“He is the imam and caliph for the Muslims everywhere,” ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani said in the statement, calling the caliphate “the dream in all the Muslims’ hearts” and “the hope of all jihadists.” ISIS controls large swathes of territory along the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan. The caliphates existed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf during the Middle Ages and ruled over the Muslim world for over 1,000 years. According to some commentators, this seems to be „the most significant development in international jihadism since 9 / 11“. Others observers sustain that ISIS are looking more likely every day to contribute to the division of Iraq into ethnic and sectarian pieces. Now, Al Qaeda affiliates and independent jihadist groups must support and join the Islamic State or to oppose it.
