After IS, what next? — the missing (apocalyptic) strand

May 23rd, 2016 by Charles Cameron

[ by Charles Cameron — four recent tweets, some lines of inquiry, & no certain conclusion, no date certain ]

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The four recent tweets that set me off..

#ISIS spokesman said that even if group loses #Mosul #Raqqah #Sirte, it will not be defeated until it loses its faith-based fighting spirit

— SITE Intel Group (@siteintelgroup) May 21, 2016

#IS: "Do you think that you will be victorious if you killed ['Umar] al-Shîshânî or Abû Bakr [al-Baghdâdî] or Abû Zayd [?] or Abû 'Amr [?]"

— Mr. Orange (@Mr0rangetracker) May 21, 2016

#Adnani audiotape another sign of #ISIL leaders in deep hiding, afraid to appear in public, or already dead. Days are numbered. #ISIS #Daesh

— Brett McGurk (@brett_mcgurk) May 21, 2016

ISIS knows Al Qaeda is planning to challenge ISIS in its stronghold — Syria https://t.co/Wq9ArSDbX2

— Mike Walker (@New_Narrative) May 21, 2016

**

There are a multitude of voices now raising the question After ISIS< What Next? They can be heard from as far back as October 2014, onwards:

  • Al Arabiya English, What comes after ISIS’ defeat?

  • Foreign Policy, What Comes After the Islamic State Is Defeated?

  • Lexington Institute, What Do We Do The Day After ISIS Is Defeated?

  • The National Interest, We Defeat ISIS. Then What?

  • The Telegraph, What happens once Isil is defeated?

  • Wilson Center, Iraq: Now and After ISIS

  • The [Huffington] World Post, The Middle East after ISIS

    • and most recently:

  • The Atlantic, The Hell After ISIS

    • If IS continues losing territory, as suggested in the tweets above, this question can only gain in force.

    **

    I have been following Islamic eschatology since 1998 or thereabouts, when I met David Cook, and I thought that what was at that time an eerily unappreciated question had at last made its way into informed consciousness after..

  • 2002, David Cook, Studies in Muslim Apocalyptic

  • 2005, David Cook, Contemporary Muslim Apocalyptic Literature

  • 2011, J-P Filiu, Apocalypse in Islam

  • 2014, Martin Dempsey, speech: IS has “an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision”

  • 2015, Jessica Stern & JM Berger, ISIS: The State of Terror

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    Posted in al qaida, Apocalyptic, Charles Cameron, IS, ISIS, Islam, JM Berger, media, Uncategorized, will mccants | 3 comments

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