PRACTICES OF ISLAMIC STATE (ISIS) IN THE CONTEXT OF ISLAMIC ESCHATOLOGY

The History has shown once again, that one cannot fight something that one does not understand. In modern warfare both the military and the ideological fronts are at the same level of intensity, as the victory always depends not only on battlefield triumphs, but also on enlisting new adherents and holding to the old ones. And after two years of fight of the “Obama Alliance” against IS in Syria and Iraq there is a clear indication, that Caliph Ibrahim (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi) is winning on both fronts. The main goal of this article is an attempt to explain reasons underlying the success of ISIS leadership, that allowed the Islamists not only to evade the “degrade and destroy” strategy of the coalition, but also to build a new state, in the light of the context of Islamic eschatological concepts. To reach this goal, we strive to not only understand the perspectives of this newly-founded state and possible forecasts for its sustainability, but also to look into the reasons of IS attractiveness for large groups of people from a variety of countries and regions, through the lens of Islamic eschatology.

Islam, Islamic State (ISIS), Islamic eschatology, Syria, Iraq