Ya Libnan

ISIS shortens name to IS after declaring Caliphate

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Abu_Bakr_al-Baghda insertThe extremist Sunni group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Sunday declared a new Caliphate—or an Islamic state to claim dominion over Muslims across the globe—on the territory it holds in the two countries.

An online statement declared the group’s shadowy leader, known as Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, the Caliph, or successor to the Prophet Mohammed who died in 632. The position has been vacant since 1924, when the founder of modern Turkey abolished the office as a remnant of the Ottoman Empire, and bundled the last man to hold it, a bookish Francophile named Abdulmecid Efendi, into exile aboard the Orient Express.

Restoring the caliphate, and with it a measure of the glory that attended Islam’s golden age, has been the stated goal of Sunni Muslim activists for decades, from the Muslim Brotherhood to Hizb ut-Tahrir to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda. But al-Baghdadi’s group is the first to assert it. “The time has come for those generations that were drowning in oceans of disgrace, being nursed on the milk of humiliation, and being ruled by the vilest of all people, after their long slumber in the darkness of neglect – the time has come for them to rise,” said the statement.

“They are saying that they are now the center of gravity in global jihad,” says Hayder Al-Khoei, a specialist on Iraq at Chatham House, the London think tank. “They have leap-frogged in that sense al-Qaeda.”

The most immediate tangible effect of the announcement, attributed to ISIS spokesman Mohammed al-Adnani, was to shorten the group’s name. It now wants to be called simply Islamic State, moving past debates over transliterations of the former title, sometimes rendered as ISIL, for Levant instead of Syria, or al-Shams. Social media sites such as Twitter, which the group has used expertly to amplify its message and sense of a strong following, came alive with a new #IS hashtag, while Facebook carried posts claiming to document celebrations –shooting in the air from pickups — in the streets of Raqqah, the Syrian city the Islamist group has held the longest.

Any further impact will depend on public reaction. In the immediate wake of the announcement, skeptics were not hard to find.

Time

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36 responses to “ISIS shortens name to IS after declaring Caliphate”

  1. The real lebanese Avatar
    The real lebanese

    Instead of dropping bombs on cities in the west, Assad should focus on the East where this monkey Baghdadi is hiding.

    1. Farq2 Avatar
      Farq2

      Wow, we agree on something Real. -:))))

      1. The real lebanese Avatar
        The real lebanese

        This guy is beginning to think he can run Syria and Iraq and I would honestly pick Assad over him. Dont get too excited though. The Iraqi gov. (and Syria) needs to be more inclusive with Sunnis (and my guess is other sects) too. All Islamist groups need are excuses like this and they could start something serious.

        1. arzatna1 Avatar
          arzatna1

          I think both Assad and Baghdadi are terrible choices . Both are terrorists and deserve one another
          We should be able to do better I hope
          I strongly believe that the creation of an Islamic state in Iran, coupled with the 2003 invasion of Iraq which helped Shiite Iran expand its influence are responsible for all the extremism we are witnessing within the Sunni sect

          1. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            “Both are terrorists and deserve one another ”

            They both are terrorists but they’re not getting one another. Rather the FSA, Sunni tribesman against ISIS, and innocent civilians in both countries are getting the wrath of both while the regime and ISIS just recently began a light conflict. I think they’re leaving each other in case they make it to the end because if one got rid of the other now, what would they be fighting for?

          2. Farq2 Avatar
            Farq2

            This just shows you have no idea what you are talking about. This extremism you see has been going on for over 1 thousand years. The Sunni extremist have been wanting to wipe out the Shiites and Alawites for years. Read up on the Ottoman empire and see what the extremist did to us as well as you Christians for over 400 years. This is nothing new. Oh, and BTW, as much as you hate Assad, Iran and HA, without them, you Christians would next on the killing menu. Don’t ever forget that.

          3. arzatna1 Avatar
            arzatna1

            I disagree
            Hezbollah’s involvement in in Syria and its destabilizing of the Lebanese state could bring the end of Christians in Lebanon. Hezbollah has done nothing to protect the Christians or any sect , not even the Shiites . You should not believe the propaganda coming from a murderer like Assad …who is only interested in protecting himself and not even his own Alawite sect .
            Time to refresh your thinking

          4. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            “Time to refresh your thinking”
            Take him to mazzeh for a Dr. Maher update 🙂

          5. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            This is the problem. You assume all Sunni rebels are out to kill every non Sunni and Shiites are the Christians only hope in the ME. Christians used to dominate the entire Levant before the majority of us left during and after the Civil war. I cant speak for the south but in the north its the Syrian Regime under Hafez Assad that did it to us. Interesting side note, Brazil actually has more Lebanese descendants than Lebanon by about 2 million, almost all being Christians.

          6. Farq2 Avatar
            Farq2

            Real, please read what I said, I never said Sunni rebels. I said Sunni extremist. Big difference. And Real, these extremist ARE out to kill every non extremist. Also, I do acknowledge what Syria did to the north of Lebanon. However I think you need to acknowledge what I said above.

          7. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            I did read, and you said without Iran and co., Christians would be next on the killing menu. Are they not on the menu in Lebanon when Hezbollah targets them for political gain or in Syria when Assad has mass murdered them in many different ways? And I forgot to mention the Lebanese Christian politicians who “disappeared” in Syria’s prisons. The only difference i see when I compare Assad/Hezbollah to Sunni extremists is the extremists claim all their attacks, trying to make noise and panic in people. Assad/Hezbollah deny and fall back to accusing political opponents of helping the Zionist/Takfiri cause. This strategy is much more effective, in my opinion. Especially in Lebanon where the law cant put them to trial because they are much stronger than the state. The answer in Syria is not Assad or terrorists, but a bicameral democracy in which all groups of people not attacking the state are a part of. The chances of this happening without foreign intervention are one in a million. That is why I dont think the war will end even before 2016 (unless Assad voluntarily steps down and helps set up a new government, which most likely wont happen).

          8. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            Who left ISIS in east Syria while they pounded at the moderate rebel opposition in west Syria? Assad and Nasrallah know what they are doing. If they were to destroy ISIS before the FSA, the world would know Assad isnt fighting as many foreign terrorists as he likes to claim. But if he gets rid of the FSA first, he can finish off with ISIS and look like a hero. Thats why before ISIS began its advance in Iraq, he left them to flourish and fight the FSA while he also worked on squeezing the FSA out of existence.

          9. MekensehParty Avatar
            MekensehParty

            What you always intentionally leave out is how many people you extremist shia have killed to achieve the same dominion that sunni extremists are trying to achieve.
            YOU are a killer, a supporter of killers.
            YOU are exactly like Baghdadi or Ordoni or whatever name they give themselves.
            Do not think for a minute that people forget what a bloody terrorist you and your family are!!!

          10. IraniAngel Avatar
            IraniAngel

            hahahahahahahahahahaha brazil has 7 millions lebanese u non-real lebanese loser!!!! lollllll

          11. 5thDrawer Avatar
            5thDrawer

            ok … 7 million.
            Add a few every hour … but not as many as Syrians in Lebanon.

          12. IraniAngel Avatar
            IraniAngel

            thanks to the US n their ‘moderate’ friends

          13. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            Lol whats the joke? I said Brazil has about 2 million more Lebanese descendants than Lebanon. Can you process that?

          14. IraniAngel Avatar
            IraniAngel

            when u dont even know the correct number of how many lebanese live in brazil how r we to trust anything u say?? thats the real question u shud be asking real lebanese

          15. The real lebanese Avatar
            The real lebanese

            Once again I said 2 million more in Brazil than Lebanon…. Do you understand what I’m saying yet?

          16. IraniAngel Avatar
            IraniAngel

            ok 7abibi

          17. IraniAngel Avatar
            IraniAngel

            try to listen to urself

        2. 5thDrawer Avatar
          5thDrawer

          For Real … All Islamist groups need are excuses like hearing that a movie was made somewhere and they burn KFC restaurants. :-)))

  2. bypest Avatar
    bypest

    Baghdadi is clearly not the successor of Muhammad (pbuh), as he is of a dubious bloodline. I consider him the incarnation of Moloch.

    1. IraniAngel Avatar
      IraniAngel

      is pbuh short for piss be upon him?

  3. master09 Avatar
    master09

    So what they the muslims are saying is when the new leader of the muslim world or Caliph, or successor to the Prophet Mohammed who died in 632 can be JUST a man like he was in 632 when he died.
    Does this Mean mohammed was just an army general or leader of a terrorist group in the year 620 to 632, just asking the ?????. The sword was mightier than a pen in those days.

    1. MekensehParty Avatar
      MekensehParty

      Every general in the olden days was what we today define as terrorist and mass murderer… That’s simply how wars were fought.

  4. ABOU TOOKAN AL AMRIKI Avatar
    ABOU TOOKAN AL AMRIKI

    from the euphoric high state of feel good victory with little to no resistance YET, their victory will likely be short lived if they end up pissing off more than just Iraqis they don’t agree with. I am sure many Iraqis have legitimate gripe with noor malaki but the whole world is looking at this group with eyes wide open and will not think twice about taking them on if they don’t stop running their mouths with the context of a global mission or the not so flattering videos that don’t give the warm and fuzzy feeling to the majority, they rained on the Syrian parade and rendered their fight worthless and sanitized assads sins with their even more brutal conduct, I don’t believe any country is going to handle them with kid gloves, in a nut shell, long term this party could be shortlived.

    1. The real lebanese Avatar
      The real lebanese

      I doubt their “March to Baghdad” will even occur.

      1. bypest Avatar
        bypest

        The Heathen State of Baghdadi and Al-Saud (alternatives anyone?) does not have the capabilities to take the capital, which is simply too well fortified. At best, they will pillage the countryside for a while before having the tables turned against them, drawing from what occurred with those militants around Damascus.

        1. Flyercrazy Avatar
          Flyercrazy

          amazing the difference a day makes, isn’t it?

      2. Flyercrazy Avatar
        Flyercrazy

        Have you changed your view yet?

        1. The real lebanese Avatar
          The real lebanese

          On what? IS has still yet to make a march on Baghdad, and they still won’t. If anything, my point is proven.

  5. nagy_michael2 Avatar
    nagy_michael2

    so what happened if this Prince of Darkness dies soon from a Barrel bomb.. will the caliphate stop existing? Saddam thought of himself the same way. people never learn. Assad sees himself as savior but his end will be the same as Saddam, Ghaddafi and Hitler.. Soon this euphoria will evaporate with a sound defeat and a new group will rise and fall. They don’t seem to follow their beliefs that there is no God but one God..

  6. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Of course, the Baker of Baghdad becomes the Caliph. :-))))
    Still can’t match the Carpenter of Jerusalem. 😉
    The Baker has to threaten and steal from everyone to feed himself and his ‘army’ of misfits.
    The Carpenter fed a multitude with 3 fish and 5 loaves donated by his crew.

    Even worse, because of the Caliph, the ‘feast’ (iftar) at the end of starvation during the RamadamnImHungry month is being cancelled everywhere.

    Basically, anyone ‘glorifying’ in this whole Caliphate thing IS stupid.
    (or is that ISIS stupid … need a new programme … IS stupid.)

  7. ghassan Karam Avatar
    ghassan Karam

    And this too , shall pass.

  8. GrapeLeaves Avatar
    GrapeLeaves

    Does IS stand for “I stupid”? Cause there will never be a caliphate and they need to stop trying to drag the world back to the stone age.

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