The Origins of Isis

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s self-proclamation as Khalifah of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq-al-Sham (ISIS) appears to have served the interests of European and American imperialisms better than the people of Iraq and Syria, or the Middle East in general. Just as Sykes and Picot, two representatives of British and French imperialisms, determined the fate of the declining Ottomans, socalled ISIS provided an excuse for the Europeans and Americans to further destabilize and disintegrate the already suffering countries in the Middle East. The response to the so-called Arab Spring and the creation of ISIS has served very well the strategic goals of the European and American stakeholders. In this well researched book, the authors have tried to find out with great diligence the political, ethnic, economic and cultural reasons behind the disintegration of the state mechanisms of Iraq and Syria. For doing so, they had to explore the histories of both countries to find out their power bases and their inner dynamics. Apparently, in both cases, tribal affiliations have been a key factor in the making and breaking of political loyalties.