The Islamic State (IS; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية‎ ad-Dawlah l-ʾIslāmiyyah), previously self-described as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL /ˈaɪsəl/; Arabic: الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام‎ also translated: Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, ISIS /ˈaɪsɪs/, with Arabic acronym: داعش Daʿesh)[a] is an unrecognized state and a Sunni jihadist group in the Middle East, active in Iraq and Syria. In its self-proclaimed status as a caliphate, it claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world[66] and aspires to bring most of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control[67] beginning with territory in the Levant region which include Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and part of southern Turkey.[68] It has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, and has been described by the United Nations and Western and Middle Eastern media as a terrorist group.[69] The United Nations and Amnesty International have accused the group of grave human rights abuses.

The Islamic State, still regularly described as ISIL, ISIS and Daʿesh, originated as Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in 1999. This group was the forerunner of Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn—later commonly known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—a group formed by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in 2004 which took part in the Iraqi insurgency against American-led forces and their Iraqi allies following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[68][70] During the 2003–2011 Iraq War, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council before adopting the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI /ˈaɪsɪ/).[70][71] At its height it enjoyed a significant presence in the Iraqi governorates of Al Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad, and claimed Baqubah as a capital city.[72][73][74][75] However, the violent attempts by the Islamic State of Iraq to govern its territory led to a backlash from Sunni Iraqis and other insurgent groups circa 2008, which helped to propel the Awakening movement and a temporary decline in the group.[70][76]

ISIS grew significantly under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, gaining support in Iraq as a result of alleged economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis. Then, after entering the Syrian Civil War, it established a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo.[77] In June 2014, it had at least 4,000 fighters in its ranks in Iraq.[78] It has claimed responsibility for attacks on government and military targets and for attacks that killed thousands of civilians.[79] In August 2014, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the number of fighters in the group had increased to 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq,[18] while the CIA estimated in September 2014 that in both countries it had between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters.[20] ISIS had close links to al-Qaeda until February 2014 when, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and "notorious intractability".[80][81]

ISIS’s original aim was to establish a caliphate in the Sunni-majority regions of Iraq, and following its involvement in the Syrian Civil War this expanded to include controlling Sunni-majority areas of Syria.[82] A caliphate was proclaimed on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—now known as Amir al-Mu'minin Caliph Ibrahim—was named as its caliph, and the group was renamed the Islamic State.[5]ISIS is a Sunni extremist group that follows al-Qaeda's hard-line ideology and adheres to global jihadist principles.[105][106] Like al-Qaeda and many other modern-day jihadist groups, ISIS emerged from the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s first Islamist group dating back to the late 1920s in Egypt.[107] ISIS follows an extreme anti-Western interpretation of Islam, promotes religious violence and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels or apostates. Concurrently, ISIS—now IS—aims to establish a Salafist-orientated Islamist state in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Levant.[106]

ISIS's ideology originates in the branch of modern Islam that aims to return to the early days of Islam, rejecting later "innovations" in the religion which it believes corrupt its original spirit. It condemns later caliphates and the Ottoman Empire for deviating from what it calls pure Islam and hence has been attempting to establish its own caliphate.[108] However, some Sunni commentators, including Salafi and jihadi muftis such as Adnan al-Aroor and Abu Basir al-Tartusi, say that ISIS and related terrorist groups are not Sunnis, but modern-day Kharijites—Muslims who have stepped outside the mainstream of Islam—serving an imperial anti-Islamic agenda.[109][110][111][112] Other critics of ISIS's brand of Sunni Islam include Salafists who previously publicly supported jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda, for example the Saudi government official Saleh Al-Fawzan who claims that ISIS is a creation of “Zionists, Crusaders and Safavids”, and the Jordanian-Palestinian writer Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi who was released from prison in Jordan in June 2014.[112]

Salafists such as ISIS believe that only a legitimate authority can undertake the leadership of jihad, and that the first priority over other areas of combat, such as fighting non-Muslim countries, is the purification of Islamic society. For example, when it comes to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, since ISIS regards the Palestinian Sunni group Hamas as apostates who have no legitimate authority to lead jihad, it regards fighting Hamas as the first step toward confrontation with Israel.[113][114]

Hassan, Hassan (11 June 2014). "Political reform in Iraq will stem the rise of Islamists". The National. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
Khatib, Lina (12 June 2014). "What the Takeover of Mosul Means for ISIS". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
"ISIS on offense in Iraq". Al-Monitor. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
Kelley, Michael B. (20 August 2014). "One Big Question Surrounds The Murder Of US Journalist James Foley By ISIS". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 August 2014. "...the de facto ISIS capital of Raqqa, Syria..."
Withnall, Adam (29 June 2014). "Iraq crisis: Isis changes name and declares its territories a new Islamic state with 'restoration of caliphate' in Middle East". The Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
Rubin, Alissa J. (5 July 2014). "Militant Leader in Rare Appearance in Iraq". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
"ISIS Spokesman Declares Caliphate, Rebrands Group as Islamic State". SITE Institute. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
"Iraqi City in Hands of Al-Qaida-Linked Militants". Voice of America. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
"The Crisis in Iraq". UMAA. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
Uppsala Data Conflict Programme: Conflict Encyclopaedia (Iraq). (See One-sided violence – ISIS-civilians – Actor information-ISIS.) Retrieved 5 August 2014.
"Al-Qaeda chief disbands main jihadist faction in Syria: Al-Jazeera". Hürriyet Daily News. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
Knights, Michael (29 May 2014). "The ISIL's Stand in the Ramadi-Falluja Corridor". Combating Terrorism Center. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
Akhmeteli, Nina (9 July 2014). "The Georgian roots of Isis commander Omar al-Shishani". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
"Syria crisis: Omar Shishani, Chechen jihadist leader". BBC News. 3 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
"Here's What We Know About the 'Caliph' of the New Islamic State". Business Insider. Agence France-Presse. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
Mohammed Tawfeeq and Laura Smith-Spark (4 January 2014). "Islamist group ISIS claims deadly Lebanon blast, promises more violence". CNN. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
"ISIS claims responsibility for Beirut car bomb". The Daily Star. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
"Islamic State 'has 50,000 fighters in Syria'". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
http://rt.com/news/183048-isis-grow-expand-jihadist/
"Islamic State 'has 50,000 fighters in Syria'". Agence France-Presse. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
Pool, Jeffrey (16 December 2004). "Zarqawi's Pledge of Allegiance to Al-Qaeda: From Mu'Asker Al-Battar, Issue 21". Terrorism Monitor 2 (24): The Jamestown Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 30 July 2014.

Read more at http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant.