Recent attacks carried out by members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has led to hundreds of deaths in past weeks.
The Islamist-extremist militant group has seized a chunk of land stretching from northern Syria to central Iraq, and ISIS leaders are attempting to implement Shariah Law, which is rooted in eighth century Islam, to establish a society that mirrors the region's ancient past.
ISIS has a reputation for killing dozens of people at a time and carrying out public executions, crucifixions and other grueling acts, according to the Global Terrorism Index. Members are also using modern tools like social media to promote reactionary politics and religious fundamentalism among supporters.
In a Facebook post to the Ball State University Class of 2018 group, Yaron Ayalon, an assistant history professor, said the radical Sunni (the larger of the two sects) group broke off from al-Qaida (also a radical Sunni group) in Iraq in 2013. The extremists rebranded as ISIS, and although similar to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida, ISIS has proven to be more brutal and more effective at controlling territory it has seized.
“Their aim is to build an Islamic State based on the principles of the early caliphate," Ayalon said.
The caliphate is the first 50 years of Islam or so, during the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the first four successors in the seventh century.
“They are thus a fundamentalist group," he said. "As such, one of their tactics is offensive jihad, that is, attacking infidel territory.”
Ayalon said although ISIS has made attacks against non-Muslims in Western countries, the group targets Muslims more than any other demographic.
“[ISIS attacks] those who don't accept its hard-core line of Islam, as well as Shiites,” Ayalon said. “In 2013, attacks in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and Nigeria accounted for about 70 percent of all terrorism anywhere in the world. Only about 10 percent was in predominantly Christian countries.”
The overwhelming majority of Muslim leaders reject ISIS because it doesn't follow true Islamic tradition, Ayalon said.
“Throughout the generations, almost all Muslim scholars have rejected offensive jihad, as well as beheadings and slavery,” Ayalon said. “Some claim that rejecting those practices is apologetic, since the original Islam sanctioned them. This is an ongoing debate among historians of Islam as well, but we must remember that if the true Islam calls for such barbaric acts, true Christianity and Judaism call for stoning offenders and persecuting gay people. Fundamentals are fundamentals, after all.”
And it’s not just government officials who are rejecting ISIS as an Islamic affiliate, Ayalon said. Most Muslims are as well.
Paris
On the night of Nov. 13, ISIS carried out a coordinated terrorist attack in six Paris locations. Three squads carried out the attack, involving eight terrorist operatives. Paris Prosecutor François Molin said at least 132 people were killed and 352 injured.
This was the worst terrorist attack on French soil since World War II, and the largest attack ISIS has carried out in the west. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack and launched a media campaign threatening France and other Western countries with more attacks.
French investigators said Nov. 19 that Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the suspected mastermind of the Paris terrorist attacks, died Wednesday in a major police operation in Saint-Denis, a suburb of the city.
Another key suspect linked to the Paris atrocities — an ISIS attacker — is still at large. Belgian authorities are still conducting raids around Brussels in an attempt to apprehend the suspected terrorist.
Syria
More than 20,000 people have traveled from other countries to fight for ISIS in Syria and Iraq, according to a report by the Homeland Security Committee. However, countries with bigger Muslim populations tend to send the largest number of fighters, according to CNN.
Turkey and Lebanon have taken in the greater share of Syrian refugees, with around 1.9 million and 1.2 million respectively, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Egypt, Iraq and other Arab countries have taken in over half a million.
Recent News
Although political leaders in the United Nations are considering ISIS an international threat, another militant Islamist organization overtook ISIS to become the world's deadliest terrorist group last year, according to a new report.
Boko Haram, the Islamic extremist group based mainly in Nigeria's northern states, was responsible for 6,644 deaths in 2014, an increase of 317 percent from the previous year, according to the Global Terrorism Index, which was released Nov. 17.
By contrast, ISIS, the terror group to which Boko Haram reportedly pledged allegiance in March of this year, was responsible for 6,073 deaths.
Between them, the two groups were responsible for more than half of the deaths attributed to terrorism, in the deadliest year on record for terror, according to the report.
Internationally, deaths from terrorism experienced a "dramatic rise" in 2014, increasing by 80 percent from the previous year, according to a study by the Institute for Economics and Peace.
There were 32,658 people killed in terrorist attacks last year — nine times more victims than there were in 2000, according to the study.
Most deaths from terrorism are not taking place in the west. Excluding the 9/11 attacks, since 2000, only 0.5 percent of deaths from terrorism have occurred on Western soil.
In the latest publication of ISIS' Dabiq magazine, the terrorist group includes a list of the latest attacks for which it claims responsibility, including downing the Russian passenger plane in Sinai, the suicide attacks in Lebanon and the attacks in Paris.
Congressional Action
Obama has warned of the long road that lies ahead in the global effort to defeat ISIS.
"It's going to be a multiyear task," he said at a regional conference in the Philippines. "And we're not going to be able to fully succeed in eliminating their safe havens until we have a political settlement of some sort in Syria."
An ISIS video released on Nov. 18 warns of an impending attack on New York City, and Mayor Bill de Blasio said police are "taking all necessary precautions" in areas shown in the video and throughout the city. "Stoking fear is the goal of terrorist organizations," he said, "but New York City will not be intimidated."
The U.S. House of Representatives also approved a measure to effectively pause the processing of Syrian refugees by insisting no refugee be admitted without certification by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Many House Democrats ignored White House pleas to oppose the bill, giving Republicans enough support to secure a majority.
Read More
'We have momentum on our side:' Ball State softball advances to MAC Tournament after defeating Central Michigan
By Zach Carter / 10 hours agoIn its final regular season series of the 2024 season, Ball State defeated Central Michigan 2-1. The win gave the Cardinals a berth into the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
The Cardinals win on the road against NIU
By Trinity Rea / 12 hours agoWith just two more series and two solo games remaining in Ball State Baseball's regular season, the team is attempting to fight its way up the Mid-American Conference (MAC) standings.
Yorktown softball defeats Wes-Del in 2024 Delaware County Tournament Final
By David Moore / YesterdayThe championship game was set, Tigers vs. Warriors for the 2024 Delaware County crown. By the end of the afternoon, it was Yorktown running away, taking a 10-0 victory over the Warriors.
