The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, now only known as the Islamic State can trace its roots back to 2002, when Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian who was to gain notoriety in the Iraqi insurgency from 2003 to 2006, founded a Jihadi organization called Tawhid wal-Jihad in the north of Iraq. Zarqawi had been linked with al-Qaeda while in Afghanistan in the late '90s, but was not a member of the group and disagreed with the tactic of focusing on the 'far enemy', the West, as opposed to the 'near enemy', the rulers in the Islamic world. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Zarqawi's organization grew more active and affiliated itself to al-Qaeda in 2004, becoming al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Despite the tactical differences, this made a useful alliance of convenience: Zarqawi's organization gained the recruiting and resourcing benefits of being part of a global and credible jihadi organization, while al-Qaeda gained an affiliate in Iraq, already by that stage the global centre of jihad. This morning we will try and dissect and find out what the Islamic State is and what we can expect from it in the future.
To help us unpack this we are joined on the line by:
Naeem Jeena: Executive Director: Afro Middle East Centre:
Helmut Romer Heitman: Defense Analyst based in Pretoria, South Africa.
