Much debate has raged recently concerning the motives, nature, and aims of the Islamic State (IS) group, formerly known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Broadly, two viewpoints have emerged regarding the said group: The first sees the IS group as a mediaeval phenomenon, very much like many other Islamist movements, only worse. According to this view, recent actions by the IS group can be traced back to the Dark Ages. The second view considers the IS group to have much more in common with modern totalitarian ideologies and governments, such as Lenin’s Bolsheviks in Russia or Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, partly because the IS group has proved itself adept at the use of modern techniques and technology in order to further its cause.
- HUSAM DUGHMAN, AUTHOR AND POLITICAL SCIENTIST
- Viewpoints
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