Initially a terrorist group within the Al Qaeda organization, the Islamic State of Iraq refused to obey orders from its previous superiors and declared the Islamic State, the caliphate which existed for over 1,300 years but which had ceased to exist in 1924 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. This declaration was possible because contrary to previous terrorist organizations which attacked targets and dissolved into the community, the Islamic State actually governs the territories it controls. It has a radio and a TV station. It counts with a prolific presence in the Internet, especially in social media. It prints its own currency, manages its own postal system and runs its schools, hospitals and police stations. It exploits resources, taxes its populations and imposes its distorted interpretation of Sharia law. It considers itself the pristine manifestation of Islam and authorizes the killing of any non-Sunni Muslim as not-true believers.

Initially a terrorist group within the Al Qaeda organization, the Islamic State of Iraq refused to obey orders from its previous superiors and declared the Islamic State, the caliphate which existed for over 1,300 years but which had ceased to exist in 1924 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. This declaration was possible because contrary to previous terrorist organizations which attacked targets and dissolved into the community, the Islamic State actually governs the territories it controls. It has a radio and a TV station. It counts with a prolific presence in the Internet, especially in social media. It prints its own currency, manages its own postal system and runs its schools, hospitals and police stations. It exploits resources, taxes its populations and imposes its distorted interpretation of Sharia law. It considers itself the pristine manifestation of Islam and authorizes the killing of any non-Sunni Muslim as not-true believers.

Initially a terrorist group within the Al Qaeda organization, the Islamic State of Iraq refused to obey orders from its previous superiors and declared the Islamic State, the caliphate which existed for over 1,300 years but which had ceased to exist in 1924 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I. This declaration was possible because contrary to previous terrorist organizations which attacked targets and dissolved into the community, the Islamic State actually governs the territories it controls. It has a radio and a TV station. It counts with a prolific presence in the Internet, especially in social media. It prints its own currency, manages its own postal system and runs its schools, hospitals and police stations. It exploits resources, taxes its populations and imposes its distorted interpretation of Sharia law. It considers itself the pristine manifestation of Islam and authorizes the killing of any non-Sunni Muslim as not-true believers.