The 11th Nordic Conference on Middle Eastern Studies

Description

In April 2013, Abu Bakr Al- Baghdadi, leader of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), announced his group’s expansion into Syria and merger with Jabhat al-Nusra (JN) to form the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham or ISIS. JN’s leader Abu Mohammad al-Jolani denied the merger while accepting ties between the two groups. Al-Jolani also swore an oath to the head of al-Qaeda Central, Aymen Al-Zawahiri. Tension escalated, and the dispute was referred to al-Zawahiri who ruled against the merger. A theological debate then emerged, dividing the Salafi-Jihadi ulamaʾ into those supporting and opposed to the merger. Each group’s position was supported by texts from the Quran, the Sunna, and narratives from Islamic history. I contend that although Salafi-Jihadi ulamaʾ used the same concepts (al-baya, obedience and Muslims’ unity) to bolster their argument, their distinct interpretations of these concepts support the theological and political divides between the different Salafi-Jihadi factions.

Period	2019 Aug 14
Event type	Conference
Location	Helsinki, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International