Who is ISIS?
And What Are They Doing?
Basic Description
The Flag of ISIS
ISIS Fighters
The Caliph/Leader of ISIS
Deeper Into ISIS
As most people know, ISIS is an Islamic extremist militant/terrorist group that controls territory and operates in and around Syria and Iraq (Johnson). However, there is a lot more to ISIS, that most people don't know. They cannot be defined in once sentence, as their beliefs, actions and history all make up who they are. They started as AQI, al-Qaeda in Iraq, in 2004. Later, in 2013, they pronounced themselves ISIS, worldwide caliphate (Madison). A caliphate is a form of Islamic government, led by a caliph. The Muslims believe that a caliph is a political successor to Muhammad, in this case, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the caliph and person behind the brutality of ISIS (Madison).
ISIS fights for religion, and under no circumstances tolerate Christianity. They believe that only Islam should be permitted. Over 20,000 Christians have been slaughtered, including women and children ("ISIS on Christians"). While Christians are mainly targeted, ISIS targets every non-Islamic religion, and every opposition. Because of this, they have made some enemies. Support from other countries include supplies for the resistance, air strikes, money and troops ("What Can we do to Stop ISIS?").
A question many people have, including myself, is how ISIS got to be where they are today? Where do they get their money? Where do they get their followers? ISIS is said to make about two million dollars a day from extortion, taxes, oil exports and smuggling ("In 60 seconds, What does the IS Want?"). Now addressing the people. ISIS has started a new propaganda machine, spewing nonsense 24/7. They have taken the advantage of Twitter, FaceBook and other social media sites to make life under ISIS regime seem "fun" or "glamorous". These lies are not often countered, so they draw in new people each day.