June 15, 2015

Karl Vick

By gaining territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya the extremist group adds credibility for its caliphate, a potent concept to Muslims

When ISIS wins more ground, it gains more than just territory. Every additional inch on the map produces an inflated sense of both the group’s own power and the credibility of its claim to be the presumptive leader of the world’s Sunni Muslims. The extremist group may hold mostly stretches of desert, but desert, after all, is what most of what the Middle East is. At this point any expansion summons associations with the historical caliphates whose growing footprints are recalled with a certain pride by all Muslims, including moderates who disdain the group.

http://time.com/3917097/as-isis-grows-its-territory-it-becomes-increasingly-dangerous/