What Do ISIS Really Want?

What do ISIS really want?

Everyone reading this has probably heard of ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) most commonly known as ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and/or IS (Islamic state).

Everyone has heard of the beheadings of the numerous journalists such as James Foley and Steven Joel Sotloff, taken captive because of their work on the terrorist organisation that executed them. ISIL has caused more bloodshed than any other known Middle Eastern terrorist organisation but, people are curious on a number of things:

How has ISIL grown so powerful and become so dominant in just a year?

How come ISIL also has followers from many parts around the world and, how did it manage to mass such a large terroristic army?

The answers can be found in the twisted mixture of both religious and cultural beliefs, managing to strike the hearts of many believers.

The main aim of ISIL is to restore the caliphate state under the leadership of the new 'caliph', the next successor of the prophet Muhammad, who happens to be the leader of ISIL, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured), or so it is claimed by his followers.

However, this form of caliphate is different from the historical Abbasid caliphate from the Islamic Golden Age. While there was progressive thought in the Abbasid caliphate, ISIL base the caliphate solely on a “deviant and pathological” perspective of Islam, and this form of extremism is looked down upon by most Muslims, however, due to the caliph having a huge importance in Islam, it was used as a beacon to signal Muslims worldwide to join ISIL.

Since ISIL’s organisation is based upon a historical example, it would be more predictable than other terrorist organisations like Al-Qaeda. However, they are still a large threat due to the large amount of followers, not just from Syria and Iraq, but from other countries around the world such as France, Australia and even England. This is due to the caliphate in ISIL was established in a very intricate way and, the choice of caliph matched historical and religious requirements -enough to convince the many Muslims that joined ISIL.

Along with the large amount of territory, money and followers, ISIL also contain a particular hatred for the USA, ever since their occupation of Iraq in recent years. Al-Baghdadi himself was imprisoned by US forces for four years. Washington also did not want to negotiate with ISIL to release their Muslim hostages, and as a response their message was: “We will not stop until we quench our thirst with your blood!”

The apparently bloodthirsty message along with ISIL’s use of social media to publish recordings of the journalist’s executions, is presently being used to create a reaction. Some people believe that there should be a plan of action in terms of how to deal with ISIL, while others think in the shoot first ask questions later since time is running short.

Personally I believe that any organisation planning on taking down ISIL has to proceed with caution, since this is the first time a terrorist organisation has ever gained so much power and wealth in so little time, and they might have a few surprises up their sleeve.