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Bezig met laden... The Isis Apocalypse (editie 2016)door William McCants (Auteur)
Informatie over het werkThe ISIS Apocalypse: The History, Strategy, and Doomsday Vision of the Islamic State door William Faizi McCants
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"The so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, has inspired young men and women around the world to commit heinous acts in its name. By the thousands, they have flooded into the Islamic State's vase stronghold in Syria and Iraq, and in nearly every continent they have carried out attacks under its black banner. The Islamic State has become one of the most popular and successful jihadist groups on the planet, surpassing even al-Qaeda. How did the Islamic State attract so many followers and conquer so much land? By being more ruthless, more messianic, and more devoted to empire-building than its competitors. The shrewd leaders of the Islamic State combined two of the most powerful yet contradictory ideas in Islam--the return of the Islamic Empire and the end of the world--into a mission and a message that shapes its strategy and inspires its army of zealous fighters. They have defied conventional thinking about how to wage wars and win recruits. Even if the Islamic State is defeated, jihadist terrorism will never be the same. Based almost entirely on primary sources in Arabic--including ancient religious texts and secret al-Qaeda and Islamic State letters that few outsiders have seen--The ISIS Apocalypse by William McCants explores how religious fervor, strategic calculation, and doomsday prophesy shaped the Islamic State's past and foreshadow its dark future"-- Geen bibliotheekbeschrijvingen gevonden. |
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Google Books — Bezig met laden... GenresDewey Decimale Classificatie (DDC)363.3250956Social sciences Social problems and services; associations Other social problems and services Other Public Safety Concerns Terrorism and security Terrorism Biography; History By Place AsiaLC-classificatieWaarderingGemiddelde:
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Nations need a boogeyman to direct their hostilities. Before Islamic extremists, America had Communists. Castro kept Cuba under control by blaming shortages and failures on the United States. An outside enemy provides a distraction from internal problems. Sometimes the threat is real and other times it's not. There is no doubt that ISIS is real, but what is it and how much of a threat is it to America?
McCants sorts through the movement's history and its relationship with Al Qaeda and Bin Ladin. There have been several attempts to set up an Islamic State in the Middle East. Yemen met with failure. The attempt in Ethiopia met with early success but failed in several ways. First strict enforcement of Islamic law including banning of tobacco alienated the local population. Finally, the bombings in Kenya ended any hold the Islamic State held there.
The idea of unity in the movement is dispelled in the book. Bin Laden had his issues with the Islamic State in Ethiopia. The state there sold charcoal to earn money to support itself. Bin Laden wrote and said they should look for other ways to earn money. Cutting down scarce trees for a quick profit would do long-term environmental damage. Bin Laden came off sounding more like Al Gore than a terrorist leader. Al Qaeda had its issues with Bin Laden's attack on America. They had believed in using force, but controlling it as not to involve international retaliation. The direct attack on the US was seen as counterproductive to the creation of an Islamic State. Foreign intervention into Arab land does not help the cause, much like the Japanese learned after bombing Pearl Harbor.
McCants gives a history of the Islamic movement including the split between the Sunni and Shiites. What we see in Islamic history is a history of factionalism. Although a monotheistic religion, it is not monolithic. Groups claiming to create an Islamic State often do so on their own volition. Al Qaeda supports winning the hearts and minds of the local population and gradually introducing Islamic law. Groups creating the so-called Islamic States use force and violence to intimidate and control. Restrictions on Muslims killing other Muslims is overlooked or rationalized away. Syria’s Assad is using the Islamic State as a tool to distract from his attacks against his enemies. The ISIS group in Iraq is a splinter group from Al Qaeda and has driven the more moderate Al Qaeda out of Iraq.
The ISIS Apocalypse gives a detailed history of the movement and its fractured history. Its strict code is based on medieval texts and the coming apocalypse. McCants writing contains topics that are controversial, but he backs up his claims. Nearly one-third of the book is bibliography used to support the author’s writing. The ISIS Apocalypse is a well written and informative history of not only the Islamic State but also Islam in general. What we in the west see as a monolithic movement is hardly that, but it’s violence and ruthlessness is very real.
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