[27 JAN 2014] The Dawn of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham [UPDATES]
In the course of the Syrian Civil War, two major rebel factions have emerged who share al-Qaeda's ideology: Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), which was
In the course of the Syrian Civil War, two major rebel factions have emerged who share al-Qaeda’s ideology: Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), which was founded at the beginning of 2012 by Abu Mohammed al-Jowlani, and the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS). In April 2013, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI—the umbrella front for al-Qaeda in Iraq), proposed that JN and ISI merge together. He thus announced the formation of a new Islamist polity, ISIS, which included territories in Iraq and Syria (ash-Sham). Baghdadi argued that Jabhat al-Nusra had been initially set-up with financial support and manpower from the ISI and therefore that the Syria-focused JN was a mere “extension” of the Iraq-based organization. Jowlani, however, rejected Baghdadi’s proposal to combine their efforts on the grounds that he was not consulted. Subsequently, he renewed JN’s bay’ah (pledge of allegiance) to Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda Central…
RELATED UPDATE: Revolution in Rojava - Democratic Autonomy and Women’s Liberation in Syrian Kurdistan
The first full-length book of the unique and extraordinary political situation in Rojava, Syria
RELATED UPDATE: The Geopolitics of the Kurds and the case of Rojava
Nowadays, with the defeat of the so called “Islamic State” (IS) on the ground in Syria, the geopolitics of the Syrian Kurds is discussed mor
RELATED UPDATE: The Kurdish Freedom Movement, Rojava and the Left
Efforts by the Kurds to put revolutionary ideals into practice in Rojava captured the imagination of anarchists and leftists in Europe and N
RELATED UPDATE: David Graeber Was Right to Recognise the Importance of the Kurdish Struggle
David Graeber was an early and committed supporter of the Kurdish freedom movement. We can remember him the way he remembered the people of
RELATED UPDATE: Erdogan ‘Set to Attend Grey Wolves School Groundbreaking’ in Shushi
ISTANBUL (PanARMENIAN.Net) — Turkish and Azerbaijani Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev, respectively, are expected to attend
RELATED UPDATE: Erdogan's Pact with the Ultra-Nationalists
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is doing what he can to hold on to power – and is following his right-wing extremist coalition partne
RELATED UPDATE: Iran's protesters find inspiration in a Kurdish revolutionary slogan
"Jin, jiyan, azadi!" — "Woman, life, freedom!" — has become the rallying cry for people in Iran and beyond who are protesting the death of M
RELATED UPDATE: Democratic Autonomy: the Rojava Example
Jennifer Clapham reports on how the Kurdish Democratic Union Party draws its strength from the people.
FURTHER READING:
[27 JAN 2014] The Dawn of the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham [UPDATES] https://www.meforum.org/islamic-state-iraq-ash-sham In the course
