ISIS
The March to Dystopia
Will be published approx. on 11. December 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
312 pages
978-0-7556-5900-5 (ISBN)
Description
How should we understand ISIS today? Despite its territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria in 2019, ISIS has evolved and expanded globally. This book is the most comprehensive study of ISIS to date, benefitting from Arabic sources previously unavailable to an English-speaking audience. Renowned scholar and political philosopher, Azmi Bishara, stresses the need to place ISIS in its historical, social and political context - rather than primarily its Salafi ideology - in order to understand its rise and expansion. The book explains ISIS in terms of both historical and recent political events, including the Six-Day War of 1967, the decline of Arab nationalism, sectarian politics, the outbreak of civil war in Iraq and Syria and the decline of the central state. The book counters the view of some Western researchers that a Sunni environment was conducive to ISIS's control in Syria and Iraq and also separates the rise of the organization from its exploitation of religious texts. The final chapter defends Islamic civilization against those who hold Islam responsible for ISIS ideology by reviewing and deconstructing significant jihadi Salafi texts and showing the extent to which Salafi thought departs from Islamic thought and culture.
Reviews / Votes
In this incisive monograph, Azmi Bishara masterfully unpacks the sociopolitical underpinnings of ISIS, melding historical nuance with rigorous analytical depth. His erudite treatment dissects modern extremism as a product of failed states, sectarian politics, and instrumentalized religiosity-an indispensable reference for researchers and policymakers alike. -- Omar Ashour Azmi Bishara's book on ISIS is the most comprehensive and complete treatment of the topic to date. He has explored the phenomenon of this modern movement in greater depth and clarity than any other book before it. An impressive achievement. -- Ahmed S. Hashim, Professor of War Studies, Centre for Future Defence and National Security, Deakin University, Canberra, AustraliaMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 156 mm
Width: 234 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
366 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7556-5900-5 (9780755659005)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Azmi Bishara is one of the most prominent scholars in the Arab world. He is currently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Qatar and chairs the Board of Trustees of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar. Bishara received the Ibn Rushd Prize for Free Thought in 2002 and the Human Rights Award from Global Exchange in 2003.
Content
Introduction
Chapter One: Literature Review and Critical Notes
ISIS As an Opportunity to Confirm Existing Prejudices
How Central Was the Declaration of a Caliphate?
A Generational Revolt?
The War Perspective
Attempting a Psychological Explanation
Chapter Two: From Mujahidin to Jihadis, from Jihad to Jihadism
From a Religious Obligation to a Political Identity?
A Tension between Salafism and Jihadism in the Jihadi Salafism
Chapter Three: The Islamic State's Divergence from al-Qaeda
Leadership Dispute after Afghanistan and the Roots of Disagreement
Al-Zarqawi and the Conjugation of Sectarianism and Jihadi Salafism
A Debate Arises within the Jihadi Salafi Movement
Chapter Four: Expand or Perish
Background
Not Entirely Imported
The Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Phase
Chapter Five: Life under ISIS
Imposing ?udud: First Comes the Punishment
Economic Aspects
The Nightmare of ISIS's Daily Dictates
The Cultural Makeover and the Failed Attempt to Produce "the New Muslim"
Chapter Six: Ideologues
The Brutality Required to Manage Savagery
?Abdullah Ibn Muhammad: How Strategic Thinking Prompted a Jihadi Salafi to Change His Mind
The Islamic State's Strategic Plan
From Informing Humanity to Pledging Allegiance to al-Baghdadi
Extending Hands of Allegiance to al-Baghdadi
Between Reality and Illusion, or Debates within the Jihadi Salafi Movement
An Addendum in Commentary on Abu ?Abdullah al-Muhajir's Issues in the Jurisprudence of Jihad
Bibliography
Chapter One: Literature Review and Critical Notes
ISIS As an Opportunity to Confirm Existing Prejudices
How Central Was the Declaration of a Caliphate?
A Generational Revolt?
The War Perspective
Attempting a Psychological Explanation
Chapter Two: From Mujahidin to Jihadis, from Jihad to Jihadism
From a Religious Obligation to a Political Identity?
A Tension between Salafism and Jihadism in the Jihadi Salafism
Chapter Three: The Islamic State's Divergence from al-Qaeda
Leadership Dispute after Afghanistan and the Roots of Disagreement
Al-Zarqawi and the Conjugation of Sectarianism and Jihadi Salafism
A Debate Arises within the Jihadi Salafi Movement
Chapter Four: Expand or Perish
Background
Not Entirely Imported
The Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Phase
Chapter Five: Life under ISIS
Imposing ?udud: First Comes the Punishment
Economic Aspects
The Nightmare of ISIS's Daily Dictates
The Cultural Makeover and the Failed Attempt to Produce "the New Muslim"
Chapter Six: Ideologues
The Brutality Required to Manage Savagery
?Abdullah Ibn Muhammad: How Strategic Thinking Prompted a Jihadi Salafi to Change His Mind
The Islamic State's Strategic Plan
From Informing Humanity to Pledging Allegiance to al-Baghdadi
Extending Hands of Allegiance to al-Baghdadi
Between Reality and Illusion, or Debates within the Jihadi Salafi Movement
An Addendum in Commentary on Abu ?Abdullah al-Muhajir's Issues in the Jurisprudence of Jihad
Bibliography