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ISIS : a history  Cover Image Book Book

ISIS : a history

Summary: The Islamic State has stunned the world with its savagery, destructiveness, and military and recruiting successes. What explains the rise of ISIS and what does it portend for the future of the Middle East? In this book, one of the world's leading authorities on political Islam and jihadism sheds new light on these questions as he provides a unique history of the rise and growth of ISIS. Moving beyond journalistic accounts, Fawaz Gerges provides an account of the deeper conditions that fuel ISIS. The book describes how ISIS emerged in the chaos of Iraq following the 2003 U.S. invasion, how the group was strengthened by the suppression of the Arab Spring and by the war in Syria, and how ISIS seized leadership of the jihadist movement from Al Qaeda. Part of a militant Sunni revival, ISIS claims its goals are to resurrect a caliphate and rid "Islamic lands" of all Shia and other minorities. In contrast to Al Qaeda, ISIS initially focused on the "near enemy"--Shia, the Iraqi and Syrian regimes, and secular, pro-Western states in the Middle East. But in a tactical shift ISIS has now taken responsibility for spectacular attacks in Europe and other places beyond the Middle East, making it clear that the group is increasingly interested in targeting the "far enemy" as well. Ultimately, the book shows how decades of dictatorship, poverty, and rising sectarianism in the Middle East, exacerbated by foreign intervention, led to the rise of ISIS -- and why addressing those problems is the only way to ensure its end.

Record details

  • ISBN: 0691175799
  • ISBN: 9780691175799
  • Physical Description: print
    xix, 368 pages ; 21 cm
  • Publisher: Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2017.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note: Introduction. Down the rabbit hole and into the history of ISIS -- The world according to ISIS -- Where ISIS came from : Zarqawi to Baghdadi -- How broken Iraqi politics fueled the revival of ISIS -- Baghdadi's evolution : from invisible to infamous -- Baathists and ISIS Jihadists : who converted whom? -- How the Syrian War empowered ISIS -- Misappropriating the Arab Spring uprisings -- ISIS versus Al Qaeda : redefining Jihad and the transition from the global to the local -- Conclusion. The future of ISIS.
Subject: IS (Organization)
Islamic fundamentalism
Jihad
Terrorism Middle East
Terrorism Religious aspects Islam
Middle East Politics and government 21st century

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Kirtland Community College.

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  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Kirtland Community College Library HV 6433 .I73 G47 2017 30775305524572 General Collection Available -

Summary: The Islamic State has stunned the world with its savagery, destructiveness, and military and recruiting successes. What explains the rise of ISIS and what does it portend for the future of the Middle East? In this book, one of the world's leading authorities on political Islam and jihadism sheds new light on these questions as he provides a unique history of the rise and growth of ISIS. Moving beyond journalistic accounts, Fawaz Gerges provides an account of the deeper conditions that fuel ISIS. The book describes how ISIS emerged in the chaos of Iraq following the 2003 U.S. invasion, how the group was strengthened by the suppression of the Arab Spring and by the war in Syria, and how ISIS seized leadership of the jihadist movement from Al Qaeda. Part of a militant Sunni revival, ISIS claims its goals are to resurrect a caliphate and rid "Islamic lands" of all Shia and other minorities. In contrast to Al Qaeda, ISIS initially focused on the "near enemy"--Shia, the Iraqi and Syrian regimes, and secular, pro-Western states in the Middle East. But in a tactical shift ISIS has now taken responsibility for spectacular attacks in Europe and other places beyond the Middle East, making it clear that the group is increasingly interested in targeting the "far enemy" as well. Ultimately, the book shows how decades of dictatorship, poverty, and rising sectarianism in the Middle East, exacerbated by foreign intervention, led to the rise of ISIS -- and why addressing those problems is the only way to ensure its end.
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