Militant Groups: Concluding Remarks

To a great extent, one can argue that al-Qa'ida has been eclipsed by ISIS and its willingness to move far beyond the realm of acceptable targetable categories set by its predecessor.

But this claim might prove too hasty. True, ISIS's reliance on the grievances of disadvantaged communities in Syria and Iraq has proven incredibly useful for its rise and swift control over large swaths of territory. However, this appeal may prove as short-lived as the initial appeal of al- Zarqawrs group to some disenchanted Sunni tribes. In the case of ISIS, the primary factor that made it appealing to militants may be the same factor that brings about its demise: its claim to power. ISIS's appeal was not just that it introduced an alternative reality for some Muslims, who saw in it a chance for salvation by literally washing away any connection with their previously existing worlds. Its appeal came from its success in doing so - from being the formidable, feared enemy. Its recent failure to maintain this status and its loss of lands may prove al-Zawahiri's prediction that alienating potential recruits, using excessive violence, and hastily creating a caliphate may very well terminate ISIS as we know it, allowing models like a!-Qa'ida to outlive it, despite its relative lack of glamour in the eyes of miltants.256 But what is very clear is that both groups rely heavily on Islamic jurisprudence in order to gain recruits and legitimize their actions. It is also clear that such actions are driven by an alternative vision for the modern Muslim state, a vision in which there is no place for the contemporary compromises and reformulations of the Islamic world. Yet this vision is still unable to escape the realities of this modern world.

256 Gerges, ISIS, 282.

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Source: Badawi Nesrine. Islamic Jurisprudence on the Regulation of Armed Conflict. Text and Context. Brill,2019. — viii, 273 p.. 2019

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