Abstract: This paper Aims to offer a brief description of the most known Islamic extremist organization in the 21th century the Islamic state, which stunned the world when it sized up an area similar to united Kingdom, this organization controlled territory resembles to ¹hermit kingdom. in two countries of Middle East Iraq-Syria border in a matter of weeks and proclaimed the birth of the Caliphate. This paper goes to the root when the Father of the Global Jihad put forward the core stone of the jihadist vision from which extremists from jihadist factions derived its ideology.
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1-Hermit kingdom is a term applied to any country, organization or society which willfully walls itself off, either metaphorically or physically, from the rest of the world. The Joseon dynasty of Korea was frequently described as a hermit kingdom during the latter part of the dynasty.
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ISIS or ISIL, Daesh, the Islamic State, A caliph is the ruler.
Introduction
In 2014, the phenomenon of the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was one of the prominent story, worldwide. It astonished the world with its fear terror tactics and the methodical mediatization of fear. Its leader Abou Bakr al-Baghdadi, lead the group in May 2010 and declared the formation of ISIS in April 2013, expanding the Islamic State of Iraq to include Syria(Alsham). He emerged in the public scene in June 2014 when he proclaimed himself the first “caliph” in generations (Caris and Reynolds, 2014; Wood, 2015), In addition, Forbes Magazine classified him as Number 54 at the list of most powerful people in the planet. The Islamic State” refers to an armed Islamic organization that adopts the "Salafist-Jihadist" ideology, which dates to the days of the soviet invasion for Afghanistan. On June 29, 2014, the Islamic Caliphate was declared consisting of large geographical area in Iraq and Syria as well as it includes thousands of fighters of multiple nationalities. ISIS has been classified as a pro-state. As noted in an L’Orient LE JOUR article on November 11, 2014, it has also divided the territory it controls in “Wilayas” (administrative regions) which have their own local government, administrative and military structure. It endeavors to acquire statehood characteristics by exercising core-state activities from disciplined military parades to minting a currency. According to a Jordanian journalist, ISIS has “undergone the quickest transformation in statehood in modern history” (Russia Today, 2014).
The Islamic state follows the Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam’s sect. The Term “Daesh” (Arabic equivalent of ISIS or ISIl) is an abbreviation for the Islamic state, but it is called from others who are countering the organization and ISIS sentence anybody using Daesh term instead of the Islamic state. The using of the term Islamic state among these jihadists begun with The Islamic state in Iraq, then the Islamic state in Iraq and Al sham (Levant), then ended up with the Islamic state in a metaphor that they will able to size lands beyond the Arabic states borders.
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The root of The Islamic state in Iraq and Levant(Syria).
The ideology of Islamic State organization is based on the “Global Jihad”. The principle on which all of Jihadist organizations are based upon, it is the arbitration of the "law of God" and establishment of the Islamic rule headed by the Muslims caliph, and this rule could only be achieved by” Jihad”. The ISIS derived its doctrines from Salafism which belongs to Muslims Sunni sect, it means in Arabic al Salaf Al Aalih, the “pious forefathers”, which includes the Prophet Muhammad himself and his earliest adherents. The “Prophetic methodology” used by ISIS followers means detailed emulating the models of behavior and life example of the Prophet. The basic goal is to build a complete society based on early Islamic rule and specific traditions, it appeals recruitment to both genders. The Islamic state agenda includes not only war and conquests, but also many social implementations such as providing free social services and improving infrastructure.
Abdullah Yusuf Azzam,Bin laden’s Teacher, is considered as the Father of “Global Jihad” he was a Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar ,theologian and founding member of al-Qaeda. Azzam and his Fellow Osama Bin ladien founded in 1988 Al-Qaeda Which is a Sunni Islamist militant that contained multi-national organization and several other Arab volunteers who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980. During the Iraqi war 2003, a name furnished in the global jihad in Iraq, was Shik Abu Mosab al-Zarqawi who was the founder of the Islamic state organization but then under the name of Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which declared allegiance to al-Qaeda and participated in the Iraqi insurgency following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by Western forces. The group proclaimed itself a worldwide caliphate and began referring to itself as Islamic State in June 2014. As a caliphate, it claims religious, political, and military authority over all Muslims worldwide.
In Syria, ISIS conducted ground attacks on both government forces and opposition factions, and by December 2015 it held a large area in western Iraq and eastern Syria containing an estimated number of 2.8 to 8 million people, where it enforced its interpretation of Sharia law. ISIS is now operational in 18 countries across the world, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, with "aspiring branches" in Mali, Egypt, Somalia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines (BBC 2017). In
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2016 ISIS is estimated to have an annual budget of more than US$1 billion and a force of up to 25,000 fighters (Michaels 2016).
According to a Reuters report that cited "jihadist ideologues" as a source, 90% of ISIL's fighters in Iraq are Iraqi, and 70% of its fighters in Syria are Syrian, According to Fawaz Gerges
Lebanese (PHD) analyst writing in ISIS: "30 percent of the senior figures in ISIS's military command are former army and police officers from the disbanded Iraqi security forces, came to ISIS when the US conducted De-Ba'athification policy and those turned towards Islamism situation following the US invasion of Iraq. According to some Jihadist websites in Arabic language, the cells of the Islamic state existed in Levant even before the Syrian revolution when “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sent his fellow fighter Abu Muhamad Al Jaulani from Iraq to Syria with cadres to start the jihadist work under the name of “Al Nusra Front” after the failure of the nations to support Al Sham (Levant). Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi divided the state funds, half to Iraq and the second half to Al Sham and he also divided all the equipment between Iraq and al Sham in 2011. After the speech of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in which he stated the establishment of the Islamic state in Iraq and Al Sham and the dissolvement of Al Nusra front, Al Julani announced his dissent from al-Baghdadi and declared that he will continue the Jihadist work under Al Nusra Front. Soldiers and cadres whom were under the name of Al Nusra Front went to obey Al Amir Al Baghdadi. The transition was large and continuous from Al Nusra to the Islamic state until Al Nusra front collapsed completely and Al Julani returned to the Islamic state.
In Al Raqqa ISIS de facto capital 2013-till present, a Syrian province, almost all the fighters moved from Al Nusra front to the Islamic state.
In Aleppo, a Syrian province in the north, almost 80% of the fighters moved to the Islamic State. These are the same who participated in all the battles of Aleppo and Idlib rural, while in the rural areas all soldiers went to the Islamic state.
In Damascus, the traditional Syrian capital, and in its countryside, there was a split between Islamic state and Al-Nusra followers.
In Daraa, a province in the south which has a crossing point border with Jordon, the soldiers went with Al Julani, an Al Nusra Leader.
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In Deir Ezzor there was a division, partly collaborating with the Islamic state and the other part followed with Al Julani.
The Islamic state is currently present in the suburb of Damascus in the Al Yarmok Camp which is originally designed for Palestinian refugees and in the suburb of Al Qunitra, a province close to Israel.
The Islamic state has not been established from fighters moved from Al Nusra only but consists of large groups involved in the liberation of cities, airports and border crossings:
1-Jaish Al Muhajreen and Al Ansar declared allegiance to the Islamic state by their prince Omar Chechen including more than half of his army. The army participated in many battles in Aleppo, Idleb and others (Al Jazzeera 2015).
2-Council Shura Mujahideen Prince of Council Shura Mujahdeen Abu Al - Atheer declared allegiance to the Islamic state. The Council participated in all conquests in the countryside of northern Aleppo, Idlib and Homs. One of the most important participation is the overtaking of the warehouses of Khan Toman and the the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.
3-Libyan Battar Battalion
The Libyan Battar Battalion was one of the first groups in Syria alleged to the Islamic state and participated actively in combat and relief operations. They had a long hand in liberating airports and cities and were the most important participants in the liberation of the Taftnaz airport, the Khan warehouses and others (Al Jazzeera 2015).
Jürgen Todenhöfer, who spent days in ISIS-controlled areas in Iraq and Syria, stated: “We have to understand that ISIS is a country now.” The most powerful of these is the Sharia Council, which oversees draconian implementation of the penalties for “crimes against God’s limits” (called in Arabic Hudud), which include amputations and capital punishment, as well as the punishments for other crimes (called tazir), largely aimed at shaming offenders and inducing repentance. The Islamic State has also established a sharia police force (like the religious police in Saudi Arabia) tasked with enforcing religious observance regarding Waring Islamic clothes and other daily duties according to al Asharia. Regular police are brought under ISIS administration, and wear new black
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uniforms. Police cars are resprayed with the ISIS insignia. “Sharia courts” deal with all complaints, whether religious or civil, and cases can be brought by individuals as well as the police.
The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, published an analysis paper on June 15, 2014, mentions that the plans of the Islamic state organization are based on, is the priority of confronting Iran's expansion in the region and fighting the Safavid project, mainly based on identity sect’s identification (Sunni and Shiite) and indeed it is the main driver of the central leadership of al-Qaeda, but the empowerment of Sharia is the common goal of both parties. The Islamic state organization is funding itself from the ransom, and royalties imposed on the inhabitants of areas under its control. It has also controlled Syrian oil wells. Reports have been issued about selling oil to local merchants and even to the Turkish government according to the Russian deputy defense minister Anatoly Antonov when he accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of personally being involved in oil trade with ISIS:“President Erdogan and his family are involved in this criminal business,” he said. He also showed reporters satellite images of ISIS purportedly sending oil to Turkey (Time Tara John Dec 02, 2015). There are accusations by regional intelligence agencies that it is financed by donations believed to come from its supporters in several countries. On 11 September 2014, a meeting was held in Jeddah-Saudi Arabia, included the foreign ministers of Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon, the Gulf Cooperation Council states and the United States, and in the end of the meeting the foreign minsters declared their support for the establishment of an international coalition to fight the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria. From the beginning of 2016 to the end of August of the same year, the Islamic state organization (ISIS) lost about 16 important sites in Syria, Iraq and Libya, the most important cities of Fallujah, Palmyra, Tripoli, Manbij and Sirte. According to statistics from the New York Times, the number of sites controlled by the Islamic state since its emergence is 126 civilian and military sites in Syria and Iraq, before being forced to withdraw from 56 of it, including five major cities in both countries “We’ve made a dent in the resources,” said the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., at the news conference with Mr. Carter. “We’ve started to affect their command and control in a negative way. I think we’ve begun to undermine the narrative. But there’s a lot of work that remains to be done.”
Abdel Bari Atwan is a well-known Palestinian journalist residing in London specialized in Islamic extremists groups, and exclusively has been offered a chance for interviewing Osama bin laden,
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currently Atwan is the editor-in-chief of the London-based electronic Arabic daily Rai-al-Youm. Atwan recently wrote a book about the most extremist organization in the twentieth century, In his book: The Digital Caliphate- originally published in: 2015- explains that the Islamic state is the legitimate inheritors of Al Qaeda, he talks about the Huge spin-doctors machine ISIS used for delivering its messages, and explains the exploitation of the internet ,how the ISIS grown has been facilitated by their masterful command of social media, the "dark web," excution blockbuster-style videos, and even jihadi computer games.
As Islamic State continues to dominate the world's media headlines with horrific acts of ruthless violence, Atwan considers the movement's chances of survival and expansion and offers indispensable insights on potential government responses to contain its threat. Atwan focused on the social experiments how the Islamic State’s media department employs an army of journalists, photographers, and editors to produce videos with high production values that are disseminated on the Internet without their source being detected.
International coalitions for countering ISIS
John Kerry the U.S foreign secretary on 5 September 2014 invited foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Turkey, Denmark and Italy, for countering ISIS threats, these nine countries supported establishing an international coalition to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria, they offered financial and air support. On 3 December 2014, at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, representatives from 59 countries gathered to plot a way forward against the threat of ISIS and aiding the refugees. On September 21, 2014, Islamic State official spokesman Abu Muhammad al-‘Adnani called
on all supporters to kill Westerners arbitrarily throughout the world—Americans, Canadians, Australians, and their allies, both civilians and military personnel.2 .At the day of writing this essay there is a confused news concerning the fate of the “caliph” Abu Bakr al Bagdadi after news of being targeted by Russian air forces at the ISIS de facto capital in Al Raq province without confirmation by the U.S lead coalition!
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The problematic question today is that the ISIS agenda is not confined in Arabic state or middle east, since their News Agency (Amaq ) claimed responsibilities of many attacks recently conducted in UK and France, the question is: what are the procedures for confronting the already exited cells in European countries and Balkan as recent disclosed threats?(.Balkaninsight 08 JUN17) .
Conclusion:
“The State of Terror” by Jessica Stern, a lecturer at Harvard University, and J. M. Berger answers the questions: why ISIS tactics very brutal? In this ten chapters book analyzing the raising of the ISIS organization from the beginning of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its split from Al-Qaeda and how they recruit the youths by social media and exploiting internet. The issue now is there is no serious actions towards eliminating the most extremist organization, even the American satellites watching any convy in the Syrian and Iraqi deserts but without taking any action.The same administration which Eavesdropped calls of French president and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel still couldn’t find ISIS commanders sites or even trace internet website that are working in serving for ISIS Aims.