes Up Their Army

Fighters US officials believe IS could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria. Iraq expert Hisham al-Hashimi says about 30% are "ideologues", with the remainder joining out of fear or coercion. A significant number of IS fighters are neither Iraqi nor Syrian. The Soufan Group recently estimated that more than 12,000 foreign nationals from at least 81 countries, including 2,500 from Western states, had travelled to Syria to fight over the past three years.

Fighters Use slick media campaigns in dozens of languages to attract young men and women to its cause, has proven highly successful.

Weapons and Tactics

© Jeff Danziger 2014. CartoonArts International / NYT Syndiwww.nytsyn.com/cartoonscate. CartoonArts International:.

Weapons IIS fighters have access to, and are capable of using: a wide variety of small arms and heavy weapons, including truck-mounted machine-guns rocket launchers anti-aircraft guns portable surface-to-air missile systems. They have also captured tanks and armoured vehicles from the Syrian and Iraqi armies. Their haul of vehicles from the Iraqi army includes Humvees and bomb-proof trucks that were originally manufactured for the US military. The group is believed to have a flexible supply chain that ensures a constant supply of ammunition and small arms for its fighters.

Tactics Beheadings, crucifixions and mass shootings have been used to terrorise their enemies. ISIS members have justified such atrocities by citing the Koranic verses that talk of "striking off the heads" of unbelievers, but Muslims have denounced them. Even al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who disavowed IS in February over its actions in Syria, warned Zarqawi in 2005 that such brutality loses "Muslim hearts and minds".

Tactics: Total War Doctrine of total war without limits and constraints - no such thing, for instance, as arbitration or compromise when it comes to settling disputes with even Sunni Islamist rivals. Unlike its parent organisation, al-Qaeda, ISIS pays no lip service to theology to justify its crimes.

Appeal to Young People

Appeal to Young People ISIS‘s sophisticated outreach campaign appeals to disaffected and deluded young Sunnis worldwide because it is seen as a powerful vanguard that delivers victory and salvation. Far from abhorring the group's brutality, young recruits are attracted by its shock-and-awe tactics against the enemies of Islam.

Why Brutality Attracts Followers Its exploits on the battlefield - especially capturing huge swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, and establishing a caliphate - resonate near and far. Nothing succeeds like success, and ISIS‘s recent military gains have brought it a recruitment bonanza. Muslim men living in Western countries join IS and other extremist groups because they feel part of a greater mission - to resurrect a lost idealised type of caliphate and be part of a tight-knit community with a potent identity. Initially, many young men from London, Berlin and Paris and elsewhere migrate to the lands of jihad to defend persecuted co- religionists, but they end up in the clutches of IS, doing its evil deeds, such as beheading innocent civilians.

Why Brutality Attracts Followers ISIS has so far consistently focused on the Shia and not the "far enemy". The struggle against the US and Europe is distant, not a priority; it has to await liberation at home. At the height of Israeli bombings of Gaza in August, militants on social media criticised ISIS for killing Muslims while doing nothing to help the Palestinians. ISIS retorted by saying the struggle against the Shia takes priority over everything else.

Why Brutality Attracts Followers By exploiting the deepening Sunni-Shia rift in Iraq and the sectarian civil war in Syria, al- Baghdadi has built a powerful base of support among rebellious Sunnis and has blended his group into local communities. Restructured his military network and co- opted experienced officers of Saddam Hussein's disbanded army who turned IS into a professional sectarian fighting force.

Territory

Territory Estimate that ISIS and its allies control about 40,000 sq km (15,000 sq miles) of Iraq and Syria - roughly the size of Belgium. Others believe they control closer to 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles) - about the size of Jordan. That territory includes cities - Mosul, Tikrit, Falluja and Tal Afar in Iraq; Raqqa in Syria - oil fields, dams, main roads and border crossings. Eight million people are believed to be living under partial or full ISIS control, where the group implements a strict interpretation of Sharia, forcing women to wear veils, non- Muslims to pay a special tax or convert, and imposing punishments that include floggings and executions.

Cancels Sykes-Picot 16 Wilayats 26 Jun 2014 OBP Palm Springs