ISIS Declares Global Caliphate

by JASmius



Looks like the now-self-proclaimed "Islamic State" will be in direct confrontation with the United States even sooner than we thought:

"We took it forcibly at the point of a blade.
We brought it back conquered and compelled.
We established it in defiance of many.
And the people’s necks were violently struck,
With bombings, explosions, and destruction,
And soldiers that do not see hardship as being difficult,"

And lions that are thirsty in battle,
Having greedily drunk the blood of kufr (infidel).
Our khilāfah has indeed returned with certainty" – From the declaration of the Caliphate
 entitled "This is the Promise of Allah" delivered by the Islamic State spokesman al-Adnani.

On Sunday the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) declared itself a caliphate. It dropped 'Iraq and Syria from its name and now wishes to be known as the Islamic State. The announcement was made to coincide with the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan....

Abu Bakr Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (formerly ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) as the caliph and "the leader of Muslims everywhere." In declaring himself thus, Baghdadi is attempting to seize legitimacy as the leader of the jihadi movement in particular and the Muslim world in general. He was capitalizing on recent sweeping gains made by the group in its capture of Mosul. He will now take on the name and title "Caliph Ibrahim."

One of the primary duties of the caliph is to wage jihad against the kuffar (infidel). In Islamic terms, only a caliph has the authority to declare jihad, immediately marking the Islamic State, in its own eyes, as the only legitimate jihadi organization.

This puts the new caliphate directly at war with Al Qaeda and potentially at war with other jihadi organizations should they refuse to accept the authority of the new caliphate. Professor Peter Neumann of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization regards the announcement as a "declaration of war against the West and al Qaida."

A declaration of war against us AND al Qaeda?  So "is the enemy of my enemy my friend," as the old saying goes?  Does this mean that al Qaeda really is "dead"?

Perhaps; but that wouldn't be a good thing for us:

Charles Lister, an analyst from the Brookings Institute emphasized the importance of this declaration in forcing the issue of caliphate onto the jihadi movement:

"The impact of this announcement will be global as al-Qaida affiliates and independent jihadist groups must now definitively choose to support and join the Islamic State or to oppose it. The Islamic State’s announcement made it clear that it would perceive any group that failed to pledge allegiance an enemy of Islam. Already, this new Islamic State has received statements of support and opposition from jihadist factions in Syria – this period of judgment is extremely important and will likely continue for some time to come."

Puts their unparalleled brutality of late into additional perspective, doesn't it?  To say nothing of their conquests so far.  Yeah, al Qaeda brought down a few American buildings, and look where that got Osama bin Laden; ISIS The Islamic State has conquered most of two entire countries in a matter of weeks.  Sure makes them look like the proverbial "strong horse," doesn't it?  And they're not finished by a long shot, either:

Meanwhile, the nascent Islamic State has set its sights on further growth. Based on official statements and threats they have made on social media, they plan to target Jordan and Saudi Arabia, where they have some popular support. The southern town of Ma'an in Jordan has become increasingly radicalized with young men being drawn to the successes of the Islamic State.

A recruitment drive was also launched recently in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They have also vowed to conquer Jerusalem and have a foothold in Gaza. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa), or AQIM, has also expressed support for the ISIS, although they have not yet made any clear declaration of support for the caliphate.

What reason do they have not to shoot for the moon?  Nobody has stopped them yet, and nobody appears both willing and able to make the attempt.

So this is what Barack Obama's deliberate abandonment of George W. Bush's victory hath wrought: the Middle East in escalating chaos and flames, Russian military advisors moving into Iraq from neighboring Syria to join the Iranian troops already on Iraqi soil, and a rising Islamic Caliphate headed straight for our shores.  And remember as well that what is now "the Islamic State" was the recipient of generous Obama Regime military aid for the past several years, including out of our consulate in....Benghazi.

This exit quote says it all:

Only last week, senior Department of Homeland Security advisor Mohammed Elibiary tweeted that the recreation of an Islamic caliphate was inevitable and that the U.S. should support such an endeavor, comparing it to the European Union.