This encouraging analysis puts ISIS’s recent announcement of an Islamic State (IS) into perspective.
Briefly, the IS is more wishful thinking than reality, Muslims being their own worst enemies, prone to inter-sect (Sunni vs. Shi’ite) warfare. We can hope!
Stratfor has published an excellent analysis of the newly declared Islamic State.
That an Islamic caliphate recently was declared by the jihadist ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) doesn’t mean such a caliphate actually has been founded, nor does it mean if founded, a pan-Islamic caliphate will actually be viable.
Iraq: Examining the Professed Caliphate
July 1, 2014
Summary
The Islamic State, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, has changed its name, but otherwise the militant group remains the same. Over the past weekend, a spokesman for the group announced that it had established a caliphate stretching from Diyala province, Iraq, to Aleppo, Syria. The caliphate is a political institution that the Islamic State claims will govern the global Muslim community. “Iraq” and “Levant” have been dropped from the organization’s name to reflect its new status.
The trouble with the announcement is that the Islamic…
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