Defending Human Rights and Democracy in the Era of Globalization by Christina Akrivopoulou

Author:Christina Akrivopoulou
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: IGI Global

It is true that a “revival dream” has long been the uniting idea amongst those adopting political Islam as a doctrine. There has always been a social need of combining modernity with Muslim civilization and that was mainly expressed by middle class ordinary Muslims, who at the same time opted for disconnection from radical views as well as the creation of a millennial generation who wanted to belong to an entity that blends power, religion and modernity.

ISIS seemed to satisfy all the aforementioned criteria, with its cutting-edge technologies mixed with a high level of discipline in the areas under their control. Religion leads a predominant role in attracting people to ISIS, as the latter presents itself as the ultimate guarantor for the application of the Muslim preaching on Earth. The other element, religion, is the magnet that directly or indirectly attracts people to IS, for the group introduces itself as the guarantor for the application of God’s rule on Earth, and that the caliph is a continuation of the Prophet Muhammad’s legacy.

The truth is that the Islamic State seen both as a doctrine and a religious practice, has been an unbeatable model in the Sunni Muslim world to those seeking this blend of religion, power and modernity. Sunni and Shiite Islamists shared many similar aspirations until the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran succeeded in toppling the Shah.

Later on, it became crystal clear that the revolution was more than a mere answer to the aspirations of Shiite Islamists (rather than Sunnis); therefore, the next stop for Azzam and his comrades was Afghanistan, where they clustered as Afghan Arabs.

Following the creation of the Islamic State, one of the most cardinal strategies adopted was social engagement. The de facto, self-styled state opened its doors to jihadi foreigners, and thousands came in with their families and settled in cities under IS control; according to a UN report, more than 25,000 from over 100 nations have reached IS territory, whilst some of them get married to women from local tribes in the region so as to complicate any attempts to oust IS (Hasheen, 2015). The foreign jihadis are persona non grata in their home countries, and on the premise that IS collapses, their lives and future may be endangered on a constant basis, because of lack of safe haven.

Part of the “social and economic” strategic plan is the engagement of the tribes ruling the oil business (Zerohedge, 2015), a fact that contributes both to asset acquisition and to the reinforcement of ties with local tribes, as well.

The dominant view is that IS operates its activities in a tacit manner rendering it very often unattainable for enemies to target it effectively (Meyer, 2015). It is apparent that three years of ground and air operations, international and regional attempts to counter IS and direct media and public campaigns did not effectively harm the group. The latter now operates quite effectively –as very recently proven to the world’s great despair- in several countries and continents, with the multiple attacks in Paris, Brussels, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan being the most typical examples.

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