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The conservative and backward-looking Wahhabism became the dominating influence with its desire to retreat to an imagined past. In 2013 the Islamic State of Iraq and the Lavant was formed, known as Isis in the West. Its aim is to create a unified caliphate throughout the Islamic world. Adam Curtis, Bitter Lake, BBC 2015
Isis was far more than just another version of Al Qaeda in Iraq. Its public face were the jihadists, but it was organised and guided by men from the Sunni tribes, many of whom had been experienced soldiers in Saddam Hussein’s army. As a result, they swept through Iraq and on into Syria. Adam Curtis, Can’t Get You Out of My Head V: The Lordly Ones ***** BBC 2021
We sowed the seeds of Isis in 2003. We did. Once Upon a Time in Iraq I: War, US soldier, BBC 2020
At the end of 2011 all of the coalition forces finally left Iraq. Once Upon a Time in Iraq V: Legacy
In the two years since American troops withdrew, sectarian tensions that have driven the civil war resurfaced. All over Iraq, Sunni Muslims were protesting against the Shia-led government. ibid.
June 2014 Mosul, northern Iraq: I remember at dawn I heard the sound of megaphones: ‘We are the Islamic State in Iraq and the Lavant …’ ibid. young lady
Two days after the attack on Mosul, Isis forces pushed south to Tikrit, birthplace of Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein. ibid.
Over 1,500 cadets were slaughtered by Isis. ibid.
By the end of 2014 Isis controlled many of the major cities of northern Baghdad. ibid.
American bombing intensified at the end of 2016. ibid.
An ISIS caliphate is essentially the Vatican but with less sex. Frankie Boyle
As the United States with a coalition of other countries wage a new war on terror, Frontline investigates how Isis gained such a dangerous stronghold. Frontline: The Rise of Isis, PBS 2014
More and more Sunis turned up dead in the streets of Baghdad. ibid.
Back in Syria, al Qaeda was steadily gaining ground. ibid.
Al Qaeda’s ranks swelled with newly freed inmates. ibid.
Isis is in control of large parts of Syria and Iraq. ibid.
Isis – they are the world’s most feared terrorist group … The failures of two American presidents … But these fighters were not new – they have been at war for more than a decade – ever since the American invasion of Iraq. Frontline, The Secret History of Isis, PBS 2016
For Zarqawi, the creation of the caliphate would be the fulfilment of a prophecy. ibid.
Isis conducted or inspired more than ninety attacks around the world. And have more than forty affiliated terror groups in sixteen countries. They have promised that the worst is yet to come. ibid.
The spark has been lit here in Iraq, and its heat will continue to intensify – by Allah’s permission – until it burns the crusader armies in Dābiq. Isis, Dabiq magazine
After demolishing the Syrian/Iraqi border set up by the crusaders to divide and disunite the Muslims, and carve up their lands in order to consolidate their control of the region, the mujāhidīn [soldiers] of the Khilāfah [Caliphate] delivered yet another blow to nationalism and the Sykes-Picot-inspired borders that define it. ibid.
We fear not the swarms of planes, nor ballistic missiles, nor drones, nor satellites, nor battleships, nor weapons of mass destruction. How could we fear them, while Allah the Exalted has said, ‘If Allah should aid you, no one can overcome you.’ ibid.
Thus, he is the imam and khalīfah for the Muslims everywhere. Accordingly, the ‘Iraq and Shām’ in the name of the Islamic State is henceforth removed from all official deliberations and communications, and the official name is the Islamic State from the date of this declaration. ISIS announces Caliphate June 2014
For their guiding principles, the leaders of the Islamic State ... are open and clear about their almost exclusive commitment to the Wahhabi movement of Sunni Islam. The group circulates images of Wahhabi religious textbooks from Saudi Arabia in the schools it controls. Videos from the group’s territory have shown Wahhabi texts plastered on the sides of an official missionary van. The New York Times article David D Kirkpatrick 24th September 2014
129 killed in Friday’s attacks ... 17 killed in January ... Today there have been a series of raids. Panorama: Terror in Paris, BBC 2015
In their midst three teams of gunman; they have one aim – to kill. ibid.
IS brand their victims pagans. ibid.
They were three boys from ordinary families. But they abandoned the UK to fight in Syria. I was at school and college with all three of them. I want to know why they became brutal extremists of the Islamic State. And what made them want to kill people like me. Panorama: The Jihadis from My Schooldays, Olivia Davies reporting, BBC 2021
Nearly 900 British people went to fight for Isis in Syria most of them recruited through social media. ibid.
The fight against so-called Islamic State comes right to the heart of Europe. For the second time in a year the streets of Paris are stained with blood. As the world mourns the loss of 129 innocent lives, what can be done to keep us all safe? Tonight: After Paris: Can We Be Safe? ITV 2015
How many of our freedoms we are willing to give up in return for our safety? ibid.
A small army of fanatical jihadists has seized 15,000 square miles of territory and shocked the world with its violence and brutality. This World: World’s Richest Terror Army, BBC 2015
IS: The irony is that in the deserts of Southern Iraq, America inadvertently helped create it. ibid.
The richest and most powerful terrorist organisation in history – Islamic State – is targeting British women to join its holy war. Leaving the classroom for the battlefield, three teenage schoolgirls from London find their way to Syria. Recruited to become Jihadi brides. This World: Britain’s Jihadi Brides, BBC 2015
Islamic fundamentalism has come a long way since the bearded old men of the Taliban and Al Qaeda. ibid.
There are around 550 Western women inside the Islamic State. ibid.
In November 2015 Islamic State gunmen killed 130 civilians in Paris. This World: Three Days of Terror, BBC 2016
The war had begun ten months earlier … at the offices at satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Now one year on this is the story of the three-day manhunt for the killers of Charlie Hebdo, and of the first Islamic State attack on Paris. ibid.
1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. In fact, these terrorists have made the world’s Muslims their greatest target. We will not allow them to hijack our faith. Abdullah of Jordan
Had the US bombed Syria last summer, it would’ve likely strengthened the position of various rebel groups pressing for political control. ISIS has emerged as the strongest of these, despite being dismissed as junior varsity by the president (along with other ‘Al-Qaeda affiliates’ like Boko Haram) back in January. Other rebel groups, including ones Congress authorized the US military to arm (an idea the CIA has tried and dismissed), have tried to avoid conflict with ISIS. Several groups reportedly signed a ‘non-aggression’ pact with ISIS (which other groups downplayed or denied), and even the Free Syrian Army, Washington’s favorite rebel outfit, says it refuses to join the anti-ISIS coalition. Ed Krayewski, ‘Four Reasons Bombing ISIS in Syria Isn’t Well Thought-Out Reason’, 23 September 2014