The particular role of religion in Islamic State

ABSTRACT

Religion, specifically Islam, is central to the identity of Islamic State (IS). It was on the basis of religious doctrine that IS separated from Al Qaeda. It is on the basis of his belonging to the same tribe as the Prophet Muhammed that Al-Baghdadi has legitimised his claims of leadership of the Muslim ummah. Moreover each action undertaken by IS is justified on the basis of Islamic religious texts. Far from representing some sort of lunatic fringe, the ideology of IS finds resonance among mainstream Muslims. Despite international efforts at countering violent extremism, the pessimistic prediction of this paper is that such efforts will fail and the world is set for a confrontation between liberal democracies and Islamists globally.

KEYWORDS:

• Islamic State
• terrorism
• Al Qaeda
• Sunni
• Shia
• Islamic reform

Note on contributor

Professor Hussein Solomon lectures in the Department of Political Studies and Governance, University of the Free State, South Africa. The author acknowledges the financial support from the National Research Foundation which made this publication possible. The author, however, is solely responsible for the content of the article.

Notes

1. Rapoport D, ‘The four waves of rebel terror and September 11’, Anthropoetics, 8.1, 2002, pp. 4–7.

2. Ibid.

3. Quoted in Adogame A, ‘How God became a Nigerian: Religious impulse and the unfolding of a nation’, Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 28.4, October 2010, p. 489.

4. ‘Zawahiri’s Letter to Zarqawi’, Combating Terrorism Centre at Westpoint, https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/zawahiris-letter-to-zarqawi-english-translation-2 Date (accessed 24 November 2016).

5. Africa Defense Forum, ‘IS moves into Africa’, 2 July 2015, http://adf-magazine.com/?p=3936

6. Olidort J, Inside the Caliphate’s Classroom: Textbooks, Guidance Literature, and Indoctrination Methods of the Islamic State. Washington, DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2016, p. 2.

7. Ibid., p. 53.

8. Michael Weiss and Hassan Hassan, ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror. New York: Regan Arts, 2015, p. 120.

9. Africa Defense Forum, ‘IS moves into Africa’, 2 July 2015, http://adf-magazine.com/?p=3936

10. Wiktorowicz Q, ‘Anatomy of the Salafi Movement’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 29, 2006, pp. 207–239.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid., p. 209.

13. Ibid., p. 208.

14. Kuru ZA & AT Kuru, ‘Apolitical interpretation of Islam: Said Nursi's faith-based activism in comparison with political Islamism and Sufism’, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, 19.1, 2008, p. 100.

15. Bob Tayor, ‘Rev James V. Schall's brilliant analysis of Islam, IS, and the West’, Communities, Digital News, 8 October 2014, http://www.commdiginews.com/world-news-rev-james-v-schalls-brilliant-analysis-of (accessed 13 October 2014).

16. ‘Editorial: Muslim cleric denounce IS’, Parker Pioneer, 8 October 2014, http://parkerpioneer.net/opinionarticle_8898fa7e-4f35-11e4-b85b-b33c3de4faf (accessed 13 October 2014).

17. Atwan AB, ‘When it comes to “Islamic State”, the West just doesn’t get it’, Open Democracy, 9 July 2015, https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/abdel-bari-atwan/when-it-comes-to-%E2%80%98islamic-state%E2%80%99-west-just-doesn%E2%80%99t-get-it

18. Phares W, Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against America. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.

19. Al-Tamimi AJ, ‘The evolution in Islamic State Administration: The documentary evidence’, Perspectives on Terrorism, 9.4, 2015.

20. ‘The Laws of Allah or the Laws of Men’, Dabiq, 10: The Clarion Project, www.clarionproject.org/docs/Issue%2010%20%20%The%20The%20Laws%of%20Allah%20or%20the%20Laws%of%20Men.pdf (accessed 25 November 2016).

21. ‘Islam and slavery: The persistence of history’, The Economist, 22 August 2015, http://www.economist.com/node/21661812 (accessed 24 August 2015).

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid.

24. Johnson B, ‘Saudi cleric who issued fatwa on WMD permissibility pledges allegiance to IS’, PJ Media, 25 August 2015, http://pjmedia.com/blog/saudi-cleric-who-issued-fatwa-on-wmd-permissibility-pledge (accessed 27 August 2015).

25. Motadel D, ‘The ancestors of IS’, The New York Times, 23 September 2014, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/opinion/the-ancestors-of-IS.html (accessed 3 October 2014).

26. Palazzi AH, ‘Orthodox Islamic perceptions of jihad and martyrdom’, in Countering Suicide Terrorism: An International Conference. Herzliya, Israel: The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism at the Inter-Discplinary Centre, 2001, p. 64.

27. Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History. New York: The Modern Library, 2000, p. 135.

28. Quoted in Ahmad MT, Murder in the Name of Allah. Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 1989, p. 21.

29. Fatah T., ‘Tackling Islamism, post-Chattanooga’, The Toronto Sun, 21 July 2015, http://www.meforum.org/5394/islamism-chattanooga (accessed 28 July 2015).

30. Ibid.

31. Post JM, The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to Al Qaeda. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, p. 175.

32. Ahmad Thomson, Dajjal: The Anti-Christ. Londaon: Ta-Ha, 2011, p. 58.

33. Ibid.

34. Weiss M & H Hassan, ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror. New York: Regan Arts, 2015, p. 1.

35. Elbagir N, P Cruickshank & M Tawfeeq, ‘Boko Haram purportedly pledges allegiance to IS’, CNN, 9 March 2015, edition.cnn.com/2015/03/07/Africa-region-boko-haram-IS. (accessed 10 March 2015).

36. Thomson A, Dajjal: The Anti-Christ. London: Ta-Ha, 2011, pp. 2, 5, 61.

37. Ibid., p. 186.

38. Ibid., p. 187.

39. Betancor F, ‘Outside the box: Is the Islamic State close to victory?’, Open Democracy, 10 September 2015, http://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/fernando-betancor/outside-box-is-islamic (accessed 15 September 2015).

40. Stern J & JM Berger, ISIS: The State of Terror. New York: Harper Collins, 2015, p. 219.

41. Moosa E, ‘My madrassas classmate hated politics, then joined the Islamic State’, The Morning Call, 22 August 2015, http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-islamic-state-recrut-0823-20150822-story.html (accessed 24 August 2015).

42. ‘Man from Ghana joins Islamic State, family says’, News 24, 26 August 2015, http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/Man-from-Ghana-joins-Islamic-State-family-says (accessed 27 August 2015).

43. Tomlin G, ‘IS “Mein Kampf” discovered in Pakistan; promises final solution in 2020’, Christian Examiner, 18 August 2015, http://www.christianexaminer.com/article/IS.mein.kampf.discovered.in.pakistan.promises. (accessed 20 August 2015).

44. Hurd D, ‘ISIS's first step: Conquer Rome, defeat Christianity’, CBN News, 1 October 2015, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/October/ISISs-First-Step-Conqering-Rome (accessed 5 October 2015).

45. ‘Nato commander: ISIS “spreading like cancer” among refugees’, The Guardian, 1 March 2016, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/01/refugees-isis-nato-commander-terrorists (accessed 2 March 2016).

46. Ibid.

47. Hurd D, ‘ISIS's first step: Conquer Rome, defeat Christianity’, CBN News, 1 October 2015, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2015/October/ISISs-First-Step-Conqering-Rome (accessed 5 October 2015).

48. Tomlin G, ‘IS “Mein Kampf” discovered in Pakistan; promises final solution in 2020’, Christian Examiner, 18 August 2015, http://www.christianexaminer.com/article/IS.mein.kampf.discovered.in.pakistan.promises. (accessed 20 August 2015).

49. Ahmed S, ‘Islamic State: More popular than you think’, Open Democracy, 17 June 2015, https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/saladdin=ahmed/aljazeera-poll-81-% (accessed 14 September 2015).

50. Olidort J, Inside the Caliphate's Classroom: Textbooks, Guidance Literature, and Indoctrination Methods of the Islamic State. Washington, DC: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2016, p. x.

51. Bostom AG, ‘Benghazi: From “See no Sharia” to Ansar al-Sharia’, The American Thinker, 25 December 2012.

52. Dorsey JM, ‘Moroccans fans support for ISIL: Protestors of Jihadists’, Hurriyet Daily News, 13 October 2014, http://hurriyetdailynews.com/moroccan-fans-support-for-isil-protests-or-jihadists (accessed 13 October 2014).

53. Fatah T, ‘Face reality: Many Muslims support IS’, The Toronto Sun, 16 June 2015, http://www.meforum.org/5331/many-muslims-support-IS (accessed 17 June 2015).

54. Tausch A, ‘Estimates on the global threat of Islamic State terrorism in the face of the 2015 Paris and Copenhagen attacks’, Rubin Center, 13 July 2015, http://www.rubin.center.org/2015/07/estimates-on-the-global-threat-of-islamic-state-terrorism (accessed 29 July 2015).

55. Ibid.

56. Trofimov Y, ‘Jihad comes to Africa’, Wall Street Journal, 5 February 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/jihad-comes-to-africa-1454693025 (accessed 2 March 2016).

57. Tausch A, ‘Estimates on the global threat of Islamic State terrorism in the face of the 2015 Paris and Copenhagen attacks’, Rubin Center, 13 July 2015, http://www.rubin.center.org/2015/07/estimates-on-the-global-threat-of-islamic-state-terrorism. (accessed 29 July 2015).

58. Fatah T, ‘Face reality: Many Muslims support IS’, The Toronto Sun, 16 June 2015, http://www.meforum.org/5331/many-muslims-support-IS (accessed 17 June 2015).

59. Ibid.

60. ‘CIA says IS numbers underestimated’, Al Jazeera, 12 September 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/09/cia-triples-number-islamic-state-fighters-20149123291623733.html (accessed 16 September 2015). The CIA initially set the number of IS fighters at 20,000 then 31,000 then 50,000. The Russian security services, on the other hand, put the figure at 70,000 while some analysts go as far as 200,000 fighters if one considers the Sunni tribal fighters allied to Islamic State. While security services have been revising the number of IS fighters upwards, most academic writings and journalists have used the figure of 31,500. For more on this see Solomon H, Islamic State and the Coming Global Confrontation. London: Palgrave Pivot, 2016, p. 110.

61. Ahmed S, ‘Islamic State: More popular than you think’, Open Democracy, 17 June 2015, https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/saladdin=ahmed/aljazeera-poll-81-% (accessed 14 September 2015).

62. Nye JS, ‘How to Fight the Islamic State’, Khaosod English, 21 September 2015, http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1442852185&section=200 (accessed 22 September 2015).

63. Muir J, ‘Islamic State group: The full story’, BBC News, 11 March 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35695648 (accessed 5 May 2016).

64. Tilsley P, ‘South Africa increasingly seen as key ISIS pipeline for jihadis, cash’, Fox News, 3 October 2015, http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10/03/south-africa-increasingly-isis-pipeline-for-jihadis-cash (accessed 10 October 2015).

65. Allison S, ‘Exclusive: Is this the first South African fighting for the ISIS?’, Daily Maverick, 22 February 2015, www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-02-22-exclusive-is-this-the-first-south-african-fighting-for-the-isis (accessed 9 May 2016).

66. Freeman C & H Morajea, ‘Tunisia-gunman: The gunman who loved Facebook and Real Madrid’, The Sunday Telegraph, 28 June 2015, p. 2.

67. ‘The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for a massacre in a Tunisian seaside resort that killed nearly 40 people, most of them British tourists, in the worst attack in the country's recent history’, France24.com, http://www.france24.com/en/20150627-is-group-tunisia-massacre-sousse (accessed 1 July 2015).

68. Freeman C & H Morajea, ‘Tunisia-gunman: The gunman who loved Facebook and Real Madrid’, The Sunday Telegraph, 28 June 2015, p. 2.

69. Fatah T, ‘Face reality: Many Muslims support IS’, The Toronto Sun, 16 June 2015, http://www.meforum.org/5331/many-muslims-support-IS (accessed 17 June 2015).

70. Ibid.

71. Solomon H, ‘Jihad: A South African perspective’, Bloemfontein, Sun Media, 2013, pp. 24–25.

72. ‘The Islamic State: The propaganda war’, The Economist, 15 August 2015, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21660989-terrorists-vicious-message-surprisingly-hard-rebut-propaganda-war

73. Ibid.

74. Botha A, Terrorism in Kenya and Uganda: Radicalization from a Political Socialization Perspective.Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016.

75. Nye JS, ‘How to Fight the Islamic State’, Khaosod English, 21 September 2015, http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1442852185&section=200 (accessed 22 September 2015).

76. Rouse M, ‘What is a botnet (zombie army?)’, Definition from What Is.com, http:searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/botnet (accessed 7 November 2015).

77. ‘The Islamic State: The propaganda war’, The Economist, 15 August 2015, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21660989-terrorists-vicious-message-surprisingly-hard-rebut-propaganda-war

78. De Freytas-Tamura K, ‘Junaid Hussain, IS recruiter, reported killed in airstrike’, The New York Times, 27 August 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/world/middleeast/junaid-hussain-islamic-state-recruiter-killed.html?_r=0

79. Ibid.

80. ‘The Islamic State: The propaganda war’, The Economist, 15 August 2015, http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21660989-terrorists-vicious-message-surprisingly-hard-rebut-propaganda-war

81. Whitman E, ‘Islamic State recruitment: IS seeks fighters from Caucasus, Central Asia and Indonesia’, International Business Times, 13 August 2015, http://www.ibtimes.com/islamic-state-recruitment-isis-seeks-fighters-caucasus-central-asia-indonesia-2052745

82. Moosa E, ‘My madrassas classmate hated politics, then joined the Islamic State’, The Morning Call, 22 August 2015, http://www.mcall.com/opinion/mc-islamic-state-recrut-0823-20150822-story.html (accessed 24 August 2015).

83. Solomon H, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism in Africa: Fighting Insurgency from Al Shabaab, Ansar Dine and Boko Haram. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, pp. 135–136.

84. Patel AR, ‘De-Islamizing politics and society in the MENA region’, RIMA Occasional Papers, 1, 19 August 2013, p. 2, https://muslimsinafrica.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/de-islamizing-politics-and-society-in-the-mena-region-azizur-rahman-patel (accessed 6 November 2015).

85. Abdi C, ‘The identity crisis of 21^st century Muslims’, CNN, 24 August 2015, htpp://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/24/opinions/islam-identity-crIS-cawo-abdi (accessed 25 August 2015).

86. Atwan AB, ‘When it comes to “Islamic State”, the West just doesn’t get it’, Open Democracy, 9 July 2015, https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/abdel-bari-atwan/when-it-comes-to-%E2%80%98islamic-state%E2%80%99-west-just-doesn%E2%80%99t-get-it

87. Tausch A, ‘Estimates on the global threat of Islamic State terrorism in the face of the 2015 Paris and Copenhagen attacks’, Rubin Center, 13 July 2015, http://www.rubin.center.org/2015/07/estimates-on-the-global-threat-of-islamic-state-terrorism (accessed 29 July 2015).

88. ‘Islamic extremism: The battle of ideas’, The Economist, 15–21 August 2015, p. 25.

89. Ibid.

90. De Freytas-Tamura K, ‘Junaid Hussain, IS recruiter, reported killed in airstrike’, The New York Times, 27 August 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/28/world/middleeast/junaid-hussain-islamic-state-recruiter-killed.html?_r=0

91. Mishra P, ‘How to think about Islamic State’, The Guardian, 24 July 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/24/how-to-think-about-islamic-state (accessed 28 July 2015).

92. Park M, ‘Is there a way to protect Bangladeshi writers?’, CNN, 8 April 2016, edition.cnn.com/2016/04/08/Bangladesh-blogger-killings (accessed 4 May 2016).

93. Goodstein L, ‘Muslim leaders wage theological battle, stoking ISIS’ anger’, The New York Times, 8 May 2016, http://www.nyitmes.com/2016/05/09/us/isis-threatens-muslim-preachers-who-are-waging-theological-battle-online.html (accessed 9 May 2016).

94. Pipes D, ‘Why the Paris massacre will have limited impact’, National Review Online, 14 November 2015, http://www.meforum.org/5628/paris-massacre-impact (accessed 15 November 2015).

95. Scarborough R, ‘Killing Islamic State's leaders useless; “deep bench” replaces the dead’, The Washington Times, 28 September 2015, http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/28/islamic-state-has-trained-operators-to-replace-tar/?page=all

96. Zavadski K, ‘ISIS now has a network of military affiliates in 11 countries around the world’, NYMAG, 23 November 2014, http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/isis-now-has-military-allies-in-11-countries.html (accessed 25 November 2014).

97. McCoy O, ‘Islamic State calls for Al Shabaab to pledge allegiance’, Centre for Security Policy, 22 May 2015, https://www.centreforsecuritypolicy.org/2015/05/22/islamic-state-calls-for-al-shabaab-t0-pledge-allegiance (accessed 9 November 2015).

98. MacAskill E, ‘UK Commander in Iraq calls for patience over retaking Mosul from Isis’, The Guardian, 28 November 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/28/top-uk-commander-calls-for-patience-retaking-mosul-isis-donald-trump-us-strategy-islamic-state (accessed 29 November 2016).

99. Woody C, ‘A weekend siege in the southern Philippines reportedly leaves 11 ISIS sympathizers dead’, Business Insider, 27 November 2016, http://www.businessinsider.com/r-philippines-says-11-islamic-state-sympathizers-killed-in-southern-siege-2016-11 (accessed 29 November 2016).

100. Atwan AB, ‘When it comes to “Islamic State”, the West just doesn’t get it’, Open Democracy, 9 July 2015, https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/abdel-bari-atwan/when-it-comes-to-%E2%80%98islamic-state%E2%80%99-west-just-doesn%E2%80%99t-get-it

101. ‘Anger over “martyrs” exhibition for Brussels and Paris bombers’, The Guardian, 3 May 2016, www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/03/anger-over-martyrs-exhibition-for-brussels-and-paris-bombers (accessed 4 May 2016).

102. Robin Simcox, ‘We Will Conquer Your Rome’: A Study of Islamic State's Terrorism Plots in the West. London: Centre for the Response to Radicalization and Terrorism, Henry Jackson Society, 2015, p. 3.

103. Ingram P, ‘Crowds gather for anti-Islam demonstration outside Phoenix mosque’, Reuters, 30 May 2015, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/30/us-usa-islam-cartoon-idUSKBN0OE23320150530 (accessed 9 July 2015).

104. Riotta C, ‘How many Muslims, mosques have been attacked since Donald Trump's election? Genocide letters mark latest hate attacks’, International Business Times, 28 November 2016, https://ibtimes.com/how-many-muslims-mosques-have-been-attacked-donald-trumps-election-genocide-letters-2451838 (accessed 29 November 2016).

105. Ibid.

106. ‘Donald Trump calls for complete ban on Muslims entering the US’, Reuters, 8 December 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2015/dec/08/donald-trump-calls-for-complete-ban-on-muslims-entering-the-us-video (accessed 12 December 2016).

107. Boot M, ‘Commentary: Donald Trump is Islamic State's dream candidate’, Chicago Tribune, 20 September 2016, http://www/chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-donald-trump-islamic-state-dream-team-candidate-20160920-story.html (accessed 28 November 2016).

108. Ibid.

109. Onyanga-Omara J, ‘Islamic State celebrates Donald Trump election victory’, USA Today, 10 November 2016, www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2016/11/10/extremists-celebrate-donald-trump-win/935808 (accessed 28 November 2016).

110. Mark Durie, ‘Sex slavery and the Islamic State’, Online Opinion, 3 July 2015, http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=17479&page=0

111. Williams JW, ‘Carlos Marighela: The father of urban guerilla warfare’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 12.1, 1989, p. 1.

112. Gopalkrishnan M, ‘An interview of Dr. Moshe Terdiman on Deutsche Welle (DW) on the Muslim Population by 2050’, https://muslimsinafrica.wordpress.com/2015/04/08/an-interview-of-dr-moshe-terdiman-on-deutsche-welle-dw-on-the-muslim-population-by-2050 (accessed 21 April 2015).

113. Freeman C, ‘Nigeria's descent into holy war’, The Daily Telegraph, 8 January 2015, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria89999758/N. (accessed 9 January 2015).

114. Kaufmann E, Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century. London: Profile Books, 2010.

115. Ibid., p. xvi.