ISIS - The March to Dystopia

How should we understand ISIS today? The most comprehensive study of ISIS to date, this book benefits 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 - shifting the focus from Salafi ideology - to understand its rise and expansion. This includes a discussion of how regional wars, the occupation of Iraq, sectarian politics, the outbreak of civil war in Iraq and Syria, and the decline of the central state contributed to both ISIS''s formation and the unprecedented merger of Jihadism and Salafism. The book counters a wide misconception in the West that ISIS''s control of Syria and Iraq can be attributed to a Sunni environment, separating the rise of the organization from its exploitation of religious texts. It presents a rebuttal of arguments that hold Islamic civilization responsible for ISIS ideology by reviewing and deconstructing significant jihadi Salafi texts and demonstrating how they depart from Islamic thought and culture. Beyond ISIS, the book offers an original comparative analysis of the ideology of jihadism, as well as matters of governance, recruitment, and radicalisation.

About the author

Azmi Bishara is one of the Arab world’s most prominent scholars and critics of authoritarianism and colonialism. He has published extensively on political thought, state formation theory, social theory, and philosophy. His books include his trilogy on the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria (I.B. Tauris), as well as Palestine: Matters of Truth and Justice; Religion and Secularism in Historical Context; The Question of the State; and On Salafism.

Product details

• Authors: Azmi Bishara
• Publisher: Tauris, I.B.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 11.12.2025
• EAN: 9780755601646
• ISBN: 978-0-7556-0164-6
• No. of pages: 312
• Dimensions: 156 mm x 236 mm x 22 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; RELIGION / Islam / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Terrorism, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Islamic Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern, HISTORY / Middle East / Iraq, Middle East, Islamic Studies, Terrorism, armed struggle, Middle Eastern history, Islamic Theology, HISTORY / Middle East / Syria