The Three Phases of Jihadism
... the security order and cause a situation of chaos in Europe, there would be more opportunity to expand by recruiting brothers, training them in the Middle East or Pakistan, and sending them back to Europe to establish caliphates. The third phase of Jihadism, namely ISIS, held a post-millenarian perspective, as opposed to Al Qaeda which was pre-millenarian. By the same token, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi independently developed a form of jihad that was mostly sectarian. He was far more focused on killing Shias than westerners, targeting the heretics before the real infidels. He failed temporarily in Iraq after an overwhelming Shia reaction but was able to win supporters from among Iraqi Sunnis (including former Baathists) who were antagonized and persecuted. With ...