ISIS: What they are, what they’re doing, and how the world is responding to them

ISIS: What they are, what they’re doing, and how the world is responding to them

By Hayley Wu

ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, is one of the most prominent news articles that we see right now. It is one of the largest conflicts that the world is facing as of now, and it is evident that this is one that will continue in the foreseeable future. But it’s hard to get a full understanding of the situation without knowing all of the basic facts. In this article, we’ll be taking an in-depth view of the ISIS situation as of now, and hopefully allow you to better understand the complex political status of the area as new news stories continue to emerge.

Part 1: Who/What are the ISIS?

ISIS goes under a variety of names. They are known as the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), but are also referred to as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), or simply as the Islamic State as well. For the sake of simplicity within this article, we will be referring to them as ISIS.

Name aside, ISIS is an extremist Islamic militant group (also known as a jihadist), and their aim is to use military force as a way of re-establishing the caliphate, which is an Islamic state ruled by a single leader. They aim to re-impose strict Islamic rule in the Middle East, and they currently have control over various cities across both Iraq and Syria, including the second largest city in Iraq- Mosul. They are a group largely comprised of Sunni people (which is one of the two main branches of Islam), and they aim to continue to take over the region across Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and beyond.

ISIS is lead by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has claimed leadership as the caliph or ISIS, and he is supported by a complex system of subordinates which help manage and make decisions within the group. As a group, they have been known to be immensely disciplined and organized in their attacks thus far, generating millions of dollars through bank heists, wealthy donors, extortion from locals and revenue from oil fields, making them one of the richest jihad groups in history.

Part 2: Origin and Growth

It is not known exactly how and when ISIS was created, but most reports indicate that they were formed in 2010. The group itself has had a variety of names and labels, and was at one point a part of al-Qaeda (al-Qaeda has since renounced it’s ties with ISIS for having motives too extreme for al-Qaeda). Under the leadership of Abu-al Baghdadi, the group rebranded itself officially as ISIS in 2013, alongside it’s new ambitions to spread it’s power across the Middle East.

ISIS has been known to operate independently to other jihadist groups, largely due to the extremity of their ambitions clashing with other groups’ beliefs. Despite this, they have also made use of short-term alliances with rebel groups as a way of gaining power, and they used this as one of they ways they overthrew many of the cities- with a small group of fighters in comparison to the army (CIA estimates ISIS has between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters), they have needed to be use tactics like those as a way of gaining power.

ISIS has also targeted foreign recruits as a method of gaining more fighters to join their cause. They were initially funded by wealthy donors in other countries, but now have started to use social media and other methods as a way of attracting people from across the globe to become a part of the movement. The Soufan Group estimates that up to 12,000 fighters have travelled to Syria, with 3,000 coming from the West. This number continues to grow as the movement has grown larger.

Part 3: How they came to power

ISIS was able to come to power largely due to the conflict between the Iraqi Shias and the Iraqi Sunnis (the aforementioned two different Islamic groups). The two groups have always been at odds with each other, but the civil war of Iraq in 2006 was the tipping point. When Saddam Hussein (a Sunni) was overthrown, the Shia majority of Iraq took the opportunity to take power. However, due to the mistrust between the two groups, rather than this leading to a peaceful co-existence of both groups, the Shia government that emerged allowed for them to oppress the Sunni population. This caused further resentment, and spurred the growth of the ISIS movement.

By 2013, large members of the Iraqi population were already dissatisfied with the (extremely corrupt) al-Maliki government. This allowed the population to be easily swayed- especially in the face of the extreme violence of the actions of ISIS. Furthermore, though the Iraqi army is far stronger than ISIS, the army itself are unwilling to fight against the militant group. Many of the troops have no loyalty for the government- they do not want to fight against the ISIS troops. Consider Mosul- 800 ISIS members against 30,000 Iraqi troops, and ISIS was able to overcome the city as Iraqi troops won. The lack of loyalty towards the government has been a large source of success for ISIS so far.

ISIS also took advantage of the Syrian civil war as a method of gaining further power and taking over regions. They have taken over a large amount of the Kurdish region of Syria (the Kurdish are an ethnic group in the Middle East), and have now taken over a significant area of Syria. These actions have lead to further turmoil in the already fragile situation of the country, and ISIS plans to continue to take over more areas in both Syria and Iraq.

Part 4: What is happening currently

As of now, ISIS continues to hold control over large regions over both Iraq and Syria. They hold strict militant rule over these areas, using violence and fear tactics as a way to hold on to their power. Those that oppose them are met with violence and death through beheadings, and while these cities are still largely functional, those inside these areas are forced to conform to strict regulations. If they do not meet these regulations, they are often met with death via beheading or some form of execution, and this has already lead to the death of thousands of civilians.

ISIS continues to fight against the Iraqi army, as well as several other groups that are against the ISIS movement, including foreign involvement as well. They continue to attempt to take over various regions in both Syria and Iraq, and are still continuing to receive large amounts of resources and funding every day.

Part 5: What other countries are currently doing

Several countries have begun to respond to what are currently happening in ISIS. The US has been one of the most active thus far, and have begun launching air-strikes against ISIS, and in the month of October have killed over 500 people, according to activists fighting in the border town of Kobani. Britain, France and Germany have also begun to intervene, with them heavily strengthening the level of security for those traveling to Iraq or Syria, and France and Germany have both also pledged to give some level of military support.

Other countries have also provided support, though many of them have yet to take to immediate action due to the volatile situation as of now.

Conclusion

ISIS is definitely one of the immediate threats of the Middle East as of right now. Thousands have already died, and the situation continues to escalate as the days progress. While many other countries are trying to find solutions around this, as of now nothing concrete has emerged, and it is possible that this will be a long-lasting conflict.

While this article has attempted to best condense the information and make it accessible to those that are not as familiar with the ISIS conflict, this is a news topic that is constantly changing as more events progress, and needs your attention. This article serves only as an overview- the actual political situation is one that spans years of conflict and speculation, and requires far much more insight and research.

For those looking to learn more, BBC, CNN, and Al Jazeera all provide reliable, easy to understand updates on the ISIS situation as it progresses.

#politics #isis #internationalism