In part 1 of our series, ‘Terrorism in the Middle East’ we discuss the organisation called ISIS (Also referred to as IS, ISIL and Daesh) specifically its history and current impacts on the Middle East’s security and geopolitics. ISIS is an Islamic jihadist group seeking to form an Islamic Caliphate and is well known for its brutal tactics and subsequent radicalised spread of Islam.
The History of ISIS
Formation
ISIS has a complex and fascinating history as reflected by its various names and organisations which it has transformed. ISIS’s predecessor the Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād (The Organization of Monotheism and Jihad) was formed in 1999 as a radical Islamic terror group in opposition to the West, and essentially anyone who did not practise their version of revolutionary Islam which they sought to impose upon the entire Arab World. The core principle of ISIS was and remains their attempts to create and maintain an Islamic caliphate similar to those seen in the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphates.
