The Rise And Fall Of IS

The Rise and fall of the Islamic State

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The Rise and fall of the Islamic State

1. The causes of conflict in Syria and involvement of IS are the bad economic and worsened human conditions. Prior to the conflict eruption in Syria, the people who were living there faced sewer economic conditions. Many among the population believed that Bashar al- Assad’s regime remained failed in providing better societal and economic conditions to people in Syria. There are also some policy analysts who believe that the rise of IS and the start of conflict in Syria is linked to the Arab Spring ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"lGGLq7JW","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Syria\\uc0\\u8217{}s civil war explained from the beginning n.d.)","plainCitation":"(Syria’s civil war explained from the beginning n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":932,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/84VUPE5E"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/84VUPE5E"],"itemData":{"id":932,"type":"webpage","title":"Syria's civil war explained from the beginning","abstract":"On March 15, the war entered its eighth year.","URL":"https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/syria-civil-war-explained-160505084119966.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Syria’s civil war explained from the beginning n.d.). Similarly, the traces of IS could be found from the start of the present century. The group has taken hold of the circumstances in Iraq and Syria because of the power vacuum created with the departure of US forces.

The political causes of the rise of Islamic State date back to the 2003 attack of the United States in Iraq. Since then the region has witnessed various sectarian violence. The sectarian aspect of this war created an environment favorable for the terrorists who were believed to be residing in that region. These fights circumvented with the expansion of the Islamic fighting group. Since the region was already war-ridden therefore the small rebel groups joined the Islamic state. Some social conflict expert argues that weak economic conditions coupled with societal distractions resulted in such enormous up emergence of the IS ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"yJlUUiZc","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cronin 2019)","plainCitation":"(Cronin 2019)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":936,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/J4B6E2LV"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/J4B6E2LV"],"itemData":{"id":936,"type":"article-magazine","title":"ISIS Is Not a Terrorist Group","issue":"March/April 2015","source":"www.foreignaffairs.com","abstract":"The Islamic State, or ISIS, may use terrorism as a tactic, but unlike al Qaeda it is not a terrorist organization. It is a pseudo-state led by a conventional army. The Obama administration but recognize that counterterrorism strategies alone won't defeat ISIS in Iraq and Syria.","URL":"https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2019-02-18/isis-not-terrorist-group","ISSN":"0015-7120","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"Cronin","given":"Audrey Kurth"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,19]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Cronin 2019).

2. The conflict in Syria is more of a political nature. The world's mighty powers are all in any way are a party to this conflict. They have eyed this region from long ago just to raise some material gains or in other words the political gains. As Armstrong believe that the conflict dynamics are so complex ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"cO6HBYrC","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Armstrong 2014)","plainCitation":"(Armstrong 2014)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":939,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/LU8ULX45"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/LU8ULX45"],"itemData":{"id":939,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"The myth of religious violence | Karen Armstrong","container-title":"The Guardian","section":"World news","source":"www.theguardian.com","abstract":"The popular belief that religion is the cause of the world’s bloodiest conflicts is central to our modern conviction that faith and politics should never mix. But, Karen Armstrong writes, the messy history of their separation suggests it was never so simple","URL":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/25/-sp-karen-armstrong-religious-violence-myth-secular","ISSN":"0261-3077","language":"en-GB","author":[{"family":"Armstrong","given":"Karen"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014",9,25]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Armstrong 2014), therefore it remains difficult to gauge whether the culture or the religion alone are the drivers of this conflict. Considering the contemporary dynamics of the conflict, it appears that neither the culture nor the religion is at the heart of this conflict. Although a specific religion has remained on the losing edge, since the start of this conflict, still many believe that politics is the real driver in this conflict. The active involvement of the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey, and the war pattern are the proof of the facts that conflict has from long ago diverted from the cultural and religious aspect.

3. The rise of the Islamic State could simply be related to the geographical dynamics of the region. After the United States war in Iraq in 2003, the region gradually turned into a hot spot for global terrorist organizations ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"0goLqTRW","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Jadaliyya n.d.)","plainCitation":"(Jadaliyya n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":941,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/S7XJTFKK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/S7XJTFKK"],"itemData":{"id":941,"type":"webpage","title":"Jadaliyya","URL":"http://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/31296/How-Not-To-Understand-ISIS","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,29]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Jadaliyya n.d.). It remains unclear that why abruptly the Islamic State started mass killings of the innocent citizens. In light of the ISIS agenda, and the manner in which they have targeting people all across the world, it appears that it conforms to each dynamic of extremism, fundamentalism, and terrorism.

Extremism in the sense that they have not been part of any dialogue with any other party in the region. They have been parts and parcels of those who tend to promote violence and conflicting ideologies. Fundamentalism in the sense that many renowned Islamic scholars have negative opinions about their agenda. The learned Islamic scholars argue that the Islamic State's agenda is in a total clash with the teachings of Islam. These scholars argue that Islamic ideology not in any sense supports violence. Lastly, it is terrorism in the sense that the Islamic State has involved in violent attacks on many peaceful people around the world. The attacks in the Turkish capital of Istanbul, Belgium, and Paris are all examples of ISIS led to terrorist incidents.

4. The above-mentioned analysis suggests that ISIS will have strong roots in areas of conflict. For example, there is a wide believe that IS have strong links with Al- Qaeda in Afghanistan and with Boko Haram in Nigeria ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"p4cbVgJ2","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(UN envoy n.d.)","plainCitation":"(UN envoy n.d.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":945,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/I3CCSCZ8"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/I3CCSCZ8"],"itemData":{"id":945,"type":"webpage","title":"UN envoy: ISIS revival in Iraq must be prevented","abstract":"The UN envoy for Iraq called Tuesday for “wide-based international support” to prevent","URL":"http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/05/22/UN-envoy-ISIS-revival-in-Iraq-must-be-prevented.html","title-short":"UN envoy","language":"en","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",5,30]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (UN envoy n.d.). Such facts suggest that ISIS is not totally destructed. Since they have collaborated with new fighting forces in different parts of the world, so there are many chances that they can retreat with new strategies and fighting tactics. Such types of conflict can only be dealt with building a new ideological narrative. The use of force can just enhance the conflicts and is not the solution to any problem. For this reason, people who have expertise in conflict resolution should be sought after and a new narrative should be built to deal with the menace of terrorism and extremism.

Counterterrorism strategies can only work in destroying the material possession of the terrorist forces. There are examples in the world where it is evident that the counter-terrorism strategies have just ignited violence. For example in the case Pakistan, the violence is still there, although their forces have destroyed almost completely the terror networks operating there. Tamil Nadu was completely eliminated from Syria, but still, there are people who believe in their narrative. Therefore counter-terrorism strategies if coupled with the emergence of new nonviolent ideologies can serve the purpose. Similarly, the conflict interventions and transformation can work to some extent and not completely solve the purpose.

References:

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Armstrong, Karen. 2014. “The Myth of Religious Violence | Karen Armstrong.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/25/-sp-karen-armstrong-religious-violence-myth-secular (May 29, 2019).

Cronin, Audrey Kurth. 2019. “ISIS Is Not a Terrorist Group.” (March/April 2015). https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/middle-east/2019-02-18/isis-not-terrorist-group (May 29, 2019).

“Jadaliyya.” http://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/31296/How-Not-To-Understand-ISIS (May 29, 2019).

“Syria’s Civil War Explained from the Beginning.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/syria-civil-war-explained-160505084119966.html (May 29, 2019).

“UN Envoy: ISIS Revival in Iraq Must Be Prevented.” http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2019/05/22/UN-envoy-ISIS-revival-in-Iraq-must-be-prevented.html (May 30, 2019).