Islamic State (IS – also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) lost the final piece of its Middle Eastern caliphate in 2019. But if anybody thought that the terror group had been defeated, they were mistaken. Islamic State is still an active threat to global security, still a danger to people of all religions and none, and still one of the main perpetrators of Christian persecution.
An Islamic State propaganda video from 2022 showed fighters in Iraq [Image credit: Syrian Observatory for Human Rights]
What does Islamic State believe?
There are several elements to the ideology of Islamic State, which can be characterised as Islamist, Salafi and jihadi.
Islamism is a form of political Islam whose adherents believe that Islamic law (sharia) should dominate. There are gradualist forms of Islam and violent ones, of which IS is the clearest example. Salafism is a movement for purity within Islam – an effort to remove modern, un-Islamic innovations (bid’a) from the religion. The meaning of jihad is debated, but for IS and others like them it means violent warfare against non-believers.
IS believes that it is waging a war that will result in a final victory for the umma (the universal Muslim community) against the non-Muslim world.
Where did Islamic State come from?
IS first emerged in the late 2000s as the Iraqi branch of Al Qaeda. Tactical and theological differences, combined with a large degree of in-fighting, meant that it soon split from its parent organisation.
IS began to seize areas Iraq and neighbouring Syria in 2014, and soon held a third of Iraqi and a quarter of Syrian territory. In June of that year this territory was declared to be the caliphate, with then IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi the caliph – the leader, so said IS, to whom all Muslims owe allegiance.
IS was soon struggling to maintain its caliphate in the face of an opposition international military alliance. It had lost 95% of its territory by December 2017, and was declared defeated after the loss of its final piece of land in March 2019.
Has Islamic State been defeated?
The loss of this territory and the death of the Islamic State leader al-Baghdadi during a US raid six months later was a severe blow. But IS is still active.
Even at the height of its control over the Middle Eastern caliphate, the terrorist group was establishing itself elsewhere: first North Africa, then South-Central and South-East Asia and, perhaps most successfully, into sub-Saharan Africa.
IS survives in Iraq and Syria, but it is perhaps stronger in other places.
Where is Islamic State active?
There are provinces (wilayat) of Islamic State in many places. These are just some of the most notable.
Islamic State in West Africa
Two major branches of IS are the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP, based in Nigeria) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP). ISSP is one of the Islamist groups that threatens to overwhelm Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – one researcher calls it “the Afghanization of the African Sahel”. ISWAP has contributed to a situation in northern and Middle Belt Nigeria that has led to the deaths of around 45,000 Christians in the last 15 years.
IS photo showing fighters from Islamic State Central Africa Province pledging allegiance (bay’a) to the central IS leadership [Image credit: Strategic Intelligence Service]
Islamic State in D.R. Congo and Mozambique
Islamic State Mozambique (IS-M) has been waging war in the north of the country for several years. Even more than other Islamist terrorists IS-M fighters are known for the brutality of their killing. Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP, also known as the Allied Democratic Forces) is based in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where it has slaughtered more than 5,000 Christians since October 2017. Both groups are co-ordinated by the Islamic State Al Karrar Office in Somalia, and fighters are reported to move freely between the two conflict zones. ISCAP was responsible for the school massacre that left nearly 40 Christian children dead in western Uganda in June 2023.
Islamic State in Afghanistan
The chaos that has reigned in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of August 2021 has allowed the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) to flourish. ISKP is effective at disseminating IS propaganda in many languages, and attracting recruits in Central Asia, especially Tajiks. The group has carried out attacks in Pakistan and Iran as well as Afghanistan. It has even attacked Russia, and is thought to be the IS affiliate most active in planning operations in the West.
Does Islamic State threaten Christians?
It needs to be clearly understood that that Islamic State threatens everyone, including Muslims. Given the extreme takfiri (willingness to declare other Muslims apostate) ideology of IS, even other jihadists may be viewed as mortal enemies. Yet Christians are a particular target.
In the Iraqi-Syrian caliphate, Christians were among the minority groups (Yazidis were another notable example) who suffered from IS brutality – either subjugated, forced to surrender their homes and property and leave, or killed.
IS affiliates today follow the same pattern. ISCAP, for example, often posts on social media channels its thanksgiving for the slaughter of Christians in D. R. Congo. IS-M has threatened Christians (and Jews) with death if they refuse to pay jizya (a tax owed to Islamic conquerors by Christians and Jews who accept subjugation).
How can we respond to Islamic State?
Security and counterterrorism is a complex area. It is clear that IS remains a global threat, and that the international community cannot allow other wars and humanitarian disasters to push IS off the agenda.
It is also clear that military action against IS is insufficient. Online propaganda through social media channels, Islamist cyberterrorism and the movement of funds (for example, by the Somalia-based al Karrar Office) must also be disrupted. Moderate Muslims too can help by speaking out against IS in order to combat the radicalisation of, particularly, young Muslim men.
As Christians, we may feel helpless in the face of such an overwhelming danger. Yet we should remember that those who fight for us outnumber those who fight against us (2 Kings 6:16-17). Our God is not overwhelmed, and He has promised the everlasting security of all who take refuge in Him.
