The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsəl/; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام), also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS /ˈaɪsɪs/)[25] or Islamic State,[26] is an Islamic extremist rebel group controlling territory in Syria, Iraq, Libya, and Nigeria, with operations or affiliates in Lebanon, Egypt, and other areas of the Middle East,[27] North Africa, West Africa,[12] South Asia,[28] and Southeast Asia.[28][29] The group is known in Arabic as ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah fīl-ʿIrāq wash-Shām, leading to the Arabic acronym Da'ish or DAESH (داعش, Arabic pronunciation: [ˈ daːʕiʃ]).[25] On 29 June 2014, the group proclaimed itself to be a worldwide caliphate, with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being named its caliph,[30] and renamed itself Islamic State (الدولة الإسلامية, ad-Dawlah al-Islāmiyah). The new name and the idea of a caliphate has been widely criticised and condemned, with the UN, various governments and mainstream Muslim groups refusing to acknowledge it.[31] As caliphate, it claims religious, political and military authority over all Muslims worldwide and that "the legality of all emirates, groups, states, and organisations, becomes null by the expansion of the khilāfah's [caliphate's] authority and arrival of its troops to their areas".[32][33] Many Islamic and non-Islamic communities judge the group unrepresentative of Islam. Political scientist Graeme Wood comments on IS that "the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam".[34]
The United Nations has held ISIL responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, and Amnesty International has reported ethnic cleansing by the group on a "historic scale". The group has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, Egypt, India, and Russia. Over 60 countries are directly or indirectly waging war against ISIL.
The group originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999, which was renamed Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn—commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—when the group pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2004. As Jama'at and later AQI, beginning in August 2003, the group participated in the Iraqi insurgency, which had followed the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. In January 2006, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council, which in October 2006 proclaimed the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). ISI gained a significant presence in the governorates of Al Anbar, Diyala and Baghdad.
Under the leadership of al-Baghdadi, ISI sent delegates into Syria in August 2011 after the Syrian Civil War had begun in March 2011. This group named itself Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahli ash-Shām or al-Nusra Front, and established a large presence in Sunni-majority areas of Syria within the governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo.[35] In April 2013, al-Baghdadi announced the merger of his ISI with al-Nusra Front, and announced that the name of the reunited group was now the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). However, both Abu Mohammad al-Julani and Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leaders of al-Nusra and al-Qaeda respectively, rejected the merger. After an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with ISIL on 3 February 2014, citing its failure to consult and "notorious intransigence".[24][36]
ISIL is known for its well-funded web and social media propaganda, which includes Internet videos of the beheadings of soldiers, civilians, journalists and aid workers, as well as the deliberate destruction of cultural heritage sites.
The group gained notoriety after it drove the Iraqi government forces out of key western cities in Iraq. In Syria, it conducted ground attacks against both government forces and rebel factions in the Syrian Civil War. It gained those territories after an offensive, initiated in early 2014, which senior US military commanders and members of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs saw as a re-emergence of Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda militants. This territorial loss implied a failure of US foreign policy, and almost caused a collapse of the Iraqi government that prompted renewal of US military action in Iraq.[37][38][39]
Contents
1 Name
2 History
2.1 Foundation of the group (1999–2006)
2.2 As Islamic State of Iraq (2006–2013)
2.2.1 Syrian Civil War (2011–present)
2.3 As Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (2013–14)
2.4 As self-proclaimed Islamic State (June 2014–present)
3 Group goals, structure and characteristics
3.1 Goals
3.2 Ideology and beliefs
3.2.1 Eschatology
3.2.2 Theological objections
3.3 Territorial claims and international presence
3.3.1 Libyan Provinces
3.3.2 Sinai Province
3.3.3 Algerian Province
3.3.4 Khorasan Province
3.3.5 Sanaa Province
3.4 Other areas of operation
3.5 Leadership and governance
3.6 Non-combatants
4 Designation as a terrorist organisation
5 Human rights abuse and war crime findings
5.1 Religious and minority group persecution
5.2 Treatment of civilians
5.3 Child soldiers
5.4 Sexual violence and slavery
5.5 Attacks on members of the press
5.6 Beheadings and mass executions
5.7 Destruction of cultural and religious heritage
5.8 Organ trafficking
6 Criticism
6.1 Islamic criticism
6.2 International criticism
6.3 Criticism of the name "Islamic State" and "caliphate" declaration
6.4 Views of the Islamic State as Islamic
7 Analysis
7.1 Conspiracy theories in the Arab world
8 Countries and groups at war with ISIL
8.1 Opposition within Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and other nations
8.2 American-led coalition to counter the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
8.3 Other state opponents
8.4 Other non-state opponents
9 Supporters
9.1 Foreign nationals
9.2 Groups with expressions of support
9.3 Allegations of Turkish support
9.4 Allegations of Saudi Arabian support
9.5 Allegations of Syrian support
9.6 Allegations of United States support
10 Military and resources
10.1 Military
10.1.1 Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq
10.2 Weapons
10.2.1 Conventional weapons
10.2.2 Non-conventional weapons
10.3 Propaganda and social media
10.4 Finances
11 Timeline of recent events
11.1 March 2015
11.2 April 2015
12 See also
13 References
14 Bibliography
15 External links
Name
The group has had various names since it was established.[40]
The group was founded in 1999 by Jordanian radical Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, under the name Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād, "The Organisation of Monotheism and Jihad" (JTJ).[21]
In October 2004, al-Zarqawi swore loyalty to Osama bin Laden and changed the group's name to Tanẓīm Qāʻidat al-Jihād fī Bilād al-Rāfidayn, "The Organisation of Jihad's Base in Mesopotamia", commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq. (AQI).[40][41] Although the group has never called itself al-Qaeda in Iraq, this has been its informal name over the years.[42]
In January 2006, AQI merged with several other Iraqi insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council.[43] Al-Zarqawi was killed in June 2006.
On 12 October 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council merged with several more insurgent factions, and on 13 October the establishment of the Dawlah al-ʻIraq al-Islāmiyah, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), was announced.[44] The leaders of this group were Abu Abdullah al-Rashid al-Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al-Masri.[45] After they were killed in a U.S.–Iraqi operation in April 2010, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became the new leader of the group.
On 8 April 2013, having expanded into Syria, the group adopted the name Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, which more fully translates as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.[46][47][48] These names are translations of the Arabic name al-Dawlah al-Islāmīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām,[49][50] al-Shām being a description of the Levant or Greater Syria.[25] The translated names are commonly abbreviated as ISIL or ISIS, with a debate over which of these acronyms should be used.[25][50] The Washington Post concluded that the distinction between the two "is not so great".[25]
The name Daʿish is often used by ISIL's Arabic-speaking detractors. It is based on the Arabic letters Dāl, alif, ʻayn, and shīn, which form the acronym (داعش) of ISIL's Arabic name al-Dawlah al-Islamīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām.[51][52] There are many spellings of this acronym, with DAESH gaining acceptance. ISIL considers the name Da'ish derogatory, because it sounds similar to the Arabic words Daes, "one who crushes something underfoot", and Dahes, "one who sows discord".[53][54] ISIL also reportedly uses flogging as a punishment for those who use the name in ISIL-controlled areas.[55][56]
On 14 May 2014, the United States Department of State announced its decision to use "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) as the group's primary name.[51] However, in late 2014, top U.S. officials shifted toward DAESH, since it was the preferred term used by Arab partners.[53]
On 29 June 2014, the group renamed itself the Islamic State (IS) and declared it was a worldwide "caliphate".[30][57][58] "Accordingly, the 'Iraq and Shām' in the name of the Islamic State is henceforth removed from all official deliberations an