The Origins of the Islamic State (original) (raw)

A State Is Born: What Lies behind the Establishment of the Islamic State

From an historical perspective, one can view the Islamic State as a product of the region’s chronic structural instability. Over the last century, the Middle East experienced four major upheavals, each of which led to the formation of a political structure at odds with the social framework that was based primarily on ethnic, tribal, or religious affiliations. This incompatibility inevitably eroded the legitimacy of the various regimes and heightened the potential for opposition and subversion. In most cases, the nation-state model survived, thanks to an authoritarian rule dependent on effective security and intelligence services.

An Alternative Vision of Statehood: Islamic State's Ideological Challenge to the Nation-State

This study contributes to efforts to theorize contemporary challenges to the nation-state as a normative governance unit through an analysis of Islamic State's state ideology. It is argued that, by reinterpreting concepts from Islamic history, IS puts forth a religiously motivated, post-national state ideology. Based on an interdisciplinary reading of Dabiq magazine, the de facto official IS publication between 2014 and 2016, three concepts emerge as foundational in the group's state ideology: imamah (leadership), hijrah (migration), and bay'a (allegiance). The study sheds light on the enduring ideology of Islamic State, despite its territorial defeat.

Review of Origins of the Islamic State: Sovereignty and Power in the Middle Ages

The Origins of the Islamic State: Sovereignity and Power in the Middle Ages conference was hosted by the UCL Institute of Archaeology on the 16th–17th of February, 2017. As a part of the ‘Rethinking the Islamic State’ research initiative (links below), the conference explored the concept of the Islamic State both in the past and in the present, examining historical symbols of power, as well as their re-tellings in contemporary media. This dual focus allowed the speakers to not only outline some recent developments in the fields of Islamic history and archaeology, but also to engage with some relevant contemporary political issues. Such links between the past and the present, while often controversial, provided the overarching theme of the conference.

The "Islamic State": Genealogy, Facts, and Myths

Journal of Church and State, 2006

... ASMA AFSARUDDIN (AB, Oberlin College; MA, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University) is associate professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the ... 1. For a discussion of Mawdudi's vision of the "Islamic State," see Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, Mawdudi and the Making of Islamic ...

The Islamic State: A Clash within the Muslim Civilization for the New Caliphate

Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 2016

This study analyzes the political reasons that allowed the Islamic State to expand successfully in Syria and Iraq, by enabling to ‘franchise’ worldwide, and the role of the regional governments in this issue. The essay provides a different explanation from the classic approach of the “clash of civilizations” theorized by Samuel P. Huntington, ascribing responsibility for the growth and expansion of the Islamic State to the complex framework of geopolitical alliances within the Muslim civilization and the Arab world. The paper highlights the attempt by Turkey to establish itself as a regional power and guidance of the Islamic world, by resurrecting the Caliphate, and, based on this, explains the contrast with the Islamic State, which goal is the foundation of a globalized Caliphate. The plans of the Turkish President Erdoğan for a Great Turkey, allied with Egypt, have foundered with the coup that ousted the Muslim Brotherhood from power. The study relates the connection of Ankara with the Kurds, regarding the management of the crisis in Syria and Iraq, and the Turkish liaison with regional powers (Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel) and other powers (Russia, Cina and USA).

The “Islamic State”: trajectory and reach a year after its self-proclamation as a “Caliphate”

On 29 June 2014, the ISIS/ISIL or Daesh announced the change of its name to just "Islamic State" (IS), proclaimed itself a "Caliphate" and named its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as "Caliph Ibrahim". About a year later, this article intends to evaluate the trajectory and reach of this territorial jihadist entity. It starts by contextualizing the self-proclamation in terms of ideology and objectives and then it describes how the IS has sought to consolidate itself as a de facto "State" and the tragic effects of its policy of terror. The last part examines the international expansion of the IS, analysing its reach in attracting "foreign fighters", the new wilayats created outside Syria and Iraq, the newly affiliated local groups, and the activities of the IS in cyberspace.

RISE AND HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC STATE.

The article offers a brief historical overview of the events in the Middle East and systematic analysis of international relations affecting the development of the crisis with the Islamic State (ISIL). An attempt to unravel the causes of the civil war and ISIL as an organization.

Contemporary discourses on the possibility of an ‘Islamic state’: an overview

Contemporary Arab Affairs, 2016

The surprising rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) and its proclamation as the caliphate on 29 June 2014 imposed an obvious threat to nation-states. The continuous controversy over the nature and applicability of Islamic tenets to governmental institutions has yet to be solved. The possibility and impossibility of an Islamic state in contemporary times is observed by analyzing the very nature of Islam. The concept of an Islamic state is based on the teachings of the Koran and Sunnah, as meant for human welfare and happiness that, according to Muhammad Asad, would automatically preclude the government of such a state from contemplating wars of aggression. This article attempts to analyze the political developments that have taken place since the beginning of the twentieth century and the failure of the Muslims in establishing an Islamic state, despite upholding sharī‘ah principles.