Tag Archive: Islamic State

Jihadis from the West

“The romance of jihad is not that different from the romance that leftist communists had for the republican side during the Spanish Civil War” Professor Bernard Haykel of Princeton University’s Department of Near… Continue reading

From minor sect to biggest global terrorist threat: the rise of ISIS

“And so he [Abu Masab Al Zarqawi, founder of ISIS] takes his brutality and the pure violence in his personality and melts that with this radical movement he creates. On top of that,… Continue reading

Winning the battle, losing the war? Trump’s strategy to fight ISIS

“So what if you win the battle against ISIS in Mosul, and lose the struggle to rebuild the Middle East?” On the campaign trail, Donald Trump presented himself as relentless in the fight… Continue reading

Plotting for the morning after: ISIS’ future after the fall of Mosul and Raqqa

“Only when Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria fall, can we begin to talk about the beginning of the end of the physical territorial state. We already have plenty of evidence, that… Continue reading

Yemen’s Civil War: root causes and fault lines

“I’m not sure … the Saudis and their allies control 80 percent [of Yemen], had they done so we would have seen an end to this conflict a long time ago.” For War and Peace Talk,… Continue reading

The Folly of Bombing the Islamic State

“Bin Laden was very proud that he had only spent 500.000 dollars on the 9/11 attacks. The US in response to those attacks has probably spent 3 trillion dollars. So as a return… Continue reading

ISIS in Libya: Endemic or Imported?

“Extremism and ignorance existed in Libya for a long time. […] The Gaddafi regime was using heavy-handed tactics [against those they deemed extremists],” explains former Libyan Minister of Justice Salah al-Marghani. As long… Continue reading

The Islamic State: Libya as a new stronghold?

“A lot of things need to happen before Libyans either side have the capability and capacity to take action against these radical groups” Professor Dirk Vandewalle (Dartmouth College) analyzes the probability of the… Continue reading

The Islamic State: Tunisia’s response to the threat

“We need an early warning system within communities in Tunisia” Dr Moncef Kartas elaborates on the role the Tunisian government can take to prevent young people from joining the Islamic State. Rather than… Continue reading

Killing Al-Baghdadi: the end of the Caliphate or part of the narrative?

“IS and all jihadis believe that there is going to be war until the day of reckoning. A Caliphate will be re-constituted before the end times. But there are 12 Caliphs before the… Continue reading

Bernard Haykel on Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State

“IS is a symptom of a deep feeling amongst Sunni Arabs of being disenfranchised. […] It is the same sentiment that led to the emergence of Al-Qaeda.” Professor Bernard Haykel of Princeton University’s Department… Continue reading

How Islamic is the Islamic State?

“To say that IS is outside of the interpretive parameters of Islam is factually incorrect. […] There is no question that these people are drawing inspiration from Islamic texts. And they know these… Continue reading