BLACK BANNERS OF ISIS: The Roots of the New Caliphate

With tremendous speed the Islamic State has moved from the margins to the centre of life in the Middle East. Despite recent setbacks its ability to conquer and retain huge swathes of territory has demonstrated its skilful tactical manoeuvring, ambition and staying power, yet we still know too little about ISIS, particularly about its deeper ideology. In this book Wasserstein offers a penetrating analysis of the movement and looks closely at the 1,000 year old form of Islamic apocalyptic messianism the group draws upon today. He shows how ISIS is not only a military and political movement but also and primarily a religious one with a coherent world view, a patent strategy, and a clear goal - the recreation of a medieval caliphate. Connecting the group's day-to-day activities and the writings and sayings of its leaders with the medieval Islamic past, Wasserstein provides an unprecedented perspective on the origins and aspirations of the Islamic State. His chapters cover women, children, Christians and Jews and he does much to stimulate concern and illuminate what we Westerners do not yet know. His book demonstrates two interlinked elements, one the Western involvement with the world of Islam which stretches from the beginnings of Islam to ongoing adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. The term 'crusader' as a label for Westerners, some of whom are Christians, reduces our understanding of that involvement to one of hostility and destructiveness, mutual ignorance and irreconcilable faith claims, power relations and intolerance and suspicion. The truth is that the connection has been far more complicated and messy ever since the birth of Islam. The subject of this book is a moving target. 266pp, and map of areas under Islamic State control.