The Rise Of The 'Rebel' Islamic State In The Middle East Is Nothing New

The Ancestors of ISIS -- David Motadels, New York Times

CAMBRIDGE, England — IN the last few years, there has been a dramatic rise of a seemingly new type of polity: the Islamic rebel state. Boko Haram in West Africa, the Shabab in East Africa, the Islamic Emirate in the Caucasus and, of course, the Islamic State in the Middle East, known as ISIS, or ISIL — these movements not only call for holy war against the West, but also use their resources to build theocracies.



Though in some respects unprecedented, these groups also have much in common with the Islamic revivalist movements of the 18th century, such as the Wahhabis on the Arabian Peninsula and the great jihadist states of the 19th century. They waged jihad against non-Muslim powers, and at the same time sought to radically transform their own societies.



Read more ....



My Comment: A good summary on the history of past rebel Islamic States. In short .... we are repeating history.



Update: This is interesting .... Mapping The World's Muslims (Zero Hedge)