Islam is one of the dominant religions in the world that follows the teachings of the Quran, which is considered the holy book of the Muslim faith and common within the Arabic-speaking nations within the Middle East and North Africa. Amongst the core pillars of Islam is its five pillars that all Muslims are under an obligation to adopt or fulfill within their lifetime. The religion considers the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as the ultimate way of human conduct and religious life, which must be followed by any adherent of the Muslim faith. On the other hand, the emergence of non-state actors can be traced to the drawing of the maps of the Islam nations without the consideration of the religious-sectarian and ethno-cultural complexities that would arise after the drawing of the boundaries. There are three significant explanations for the emergence of political Islam and the non-state actors such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). First is the increased importance attached to the culture, which includes the Muslim religion, and the identity politics that emerge because of the tussle between interstate power and economic relations. In addition, Islamism and non-state actors have emerged because of the exploitative nature of the political and economic relations that exist between the industrialized nations of the North as compared to the less industrialized nations within the North. Further, the non-state violence has emerged because of the Islam, which is used as a justification for modern warfare and the increase in asymmetric wars that happen within the world. This paper seeks to analyze the emergence of ISIL within the Middle East in the context of the aforementioned factors that explain the rise of Islam and non-state actors within the global context.
With the new geographical boundaries, there emerged new leadership within the nations, which were left with idiosyncratic modes of management. Additionally, the Arab Spring, which refers to the uprisings meant to increase the democratic space in the social, economic, and political welfare of Arab nations including Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen, and Syria contributed to the emergence of non-state actors (Anderson, 2011). The Arab Spring is particularly significant in the emergence of radical Islamism and non-state actors within the Middle East and beyond that include such organizations such as ISIL.
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ISIL
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is at times referred to as ISIS, majorly derived from the Sunni sect of Islam, which practice a Salafi jihadist militant organization that advocates for the adoption of the strict fundamental Islamic principles, which is the Wahhabi doctrine. The emergence of ISIL as a powerful non-state actor is not a new phenomenon as it was just a matter of time before it occurred, but its influence has confounded scholars as well as international law and relations experts. ISIL has demonstrated its power as well as violent nature against innocent civilians in the countries that it operates in, especially Iraq and Syria where it has killed and maimed thousands of people. Many reasons can be the cause of the emergence and attractiveness of ISIL as a non-state actor, which can be attributed to its structural organization as well as the exercise of territorial influence within the Middle East. However, the greatest contributors to its emergence are the radicalization of Islam, perceived unequal development between the North and the South as well as the modern warfare and asymmetry as discussed here below.
Increased Importance of Culture and Religion
The realization to reestablish and emphasize the Islam culture was found to have been brought about upon the realization that the nations within the Muslim world suffered from historical dissonance brought about by the colonization by powers such as the Ottomans, French, British, and Italians. This led to the establishment of nations that were fractured in the sense that citizens of these Arab nations failed to identify with each other as sharing a cultural identity and geographical characteristics (Henry and Springborg, 2001). The result of this is that there was the marginalization of some members; hence, causing intra-societal conflict that culminated in the Arab Spring . In order to address these challenges, Islam has been the mode of choice based on the fact most of these nations share the same ideology in prophesying the Muslim faith, which is universally practiced amongst them.
Islam is one of the most significant religions within the world and its adherents are known to be overzealous in their faith. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Islam world, predominantly in the Middle East have preferred leadership derived from the Muslim concepts such as the acceptance of the Muslim Brotherhood in nations such as Egypt as well as the Islam Salafists that are present in nations such as Libya and Yemen. Within the Muslim world, there is the increased debate amongst the Sunnis and the Shias who both claim to be the most dominant and authoritative voice of Islam and practice of Islamism. For instance, Al-Qaeda has emerged as a non-state actor that exhibits Wahhabist views that have been found to be murderous to the citizens in the affected nations as well as globally.
In essence, the nations that have experienced increased cases of Islamism and emergence of non-state actors have been the victims of pan-Islamism that seeks to establish Muslim identity within the Islamists, either within or outside the nations (Hegghammer, 2011). Therefore, in an effort to seek political, most cultures within the Muslim world tend to propagate an alarmist discourse about the threats that are likely to affect the Muslim world and Islam in general. In an effort to protect or emphasize the Muslim culture, these nations are likely to engage in activities aimed at showing the attachment to their culture.
In the recent past, Islamist groups have emerged in the world, especially the Middle East where conservative Muslims have been able to express their views as superior and should be adopted (Ganguly, 2006). Therefore, they have not only emphasizing that the Islam religion is the superior religion, but also to insist that other religions are inferior while at the same time insisting on particular interpretations and compliance with the Islamic theology.
The emerging Muslim ideology has altered the political discourse within these nations by fashioning their political cultures that have increasingly adopted the parochial vision of Islam, which is the strict application of the Muslim faiths tailored along the perceptions of the Salafists. Further, it is worth noting that the emergence of militant Islam can be attributed to the failure to address the socio-economic problems that bedevil these nations such as endemic unemployment, poverty and disorder within the political world (Ganguly, 2006). For example, a nation such as Bangladesh has registered the increase of militant Islam organizations based on the complaints by the citizens that the state has failed to provide the requisite social service required by the citizens. Moreover, the failings of most states within Asia, especially the Middle East has allowed the practice of radical Islamism, which directs its wrath towards any kind of secularism as well as hostility towards the sectarian and religious minorities in their nations such as Christians (Ganguly, 2006). These radical Islamist organizations have been responsible for some of the harassments that are experienced in nations such as Libya, Iraq and Syria amongst others.
Using the Islam culture and ideals, ISIL has been able to entrench the application of the radical Islamism, which also encourages the sectarian violence and divide within the affected nations such as Syria, Libya, Iraq and Turkey amongst others. As part of its strategy, it has also created a caliphate that exploits the structural faults that exist within these nations in order to entrench the application of the Muslim culture to disguise its criminal and violent activities. Therefore, ISIL continues to exercise the ideological concepts of submission and jihad that is practiced within the Muslim faith, which advocates for violence against people considered unrighteous.
Exploitative Nature of the Industrialized North against the Less-Industrialized South
Inequalities of globalization brought about by the structural intricacies of the international political system such as nation-states, international organizations as well as other actors have also contributed to the emergence of non-state actors such as ISIL ( Kayani, Ahmed and Shoaib, 2015). In the period preceding and after the Arab Spring, the emergence on non-state actors such as ISIL, there have been complaints of non-conclusive reforms and inequitable development of all citizens in the nation as is the case with Libya ( Haas & Lesch, 2013) . Most of the time, this is blamed on the exploitative nature of the industrialized nations of the North, which is directed against the less-industrialized and poor nations within the South. The implication of the aforementioned situation is that the less-industrialized nations in the South feel that the North has consistently exploited it for their own benefit and at their expense. This leads to the frustration of the population within these nations, which eventually leads to the uprisings, as well as the emergence of the non-state actors such as ISIL that cause problems within the Middle East.
Usually, the countries within the northern hemisphere have higher rates of economic growth as compared to those within the southern hemisphere. Being industrialized and high economic growth implies that these nations have high incomes, are democratic while at the same time they have high rates of employment levels (Kfir, 2015) . However, the nations within the South are mostly less industrialized and have higher unemployment levels, which lead to apathy amongst the population. In most cases, this apathy towards the governments fueled by unequal rates of development increases the likelihood of these citizens to engage in terrorist activities through non-state actors such as ISIL.
Moreover, it is noted that the diversity of income that is present within Middle Eastern nations is incomparable to that within the countries in the North. Coupled with the absence of capacity to access and use the resources within their nations, foreign nations mostly from the European Union and the United States have moved to expropriate and exploit the resources within these nations (Kfir, 2015). The result is that there has been increased belief by the citizens that these nations are exploiting the resources within the Middle East such as the oil and gas reserves, which triggers the desire to revolt through non-state actors. Added to this aspect is the fact that these non-state actors are likely to incite the masses of this exploitation and make them subscribe to their ideas of acts aimed against the foreign interests.
ISIL has therefore emerged as an advocate against the perceived exploitation by countries from the northern hemisphere or the West that are believed to extract resources from the Middle Eastern nations. Pointedly, in some countries such as Iraq and Syria, ISIL has had significant impacts and spread by spreading the propaganda against the nations that are assumed to be highly industrialized (Kfir, 2015). It therefore disguises its ideology as meant to empower the citizens of these nations, while the real intention may be to spread terror and use the resources for their own good or benefit.
Further, the intervention of the foreign nations, mostly the foreign powers such as the European Union and the United States in the affairs of nations such as Libya, Syria and Yemen has led to the increased belief of meddling in the internal affairs of the nations within the Middle East. ISIL uses the propaganda that these are acts that violate the concept of sovereignty, and should be opposed in the strongest ways possible (Kfir, 2015). Therefore, it is likely to spread its ideologies, which are easily adopted by the population that the North is unnecessarily exploiting the plight of these nations for their own gains. In some nations, ISIL has achieved acceptance amongst the citizens who view it as an alternative form of government and a force that reasserts the sovereignty of the people as well as protection from the highly industrialized nations in the North.
Transformation of Modern Warfare and Asymmetry Wars
The transformation of modern warfare and asymmetry wars seems to be the most plausible explanation for the emergence of ISIL as a significant non-state actor within the Middle East. Apart from the emergence of the non-state actors, globalization has facilitated the concepts of modern warfare as well as asymmetry wars. First, it is noted that this has led to the enhancement of the asymmetric threats that arise because of the gaps in the military and technological development. In this context, the weaker nations within the Middle East such as Syria and Iraq may use terrorism to fulfill or compensate the disadvantages that they suffer because difference in manpower and technology. As a result, international terrorism from actors such as ISIL emerges because of the vivid asymmetric threats, where they can access weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) to cause terror.
Kayani, Ahmed and Shoaib (2015) note that even though globalization as well as the accompanying technological development have led to the reduction of wars between nations, they have been serious contributors to the emergence of multiple violent non-state actors such as ISIL. Therefore, these organizations amass wealth and resources to support their wars as well as the radical ideologies against the populations in the countries that they operate or attack. Additionally, the non-state actors have become independent, and use modern warfare technologies to survive as well as operate successfully in the same way as major state actors. For example, ISIL uses its strategic forces and technology that includes satellite surveillance to disrupt the peaceful coexistence in countries such as Iraq and Syria.
The violent nature of the non-state actors that include ISIL also encompasses the structural aspect of warfare, which includes the utilization of a military arm that operates as a guerilla force, as well as terrorist units. It also incorporates a political wing that organizes the social community and coordinates the logistics such as the media, which is responsible for the conduct of propaganda on behalf of the organization (Kayani, Ahmed and Shoaib, 2015). While these units will be united by their ideology, they will also have shared interests and common goals aimed waging a modern warfare against a perceived enemy.
The asymmetry in the non-state actor such as ISIL also emerges from the fact that they exercise territorial jurisdiction over certain territories, including those that have never been governed within the world (Kayani, Ahmed and Shoaib, 2015). The usual tendency is that they are likely to resort to the failed or failing states, lawless areas or contested regions, which include states such as Iraq and Syria. ISIL has therefore used these nations as their areas of interest while at the same time converting them into safe havens, operational hubs or zones that they use to perpetrate their criminal acts.
Moreover, the asymmetry and modern warfare in the aftermath of the Arab Spring has left the nations within the Middle East with fragile institutions as well as limited exercise of leadership, which offers an apt opportunity for the operations of ISIL. In the event of these activities, the countries have remained in turmoil or internal revolts that have made their institutional structures to crumble, hence allowing the non-state actors to reign supreme (Kayani, Ahmed and Shoaib, 2015). Further, the remnants of the weaponry that the intervention of the Western nations left within these nations have enabled the non-state actors such as ISIL to wage terror activities and entrench their ideologies. Therefore, it is unsurprising that in most cases, ISIL wages war against legitimately elected governments and at times captures swathes of territories because of its enhanced capacity because of the superior weaponry. It also leverages on the capacity of some of its personnel to execute wars and violent acts that may at times lead to the defeat of well-organized state actors.
In conclusion, it is worth noting that The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has emerged as an important non-state actor within the Middle East and most nations within the Muslim world. It advocates for the practice of the strict fundamental Islam principles as argued by the Sunni wing of Muslims, which is the single most important factor in its radicalization. However, it has been blamed for some of the atrocities that it has continuously created within their areas of operations, which has confounded international observers and practitioners. Despite this, it is now agreed that ISIL emerged as a result of the need to impose the practice of Islam religion and culture within the nations and the perceived exploitation of the less industrialized nations within the southern hemisphere by the countries in the northern hemisphere. Further, this paper has expounded on the fact that ISIL has emerged as a significant non-state actor because of the use of modern warfare and asymmetry to propagate certain ideology within its sphere. The result is that ISIL has captured the imagination of the whole world with strategies currently ongoing on the strategies that can be used to address the threat posed by this non-state actor.
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