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Camden Malachowski
Mrs. Williams
English 112
6 April 2015
Who is ISIS?
At this point in time, ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) seems to be taking over the
news. With every air assault and every feature taped execution, the world needs to know. Who is
ISIS? It is just natural to be interested about such a gathering, to the point that has the world held
in fear and held in apprehension. ISIS is easily understood when looking into their history, their
location, and their goals.
ISIS has been established since 1999 and recently started showing up in the news. The
group has had various names including, "The Organisation of Monotheism and Jihad" (JTJ), alQaeda in Iraq (AQI), Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and
present day Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) (Kahl et al., 2008). One thing that has stayed
the same is ISIS motto and anthem. Their motto is "Remaining and Expanding" (Kahl et al.
2008). Their anthem is "My Nation, A Dawn Has Appeared" (Kahl et al. 2008). The group first
gained notoriety in 1999 for the suicide attacks on Shia Islamic mosques, civilians, and Iraqi
government institutions (Kahl et al.). ISIS has had a fairly short history and have been gaining
more and more territory.
ISIS is currently established in two countries. They are located in Iraq and Syria. West of
Baghdad, Iraq and Southeast of Minjeb, Syria and all area in between is roughly where ISIS has

city controlled or contested (Gilsinan). ISIS has control over a huge area of land. The estimated
size of

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ISIS reign is 35,000 square miles, or roughly the size of Jordan (Gilsinan) ISIS is located in an
overwhelmingly feuded area with a set of goals in mind.
What exactly are the goals of ISIS? Detail Back in June of this year, ISIS stated goal was
to establish an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East (Tognotti). Another one of their goals is
to have complete control over all Muslims (Tognotti). ISIS' strategy is to oust the governments of
flimsy, heavily Muslim countries and place their own religious state in its place (Tognotti) They
have many courageous goals that ISIS will do anything to accomplish.
There is a lot of information on ISIS including their past, where they are established, and
what exactly they want. ISIS has changed a lot over the years and they have been recognized for
their actions. ISIS is in an area that has many religious ideas and opinions that dont always
agree with each other. ISIS is very powerful and they have very bold goals. If anyone tries to get
in ISIS way, they will immediately regret it. Political bargaining won't tackle the issue of Islamic
terrorism, yet military power will just exacerbate the issue. There will be no solution to this
problem anytime soon. The gap between the Western world and the Arab countries will keep on
growing.