The 'Islamic Caliphate' Is Now A Reality

A then-ISIS militant summarily executes a prisoner. The group publishes images and videos of savage acts to spread fear and promote its images among jihadis.

The Arab Spring has become the Jihadi Spring as Libya devolved into lawlessness, Egypt reverted to military dictatorship, and the uprising in Syria turned into a sectarian civil war that's engulfing Iraq.

On Sunday, the extremist ISIS militants who are leading the Sunni insurgency in Iraq announced the creation of the Islamic State (IS), or "Caliphate," with its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi "the Caliph" and "leader for Muslims everywhere."

IS is well-funded (largely from extortion and selling oil) and has become attractive for extremists across the globe who want to join global jihad. The group is also savage, crucifying rival Syrian rebels and chopping off the hands of thieves. Keep reading

See also
ISIS Risks Everything to Declare a Caliphate
Alarm, ridicule for declaration of Islamic state
Al-Qaida breakaway formally declares Islamic State

The ISIS, now a self-proclaimed Caliphate, has in effect declared war on all Muslims who do not accept the claim that its leader is successor to the prophet Muhammad. With this proclamation the most savage of jihadist organizations has not only created a self-style Islamic State but also shown itself to be a new sect in Islam, donning the mantle of representing pure Islam like the followers of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab in the eighteenth century. Wahhab, however, never proclaimed himself caliph.

Photo: youtube