The Three Phases 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 ... ... Iraqi Sunnis (including former Baathists) who were antagonized and persecuted. With this support, they established a network in Syria and Iraq which eventually became the Caliphate. The third phase of Jihadism did not take place on the stage of satellite television, unlike their predecessors. They reigned in the age of social ...