Société: Islamic State, heir to Al Qaida

Islamic State, heir to Al Qaida

By Antoine Combes and Sophie Lattes

After the apparent disappearance of Al Qaida, a new organisation has risen up. In just a few months, the Islamic State has called for Jihad, gathering thousands of soldiers and conquering an large territory.

In September 2014, two young girls, 16 and 17 years old, were arrested at the Marseille Airport before boarding an airplane for Istanbul. They were both runaways going to Syria to join IS.

The Islamic State, also called Daesh, has been one of the biggest subjects in the media for the past few months. It eclipsed news about the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and the crisis in Israel. Even three months later, we still hear about it almost every day. Why does this conflict continue to be so important for the rest of the planet?

Actually, this “new” conflict is not new. Let’s remember: in 2011, there was a wave of rebellion against authoritarian governments across the Arab world: Tunisia, Egypt, Lybia, Yemen and Syria. While other dictators such as Ben Ali, Khadhafi and Moubarak resigned and fled their countries, Syrian dictator Bachar Al-Assad fought to stay in power. Since then, a civil war has opposed the government and rebel forces.

More than three years since the beginning of this conflict, the rebellion has exploded, and Bachar Al-Assad continues to kill thousands of Syrians. In 2011, the rebellion included moderates, fundamentalists and republicans. But now, the fundamentalists have separated from the others, and created Islamic State.

In less than a year, Islamic State has conquered a large area in Iraq and Syria. They call their territory “the new caliphate”, and have designated Rakka as its capital. In this territory, which includes about ten million inhabitants, violence against the population regularly shocks the rest of the world.

Three months ago, a coalition of countries including the USA, Iran, and the European Union, was created to stop the expansion of IS, and to save Syrian fighters in Kobane, on the Turkish border. But, even with the coalition’s considerable resources, it seems unable to win against this new terrorist organisation, which is so attractive that thousands of young people leave Europe to join it every week.