ISIL Declared Itself A Worldwide Caliphate - [June 29, 2014] This Day in History

29 June 2014

ISIL declared itself a worldwide caliphate

What happened?

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) proclaimed itself a worldwide caliphate with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi named as the caliph on 29 June 2014. The group claims political, military and religious authority over Muslims all over the world. This is a part of UPSC topics like current affairs, international affairs, terrorism and security issues.

ISIS – Background

• The ISIL is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), Islamic State (IS) or Daesh.
• It is a terrorist organisation and follows a fundamentalist Wahhabi or Salafi doctrine of Sunni Islam.
• Originated in 1999 as Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad, the ISIL gained notoriety during the early months of 2014 when its forces captured major cities including Mosul in Iraq after driving out the government forces there.
• In 2003, it had pledged its allegiance to the Al-Qaeda and took part in the Iraqi insurgency after US-led forces had invaded the country.
• In May 2010, al-Baghdadi was named as the head of the ISIL. He was able to fill his military with army officers who had earlier served the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein.
• The Syrian civil war started in March 2011 and the ISIL began sending Iraqi and Syrian troops to capture areas in Syria. By 2013, they had captured a large part of Syria.
• On 29^th June 2014, the ISIL declared itself a caliphate from Mosul and appointed al-Baghdadi as the caliph.
• The ISIL enforces a strict interpretation of the Islamic Sharia law in areas under its control. This meant absolutely no position and rights for people of different faith and harsh punishments like flogging, amputating and stoning for offences.
• The ISIL has been accused of severe human rights violation like ethnic cleansing of minorities, torture of civilians, kidnapping and recruiting child soldiers, sexual violence and slavery, beheadings and mass executions. They also engage in destroying places of historic, cultural and religious significance since they intend to destroy any heritage other than what they perceive is correct. It is also confirmed that they use chemical weapons in their military activities.
• The declared intent of the ISIL is to establish a global caliphate.
• Government forces led by the US have been fighting the ISIL in Syria and Iraq. The Iraqi government regained control of Mosul in July 2017. As of December 2017, the territory held by the group had been reduced significantly. They have been mostly driven out of Iraq.
• The Counter-ISIL Coalition consists of among others the NATO, the EU, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council. The US military’s counter operations have been codenamed ‘Operation Inherent Resolve’.
• The terrorist organisation is believed to be operating in 18 countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Janood-ul-Khalifa-e-Hind of India has pledged its allegiance to the ISIS.
• The ISIL has met with international criticism including from mainstream Muslim organisations and Muslim countries. Even some jihadist theorists have criticised the ISIL’s interpretation of Islam and declared the caliphate null and void.

Also on this day

1893: Birth of P C Mahalanobis; his birth anniversary is observed as ‘National Statistics Day’ in India.

See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.

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