How should we understand ISIS today? Despite its territorial defeat in Iraq and Syria in 2019, ISIS has evolved and expanded globally. This book is the most comprehensive study of ISIS to date, benefitting from Arabic sources previously unavailable to an English-speaking audience. Renowned scholar and political philosopher, Azmi Bishara, stresses the need to place ISIS in its historical, social and political context - rather than primarily its Salafi ideology - in order to understand its rise and expansion. The book explains ISIS in terms of both historical and recent political events, including the Six-Day War of 1967, the decline of Arab nationalism, sectarian politics, the outbreak of civil war in Iraq and Syria and the decline of the central state. The book counters the view of some Western researchers that a Sunni environment was conducive to ISIS’s control in Syria and Iraq and also separates the rise of the organization from its exploitation of religious texts. The final chapter defends Islamic civilization against those who hold Islam responsible for ISIS ideology by reviewing and deconstructing significant jihadi Salafi texts and showing the extent to which Salafi thought departs from Islamic thought and culture.
By:
Azmi Bishara (Doha Institute for Graduate Studies Qatar)
Imprint: I.B. Tauris
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 236mm,
Width: 156mm,
Spine: 22mm
Weight: 620g
ISBN: 9780755601646
ISBN 10: 0755601645
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 11 December 2025
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Chapter One: Literature Review and Critical Notes ISIS as an Opportunity to Confirm Existing Prejudices How Central was the Declaration of a Caliphate? A Generational Revolt? The War Perspective Attempting a Psychological Explanation Chapter Two: From Mujahidin to Jihadis, from Jihad to Jihadism From a Religious Obligation to a Political Identity? A Tension between Salafism and Jihadism in the Jihadi Salafism Chapter Three: The Islamic State’s Divergence from al-Qaeda Leadership Dispute after Afghanistan and the Roots of Disagreement Al-Zarqawi and the Conjugation of Sectarianism and Jihadi Salafism A Debate Arises within the Jihadi Salafi Movement Chapter Four: Expand or Perish Background Not Entirely Imported The Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Phase Chapter Five: Life under ISIS Imposing Hudud: First Comes the Punishment Economic Aspects The Nightmare of ISIS’s Daily Dictates The Cultural Makeover and the Failed Attempt to Produce the “New Muslim” Chapter Six: Ideologues The Brutality Required to Manage Savagery Abdullah Ibn Muhammad: How Strategic Thinking Prompted a Jihadi Salafi to Change His Mind The Islamic State’s Strategic Plan From Informing Humanity to Pledging Allegiance to al-Baghdadi Extending Hands of Allegiance to al-Baghdadi Between Reality and Illusion, or Debates within the Jihadi Salafi Movement An Addendum in Commentary on Abu Abdullah al-Muhajir’s Issues in the Jurisprudence of Jihad Bibliography
Azmi Bishara is one of the most prominent scholars in the Arab world. He is currently the General Director of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, Qatar and chairs the Board of Trustees of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Qatar. Bishara received the Ibn Rushd Prize for Free Thought in 2002 and the Human Rights Award from Global Exchange in 2003.
Reviews for ISIS: The March to Dystopia
In this incisive monograph, Azmi Bishara masterfully unpacks the sociopolitical underpinnings of ISIS, melding historical nuance with rigorous analytical depth. His erudite treatment dissects modern extremism as a product of failed states, sectarian politics, and instrumentalized religiosity—an indispensable reference for researchers and policymakers alike. -- Omar Ashour Azmi Bishara’s book on ISIS is the most comprehensive and complete treatment of the topic to date. He has explored the phenomenon of this modern movement in greater depth and clarity than any other book before it. An impressive achievement. -- Ahmed S. Hashim, Professor of War Studies, Centre for Future Defence and National Security, Deakin University, Canberra, Australia A deeply thoughtful work, one of the few ISIS books that will stand the test of time. I'm delighted to see it finally appear in English translation. * Thomas Hegghammer, University of Oxford, UK *
