SECURITY COUNCIL: RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM SPREAD BY ISIS AS A THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL

PEACE AND SECURITY

SECURITY COUNCIL
TOPIC AREA: RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM SPREAD BY ISIS AS A
THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

President: Suhaas Savio Ema, Vice-President: Chistopher Zafeiris

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SECURITY COUNCIL: RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM SPREAD BY ISIS AS A THREAT TO INTERNATIONAL

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TIMELINE

THE RISE OF ISIS

A brief history

Syria and Arab Spring

A caliph claimed

The ideology of the Islamic State

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

11

PROLIFERATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA

12

PAST UN ACTIONS AND RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK

14

GLOSSARY

17

QARMAs (Questions a resolution must answer)

18

FURTHER RESEARCH

19

REFERENCES

19

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TIMELINE
March 20, 2003- President Bush announces the start of the war against Iraq.
April 9, 2003- U.S led invasion topples Saddam Husseins government in Iraq.
May 2003- Zarqawi-led group called the organization of monotheism and Jihad begins
operations in Iraq.
August 2003- Zarqawi group bombs UN headquarters in Baghdad.
April 2004- Hundreds are reported killed in fighting during the month long U.S military
siege of the Sunni Muslim city of Fallujah.
May 2004- Zarqawi begins videotaped beheadings in Baghdad.
June 2004- U.S hands sovereignty to Iraqs interim government.
October 2004- Zarqawi swears loyalty to Osama Bin laden and founds al Qaeda in
Iraq.
January 2005- AQI starts a campaign of public beheadings on the streets of Iraqi
cities.
April 2005- AQI becomes a foreign fighter magnet and targets Shia, much to the
concern of Bin Ladens al Qaeda.
May 2005- Surge in car bombings, bomb explosions and shooting in Iraq.
October 2005- Voters approve a new constitution which aims to create an Islamic
federal democracy in Iraq.
April 22, 2006- Newly reelected President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, asks Shia
compromise candidate Nouri Maliki to form a new government in Iraq, ending months
of deadlock.
June 2006- Zarqawi killed in U.S airstrike.
October 2006- Islamic state of Iraq (ISI) is formed; Abu Omar al Baghdadi named new
leader.
December 2006- Saddam Hussein executed.
January 2007- U.S military surge and Sunni awakening begin to greatly diminish ISI.

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January 2008- The Iraq parliament passes legislation allowing former officials from
Saddam Husseins Baath party to return to public life.
March 2008- Maliki orders crackdown on militia in Basra, sparking pitched battles with
Moqtada al Sadrs Mehdi Army, a Shia military group.
September 2008- U.S forces hand control of Anbar province, once an insurgent and
al Qaeda stronghold, to the Iraqi government, this was the first Sunni province to be
returned to the Shia led government.
January 2009- Maliki targets Sunni leaders and awakening groups, increasing
sectarian tensions and latent support for ISI in Sunni tribal areas. This lessens the
pressure on ISIS, allowing it to stave off disaster.
August 2009- ISI bombs Iraq ministries of foreign affairs and finance, killing hundreds.
Fall 2009- Abu Bakr al Baghdadi released from U.S camp Bucca in Iraq.
April 2010- ISI leaders Abu Omar al Baghdadi and Abu Ayyub al Masri are killed in
U.S led airstrike.
May 2010- Abu Bakr al Baghdadi named leader of ISI.
March 6, 2011- In the city of Daraa in Sryai, nearly a dozen boys under the age of 15
are arrested for anti-regime graffiti. Protests break out in Syria.
April 2011- President Assad issues a decree to end Syrias nearly 50 year old state of
emergency in hopes of quelling the rising protests.
May 2, 2011- Al Qaeda central leader Osama Bin Laden is killed by U.S Special
Forces.
May 28, 2011- Hamza Khatib a 13 year old boy who was detained during the protests
in Syria, is delivered to his family as a mutilated corpse, exposing the brutality of the
regime.
June 3, 2011- In response to the release of Hamzas body, thousands flood the
streets for the Friday of the children protest. The regime responds by blocking
access to the internet from within Syria.
June 14, 2011- The Arab league condemns the Syrian crackdown for the first time.

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August 2011- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain recall their ambassadors to Syria.
Leaders from the United States, France, Britain and Germany call for Assad to resign.
December 2011- The U.S concludes its operations in Iraq. The unity government
immediately faces disarray, and Maliki issues an arrest warrant for Vice President
Tariq Hashmi, a leading Sunni politician. The Sunni bloc boycotts parliament and the
cabinet.
February 12, 2012- Ayman Zawahiri calls on all Muslims to help overthrow Assad.
June 2012- ISI releases the first installment in its popular video series, the clanging of
swords.
July 2012- ISI announces the initiation of breaking down the walls campaign, to
refuel the group by freeing members from Iraqi prisons and by regaining lost ground.
March 2013- Jabhat al Nusra becomes dominant in rebel areas.
July 2013- ISIS announces the initiation of a soldier in harvest campaign, designed
to intimidate and assassinate Iraqi security forces and to establish control over
territory.
August 2013- ISIS begins sustained attacks on Syrian rebel groups.
October 2013- ISIS creates its first official Twitter account.
January 2014- ISIS captures Raqqa and names it the capital of the ISIS emirate. ISIS
infiltrates Ramadi and Fallujah.
February 2014- Al Qaeda central severs all ties with ISIS.
April 2014- ISIS launches twitter app capable of sending tens of thousands of tweets
per day.
June 2014- ISIS takes control of Mosul, Iraqs second largest city, and border areas
between Iraq and Syria, and claims the borders dating from the Sykes-Picot
agreement of 1906 are void.
June 30, 2014- ISIS announces the reestablishment of the caliphate and renames
itself the Islamic State.

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July 2014- Abu Bakr al Baghdadi leads prayer at a mosque in Mosul, his first public
appearance. He emphasizes the existence of the Caliphate and renames himself
Caliph Ibrahim.
July 2014- ISIS releases the first issue of their English language magazine, Dabiq.
August 2014- Despite all U.S air strikes and Iraqi, Kurdish and Iranian forces, the IS
maintains control over large areas of Iraq and solidifies its position in Syria.
August 2014- Twitter bans all official ISIS accounts.
August 25, 2014- The IS releases a video showing the beheading of American
journalist James Foley.
September 2014- ISIS spokesman Abu Adnani call on lone wolves to attack the
west using whatever tools are at hand, whether a gun, a knife or even driving cars into
pedestrians.
September 23, 2014- U.S and coalition forces begin air strikes in Syria.
October 3, 2014- The IS releases the beheading video of Alan Henning, a British cab
driver turned aid worker.
October 20, 2014- Accused IS supporter in province of Quebec hits Canadian soldiers
with car, killing one.
October 22, 2014- IS supporter shoots and kills a Canadian soldier, then attacks the
parliament building in Ottawa, where he was killed by Police.
November 13, 2014- IS announces it is establishing outposts in Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Yemen, Libya and Algeria.

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THE RISE OF ISIS

A brief history
After the death of Zaraqawi, the Islamic state in Iraq had been handed setback after
setback. When Abu Omar al Baghdadi, head of the ISI, was killed in 2010, it marked a
turning point. ISIs new leader was born under the nom de guerre Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.
His life story is ambiguous. He was reportedly born in 1971 to a Sunni Arab family in the
Iraqi city of samara. His family was said to be directly descended from Prophet
Muhammad. According to various sources he came from a family that adhered to the
strict ideal of Salafism. In his time at camp Bucca he used these places to spread his
message and recruit people to join his bandwagon. This was perhaps a disastrous
dilemma. As described in the timeline, the ISIS had always existed but only recently
pushed forward to spread its ideology as far it could reach and focus on strategies that
the world had never seen being used by a terrorist organization. Some may call them
maniacs, and unfortunately others may call them geniuses.
Under Baghdadi leadership, ISI escalated its violence throughout 2010 and 2011. On
October 2011, the U.S rewards for justice program instated a reward of up to $10 million
for information leading to the arrest or capture of Baghdadi. By July 2012, in an
atmosphere of growing sectarianism fueled in no small part by the policies of Prime
minister Maliki, Baghdadi had rebuilt the organization so substantially that he apparently
felt no qualms about publicly preannouncing his next move, a campaign called
breaking down the walls, in which Baghdadi promised to liberate Iraqi prisons
overflowing with insurgents and jihadists. Using covert channels to communicate with
prisoners in advance, ISI spent the next year making good on Baghdadis promise. The
insurgents attacked 8 prisons using improvised explosives. They freed hundreds of
prisoners many of whom were senior leaders of ISI and its predecessors, or
experiences fighters who subsequently joined the organization. During the same one
year period, Baghdadi had courted the wrath of Al Qaeda by declaring an expansion of
the ISI into neighboring Syria, which was now engulfed in civil war. In defiance of Al
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Qaeda emir Zawahiri, the IS in Iraq was to be known as the Islamic state in Iraq and
Syria, using the now notorious acronym ISIS.

Syria and the Arab spring

The Arab spring protests began in Tunisia in December 2010 and from there spread
throughout the Arab world. The protests were fuelled by inequality, corruption and
frustration with injustices suffered under long standing dictatorships. Syria also
succumbed to the spreading turmoil and chaos on the 28th of May 2011. If sectarian
clashes in Iraq proved an opening for ISI to regroup, the violence in Syria gave
Baghdadi a pretext to expand. The border between Syria and Iraq had long been
porous. Long standing smuggling routes that were used to move fighters and supplies
from Syria during the war in Iraq, were now reversed to bring fighters and supplies back
into Syria. It is from this franchise that Al Nusra was born that later went to backfire
against the plans of the ISIS. Nusra switched to forming alliances with other rebel
factions and ISIS severed ties. The ISIS took advantage of this chaos and in 2014 took
control of the city of Raqqa and claimed it to be the capital of Syria and populated it with
hoards of foreign fighters and implementing ISISs harsh interpretation of Sharia Law,
and so the black flag flew there as well. It also won significant control of the Syrian city
of Deir ez Zour from Al Nusra and other opposition forces, shifting considerable
resources from Al Nusra to the ISIS and providing a crucial political and logistical way
station near the border with Iraq.

A caliph claimed
ISIS went further on to make steady gains in both Iraq and Syria, controlling ever larger
swaths of territory and aggressively governing in the areas where it could consolidate
control. It captured Fallujah in January and kept on going. To accomplish this feat, ISIS
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crafted a series of complex alliances with Sunni Arab tribes in Iraq, even with tribes that
did not necessarily share ISISs extreme ideology. Many Sunni Arabs were fed up with
the Maliki regime, which had continued to describe the Sunni Arab uprising against his
sectarian policies as terrorism. Members of the awakening movement felt particularly
betrayed. Maliki had agreed to offer them a role in the military and police forces, but had
not fulfilled his promise. Some angry members joined ISIS, while others chose to sit out
the battle. Tensions were exacerbated by the regimes reliance on Shia militias to fight
ISIS in Anbar province and other areas, many of these groups were Iranian proxies,
owing more allegiance to Tehran than Baghdad, and some had returned to Iraq after
fighting ISIS in Syria. For Iran, the growing Chaos presented an opportunity to solidify
its influence over Iraq and its prime minister. More than 80 Sunni tribes reportedly
fought alongside ISIS, and at times it was difficult to know who was in control of any
specific area, there is still not clarity there. ISIS was more than happy to take credit, and
no one else stepped up to speak for the insurgency. The coalition seemed legitimately
shaky on its face, and reports of the internal tensions led many to speculate that it could
tear apart at any moment, but did not.
In early June 2014, ISIS captured Mosul, a city of 1.5 million people and the site of
Iraqs largest dam, because it was so dangerous for journalists and other
noncombatants to operate in areas afflicted with insurgency, the victory seemed to
come out of nowhere. Certainly western governments seemed to be caught flat-footed.
In an announcement at the Mosul mosque, Baghdadi introduced the caliph state and
demanded the loyalty of all Muslims throughout the world and specifically from other
Jihadist groups. It was met with wild enthusiasm from ISIS supporters and a mix of
hostility and incredulity from almost everyone else.
According to the Los Angeles Times, which interviewed some of the soldiers who had
served in Mosul, the senior commanders fled when they saw ISISs Black flags moving
into the city. Corruption and sectarian tensions with the army itself may have also
played a role and a continuing role; the regime had systematically driven Sunnis out of
senior military positions, often in favor of less experienced Shia officers who had
important friends. In a Reuters investigative report, Iraqi military commanders also
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detailed the breakdown and said the government had declined offers of help from
powerful Kurdish fighting forces. The sectarian divide and rule played a crucial role in
paving the way for ISIS to conquer these various territories as it proved to be
advantageous to them. The idea of a caliph state can be comparable to a modern
twisted interpretation of their Utopia and it is crucial to understand that merely killing
the leader will not kill the ideology, that is unfortunately much harder.
Their wild religious extremism led them to massacre an estimated 35000-50000 Yazidis
by labelling them as devil worshipers according to their twisted interpretation of Islam.
This was merely a religious construction to showcase the terror they claim to bring.

The ideology of the Islamic State

The Islamic States ideology is known is based om Salafism, a movement in Sunni Islam
that focuses on purifying faith.15 Salafism aims to eliminate idolatry (shirk) and affirm
Gods Oneness (tawhid).
Salafis see themselves as the only true Muslims, considering those who practice socalled major idolatry to be outside the bounds of the Islamic faith. Those worshiping
stones, saints, tombs, etc., are considered apostates, deserters of the religion. These
include the Shia and, for many Salafis, democrats, or those participating in a
democratic system. The Shia are guilty of shirk on account of their excessive reverence
of the Prophet Muhammads family, among other things, while democrats errin
assigning partners to God in legislation, deemed the prerogative of the Divine
Legislator.1 The jihadism of ISIS is more conservcative to that represented by al-Qaeda.
Unlike al-Qaeda, the Islamic State is absolutely uncompromising on doctrinal matters,
prioritizing the promotion of an unforgiving strain of Salafi thought.2 The Islamic States
ideology developed within the context of the Iraqi insurgency of the early 2000s. This
period saw the arrival in Iraq of a younger generation of jihadis influenced by the more
1

Cole Bunzel, From Paper State to Caliphate: The Ideology of the Islamic State, The Brookings Project
on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, No. 19, March 2015, page 7
2

Ibid. page 9

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extreme strain
of Jihadi-Salafism. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, , the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, killed in US
air strikes in 2006, is thought to be responsible for the adoption of this acutely severe
version of Jihadi-Salafism by the Islamic State.3 In 2006 Zarqawis group formed the
Mujahidin Shura Council, which united al-Qaeda in Iraq with five other jihadi
organizations operating in the area.4
In January 2007 the Islamic States Sharia Council justified the claimed statehood.
Their treatise identified three traditionally legitimate avenues for a ruler to assume
power in Islam: (1) election by an elite group of electors known as the ahl al-hall
wal-aqd (those who loose and bind); (2) designation by the preceding ruler; and (3)
seizure of power by brute force.82 The work argued that the Islamic State pursued the
first course.5
Upon acquiring effective control over territories in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State
called upon all Muslims to recognize the supremacy of the Islamic States caliphate and
called upon all believers to join them in their new territories. on July 1, 2014, the Islamic
State issued a message directed to the Muslim community: O Muslims in all places,
rejoice, take heart, and hold your heads high! For today you have, by Gods bounty, a
state and caliphate that will renew your dignity and strength, that will recover your rights
and your sovereignty: a state joining in brotherhood non-Arab and Arab, white and
black, easterner and westerner; a caliphate joining together the Caucasian, Indian, and
Chinese, the Syrian, Iraqi, Yemeni, Egyptian, and North African, the American,
Frenchman, German, and Australian.

Cole Bunzel, From Paper State to Caliphate: The Ideology of the Islamic State, The Brookings Project
on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, No. 19, March 2015, pages 9-13
4

Ibid. page 17

Ibid. page 18

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God has brought their hearts together, and they have become, by Gods grace, brothers
loving together in God, standing in one trench, defending one anotherTheir blood has
mixed under one banner and for one purpose
O Muslims, come to your state. Yes, your state! Come! Syria is not for Syrians, and Iraq
is not for Iraqis. The earth belongs to God! He bestows it on whom He wills of His
servants6

HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

7Taken

from the Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the

Syrian Arab Republic; Agenda item 4- Rule of terror: Living under ISIS in Syria.
Civilians, including men, women and children, ethnic and religious minorities who
remain in ISIS-controlled areas live in fear. Victims and witnesses that fled consistently
described being subjected to acts that terrorize and aim to silence the population. ISIS
has systematically targeted sources of dissent, detaining and threatening activists, nongovernmental organization workers and journalists with death. Most have fled and
ceased reporting from ISIS areas.
In areas under the armed groups control, civilians have experienced a relentless
assault on their basic freedoms. ISIS enforces its rules summarily, inflicting harsh
penalties discriminating against those who transgress or refuse to accept their selfproclaimed rule. ISIS has obstructed the exercise of religious freedoms, the freedom of
expression, assembly and association, which are guaranteed by international law. The
group has systematically enforced its edicts through its Al-Hisbah morality police to
conduct constant surveillance within local communities. Children have been asked to
inform on their parents compliance with ISIS rules. Civilians who fled described a rapid
imposition of strict social instructions followed by brutal enforcement. ISIS has attacked
6

Ibid. pages 41-42

Read more at- http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx

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social and cultural practices including weddings, musical events and traditional
ceremonies deemed incompatible with their self-proclaimed beliefs in both urban and
rural areas, demonstrating their intent to eradicate these aspects of Syrian culture.
Many residents of ISIS-held areas complained of the brutality of violent acts perpetrated
under the guise of corporal hudud punishments based on the groups radical
interpretation of Shariah law, including lashings and amputations, for offences such as
smoking cigarettes or theft. Victims of ISIS punishments described being subjected to a
system based on the principle that you are guilty unless you can prove your
innocence. Corporal punishments are imposed during public events in an effort to deter
those who may oppose the groups rule and to spread terror among the civilian
population.

PROLIFERATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Any high tech tool that you use, from a desktop to a smartphone is a fair game for
extremists as well. Their morality may be centuries behind but their technical skills
expand to fit their available resources. As media and technology shifted, so did the
extremists. Expensive magazines and newsletters were now replaced with low cost
mass spread of emails. Social media was much different. By 1990, as chat rooms
became popular on services like Yahoo and MSN, radical recruiters signed up in droves,
making friends and influencing people from a distance. As it became cheaper and
easier to set up and maintain topic-centered message boards using software like
Vbulletin, Jihadists and other extremists shifted again, with thousands of users taking
the new front. As terrorism and its allied activities were not clearly defined by any one
entity, there were huge problems developing technological ways to recognize these
content and eliminate them. For this, headline friendly services like Facebook and
twitter took the brunt of the criticism, in part because they were becoming extremely
popular. Everyone knew about Facebook and twitter, fewer knew or cared about Tumblr.
Facebook and Google, while generally favoring free speech, were also publicly traded
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companies with concerns about liability and a desire to create safe spaces for users,
especially the young, who were vulnerable to a range of online predators of which
violent extremists and recruiters were only one part.
The Taliban was one of the first Jihadist oriented organizations to embrace twitter, in
January 2011, its official media outlet created a twitter account. Towards the end of
2011, the Somali jihadist insurgent group Al Shaabab followed suit and it soon racked
up tens of thousands of followers. ISIS set up its first official twitter account as an official
Media foundation under the name al Itisaamm, an Arabic reference to maintaining
Islamic traditions without deviation. Its first twitter handle was @e3tasimo, established in
October 2013 to little fanfare and scant notice from the media, although it quickly gained
more than 24000 followers. The official account tweeted out videos and other
propaganda at a steady but slow rate. Individual accounts for members of ISIS were
more active and accrued more follower as a result. One of the most prominent
accounts, using the handle @reyadiraq, claimed to be unaffiliated with the ISIS, a
deflection tactic that supporters would try over and over again, with little success. In late
February 2014, after a steady diet of increasingly grisly documentation of ISIS activities,
including live tweeting of the amputation of an accused thiefs hand in Aleppo, with
accompanying photos, Twitter suspended reyad, by which he had accumulated more
than 90000 followers. The account returned under a different name and it was
suspended again in the summer of 2014 with around 24000 followers, a deflated
number. By using these platforms the ISIS took advantage of delinquent people who fall
prey psychologically to the fake promises and Utopia that ISIS claimed to have. The
psychological tactics used have the discipline questioning itself, for the first time in
history a terrorist organization managed to tap into the virtual world and spread across
like a plague unwilling to stop while procuring more and more supporters to carry out
their work all over the world.
The Whack-a-mole phrase had been used to describe the events unfolding online as
like the famous arcade game, toy moles pop out of holes at random, first one at a time
and then more and more coming faster. This was in relation to the online spread of
extremism. However there is some good new at the end of this, as in the previous case
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when the twitter account reyad was suspended and came back to Twitter using
another handle, he managed to gather less than 50% of his previous number of
followers thus slowing the process down as well as the reaching capacity of the
propaganda. So the more suspensions twitter made the harder it became to gain the
same reach as before, this became a huge deterrent for the ISIS.
Social Media however is still a big resource that the ISIS unfortunately uses to its
advantage by luring psychologically frail minds to join their cause.

PAST UN ACTIONS AND RELEVANT LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The United Nations have long been concerned with freedom of religion, having adopted
a number of documents recognizing the inherent right of all people to maintenance of
their belief.
This has firstly been recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was
adopted and proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December
1948. The articles 2(1) and 18 of the Declaration provide as follows:

Article 2(1)
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,
without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right
includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance.
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Also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted and opened for
signature, ratification and accession by the United Nations General Assembly in
resolution 2200A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 refers to the freedom of religion.
According to Article 18 of the Covenant:
Article 18
1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This
right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and
freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to
manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to
adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations
as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or
morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty
of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral
education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.
In its A/RES/36/55 of 25 November 1981 the United Nations General Assembly adopted
the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination
Based on Religion or Belief. Article 1 of the document states as follows:
Article 1
1.

Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought,

conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have a religion or

whatever belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private,to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance,
practice and teaching.

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2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have a religion
or belief of his choice.
3. Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations
as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or
morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
In its resolution A/RES/48/128 of 20 December 1993 The United Nations General Assembly adopted Declaration on Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance in which
it reaffirmed that freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief is a human right
derived from the inherent dignity of the human person and guaranteed to all without discrimination.8
The United Nations Security Council in its resolution S/Res/2178 of 24 September 2014
underlines the meaning of countering religious intolerance and violent extremism in
combating terrorism.
In the same resolution the Security Council welcomed initiatives aiming to counteract
spread of violent extremism. In this context, the Security Council referred to documents
issued by Global Counterterrorism Forum, including the Ankara Memorandum on Good
Practices for a Multi-Sectoral Approach to Countering Violent Extremism.
The question of violent extremism has been more and more present on the United Nations agenda. The President of the General Assembly in conjunction with the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations convened
a High-Level General Assembly Thematic Debate on Promoting Tolerance and Reconciliation: Fostering Peaceful, Inclusive Societies and Countering Violent Extremism on

http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r128.htm

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21-22 April 2015 at the UN Headquarters in New York.9 During the Debate, the Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon announced that he would announce a United Nations Plan of
Action to Prevent Violent Extremism later this year.10

GLOSSARY

1) Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda central (AQ, AQC) - A global Salafi Sunni militant Jihadi organization founded by Osama Bin Laden and others in Afghanistan. It is now run
by Ayman al Zawahiri.
2) Al Shabaab- an Al Qaeda affiliate in Somalia.
3) Awakening Movement- Former Sunni Arab insurgents who joined the fight
against jihadi groups in Iraq. Also known as the sons of Iraq.
4) Baath Party- A political party founded in Syria that merged socialism with antiimperialism, Arab nationalism, and pan-Arabism, Saddam Hussein and Bashar Al
Assad were affiliated with the Baathist parties in Iraq and Syria, respectively.
5) Bayah- A religiously binding oath of loyalty.
6) Caliph- Ruler of the Muslim community; a political successor of Muhammad.
7) Caliphate- A political-religious state led by a Caliph.

http://www.un.org/pga/hltd-promoting-tolerance-and-reconciliation/

10

Ban Ki Moon, Remarks at General Assembly Thematic Debate "Promoting Tolerance and
Reconciliation: Fostering Peaceful, Inclusive Societies and Countering Violent Extremism" , 22
April, 2015: http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?
statID=2582#.VcUOJfJImIl
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8) Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) the name of the Al Qaeda affiliated insurgent group
in Iraq (and its allies) from the death of Zarqawi in 2006 until 2012.
9) Jabhat al Nusra- the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria; also known as the Nusra front.
10)Jihad- Arabic word for struggle. It has been used to describe a broad range of
actions from spiritual struggles to armed conflict.
11)Salafi- A fundamentalist Sunni Islamic movement that believes in strict adherence to Islam as they believe it was practiced by Muhammad.
12)Shariah- the Islamic moral code and religious law. There are considerable disagreements among Muslims about how Shariah figures into modern life. ISIS and
Al Qaeda and its affiliates embrace a harsh interpretation, but even they differ
over the details.
13)Shia Islam- A branch of Islam that recognizes Ali, Muhammads Son-in-law, and
only his descendants as the rightful leaders of the Muslim community.
14)Sunni Islam- the largest branch of Islam, frequently referred to as mainstream or
orthodox Islam.
15)Yazidis- A Kurdish speaking religious and ethnic minority in Iraq; ISIS believes
them to be devil worshippers who may be killed or enslaved with impunity.

QARMAs (Questions a resolution must answer)

1) What tactics maybe employed to tackle the spread of radical ideology?

2) Is an international intervention the most effective way of solving the ISIS conflict?
3) What can be done to reduce the Human rights violations by the ISIS?
4) How can the ideal conditions that the ISIS uses to thrive in be eliminated?

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We do implore you to use these questions only as a guiding force but do greater
research to find other problems that you can address.

FURTHER RESEARCH
https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2014/08/article_3288644.html/
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/08/world/isis-fast-facts/
http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/dozens-isis-militants-killed-u-s-led-strike-anbar/
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/23/world/meast/syria-airstrikes-countries-involved/
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-16047709
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24179084
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27804079
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25440381
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27838034
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-27994277
http://www.cfr.org/iraq/islamic-state-iraq-syria/p14811
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2015/03/ideology-of-islamic-state-bunzel/the-ideology-of-the-islamic-state.pdf
Documentary video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUjHb4C7b94

REFERENCES
1. United Nations documents:
1) the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948, New York:
http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/
2) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of 16 December 1966,
New York: http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx

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3) Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief of 25 November 1981, New York: http://
www.un.org/documents/ga/res/36/a36r055.htm
4) 4)

Declaration on Elimination of all forms of religious intolerance of 20 De-

cember 1993, New York: http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/48/a48r128.htm

5) The United Nations Security Council resolution S/Res/2178 of 24 September

2014: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/RES/
2178%20%282014%29

2. Other documents:

1) J.M Berger, Internet provides terrorists with tools-just like everyone else, Intelwire, July 31, 2011.
2) Richard Barrett, The Islamic State, Soufan group, November 2014.
3) Anthony Lloyd, ISIS is deadly revenge of Saddams henchmen, The times of
London, June 14, 2014. http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/world/middleeast/iraq/
article4118901.ece1226954414468?nk=76b7d457b627e2e8644f4018c2679717.
4) Rania Abouzeid, Syrias uprising within an uprising, European council on foreign
relations, January 16, 2014. http://www.ecfr.eu/content/entry/commentary_syrias_uprising_within_an_uprising238.
5) Aaron Zelin, The state of global Jihad online: A qualitative, quantitative and
cross-lingual analysis, New American foundation, January 2013.
6) J.M Berger, Gone but not forgotten, Foreign policy, September 30, 2011.
7) J.M Berger, How ISIS games twitter, Atlantic, June 16, 2014.

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8) United Nations Office of Human Rights. Report of the Independent International

Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic; Agenda item 4- Rule of terror: Living under ISIS in Syria.
9) Cole Bunzel, From Paper State to Caliphate: The Ideology of the Islamic State,
The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World, No. 19, March
2015: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2015/03/ideologyof-islamic-state-bunzel/the-ideology-of-the-islamic-state.pdf

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