The Islamic State
What ISIS Really Wants
From the article:
The Islamic State is no mere collection of psychopaths. It is a religious group with carefully considered beliefs, among them that it is a key agent of the coming apocalypse. Here’s what that means for its strategy—and for how to stop it.
What is the Islamic State?
Where did it come from, and what are its intentions? The simplicity of these questions can be deceiving, and few Western leaders seem to know the answers. In December, The New York Times published confidential comments by Major General Michael K. Nagata, the Special Operations commander for the United States in the Middle East, admitting that he had hardly begun figuring out the Islamic State’s appeal. “We have not defeated the idea,” he said. “We do not even understand the idea.” In the past year, President Obama has referred to the Islamic State, variously, as “not Islamic” and as al-Qaeda’s “jayvee team,” statements that reflected confusion about the group, and may have contributed to significant strategic errors.
Definitions of some of the terms in the article:
Sunni – Also called Sunnite. a member of one of the two great religious divisions of Islam, regarding the first four caliphs as legitimate successors of Muhammad and stressing the importance of Sunna as a basis for law
al‑Qaeda – a radical Sunni Muslim organization dedicated to the elimination of a Western presence in Arab countries and militantly opposed to Western foreign policy: founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988
Caliphate – the rank, jurisdiction, or government of a caliph
Ramadan – the ninth month of the Muslim year, lasting 30 days, during which strict fasting is observed from sunrise to sunset
Jihadists – any Muslim who is involved in a jihad
Jihad – a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims
Calipha – spiritual leader of Islam, claiming succession from Muhammad
Definitions taken from:
http://dictionary.reference.com
This is an interesting article on ISIS. It’s about fifteen pages long.