Global and local jihad

This slim monograph by an academic-cum-journalist contains a lot of information and insights about Islamic fundamentalist groups such as the Mujahideen, Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the Muslim Brotherhood, but the focus of his study is on the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). ISIS has similarities with other Islamic groups, but also salient distinguishing features. 

Unlike other jihadist groups operating in Muslim Arab countries, the author says, ISIS “… not only established a proto-state effectively erasing the border between Iraq and Syria, but also turned that state into a Jihadist haven, attracting youth from around the world into its Caliphate.” Mr Johny sees this as a new and unprecedented phase in global jihadism, and this is why he has tried to study the causes of the expansionism beyond state and continental boundaries of this anachronistic concept. The Islamic Caliphate was abolished by Mustafa Kemal, the father of modern Turkey, in 1924, and Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi of Iraq, who broke away from Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda, sought to revive it in the new century.

This monograph has two parts: “The Core” and “The Periphery”. The first part consists of four chapters dealing with the historical and religious factors that have gone into the making of many Islamic jihadist movements. The second part covers the Indian connection and the current state of play for ISIS, now that it has been rolled back in its former territory. The author explains carefully that in spite of the fact that the Holy Quran and Prophet Muhammad are the only reference points of religious believers, it is the interpretation of the Book and the Prophet’s sayings at different stage in history that have played a significant role in the creation of the purist, Salafi version that has captured the minds of many believers. These beliefs, which are essentially viewed as defensive mechanisms against all non-believers, have found fertile ground in the political and social chaos created by the West — from the creation of the Afghan Mujahideen as the United States’ proxy in the Cold War against the Soviet Union in 1979 to the attack on the twin towers in New York in 2001 and the pointless invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Though ISIS has been incapacitated in Iraq and Syria, Mr Johny argues that this is by no means the end of the story for this global jihadist grouping. As he points out, ISIS has recruits from one hundred countries, its reach is worldwide, and it skilfully used modern information technology to ensure that its ideological message is sustained around the world. ISIS’ online English magazine, Dabiq, remains a source of information for future recruits and followers. Mr Johny also points out that though ISIS is a diminished organisation owing to its territorial losses, its ideological underpinnings in Salafist Islam remains in the ascendant, with Saudi Arabia as it patron- and financier-in-chief. This patronage and the continuing interference of western powers in West Asian politics is likely to ensure that the socio-political dynamics of the region remains steeped in chaos. The destabilisation of Arab regimes, posited as a “war on terror”, created a vacuum that violent Islamic groups are only too ready to fill. The author quotes then US President Barack Obama as saying in 2013 that “… the removal of the ‘Ba’athist regime in Damascus lies at the core of the US, strategic interests in the region”. How can the West complain of the growth of terrorism in the Arab countries when it is the villain of the piece? Although this is a valid assessment, Mr Johny’s book takes us to events till the end of 2017, too soon to assess the mild, liberalising tenets of Saudi Arabia’s enigmatic new crown prince.

For the most part, Mr Johny covers familiar ground in his exposition of the growth of ISIS. The most informative chapter of his book concerns jihadist groups from Kerala, based on his fieldwork and interviews with parents of some recruits. He points out that although Kerala Muslims are “aligned to the syncretic traditions of Islam in South Asia,” about 100 youth from Kerala have joined Islamic extremist groups. One of the recruits sent a message to his father “….that we have pledged our allegiance to Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, tell him that we would meet in Jammatul Firdous (paradise). You people will never understand the kind of peace we enjoy here”.

What Mr Johny overlooked perhaps is that, unlike in Britain and Europe, relatively few Muslims from India were lured by ISIS’ apocalyptic visions. It is certainly a topic worth exploring in the current political context. He ends by suggesting that Europe and the US have significant lessons to learn from the emergence of ISIS. In my view, the Hindutva parivar could learn from the ISIS experience too: That yoking religion to politics and public affairs creates fertile ground for sectarian violence that can take decades to abate. This, to my mind, is the central message of this short book.

The ISIS Caliphate: From Syria to the Doorsteps of India

Stanly Johny

Bloomsbury

184 pages; Rs 499