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P. 14
12 Sayurusara 2020 JUNE
The Islamic State is not only a terrorist group. It
is a political and military organization that holds a radical
interpretation of Islam as a political philosophy and seeks
to impose that worldview by force on Muslims and non-
Muslims alike. Expelled from Al-Qaeda for being too extreme,
the Islamic State claims to be the legitimate ruler of all
Sunni Muslims worldwide. They have established what they
regard as a state which includes large swaths of territory in
Syria and Iraq, governed from Raqqa in Syria. It advances
a number of theological opinions to support its claims. Its
adherents hold that they are merely practicing Islam fully,
pronouncing those who disagree with them takfir (heretics).
This designation is used as religious justification for killing
the Islamic State’s opponents, typically slaughtering them
wholesale.
Originally founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and
known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), what is now the Islamic
State participated in the Iraq War fighting against American
forces after the fall of Saddam Hussein. In 2013 they joined
the Syrian Civil War, but rather than focus on defeating the
regime of Bashar al-Assad, they focused on building their
Islamic state. On June 29, 2014, the Islamic State declared
the establishment of an Islamic caliphate with its leader
being Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph.
The Islamic State began as a group called Jamaat al-
Tahwidwa-i-Jihad (JTWJ) and founded in 1999 by Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi. Initially it focused on attempting to effect regime
change in Jordan, although Zarqawi first gained experience
as a jihadi in Afghanistan. He met Osama Bin Laden in 1999
and the two always had a fractious relationship, partly based
on personal differences and partly on class differences.
The Islamic State is not only a terrorist group. It
is a political and military organization that holds a radical
interpretation of Islam as a political philosophy and seeks
to impose that worldview by force on Muslims and non-
Muslims alike. Expelled from Al-Qaeda for being too extreme,
the Islamic State claims to be the legitimate ruler of all
Sunni Muslims worldwide. They have established what they
regard as a state which includes large swaths of territory in
Syria and Iraq, governed from Raqqa in Syria. It advances
a number of theological opinions to support its claims. Its
adherents hold that they are merely practicing Islam fully,
pronouncing those who disagree with them takfir (heretics).
This designation is used as religious justification for killing
the Islamic State’s opponents, typically slaughtering them
wholesale.
Originally founded by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and
known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), what is now the Islamic
State participated in the Iraq War fighting against American
forces after the fall of Saddam Hussein. In 2013 they joined
the Syrian Civil War, but rather than focus on defeating the
regime of Bashar al-Assad, they focused on building their
Islamic state. On June 29, 2014, the Islamic State declared
the establishment of an Islamic caliphate with its leader
being Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph.
The Islamic State began as a group called Jamaat al-
Tahwidwa-i-Jihad (JTWJ) and founded in 1999 by Abu Musab
al-Zarqawi. Initially it focused on attempting to effect regime
change in Jordan, although Zarqawi first gained experience
as a jihadi in Afghanistan. He met Osama Bin Laden in 1999
and the two always had a fractious relationship, partly based
on personal differences and partly on class differences.
