The problem is that the Middle East contains numerous insurgent groups that are all competing for power. Unfortunately for the so-called Islamic State, establishing an actual caliphate is a lot more complicated than merely making a cursory name change. What ISIS basically wants to do is resurrect the caliphate. There were several legitimate caliphates between 750 AD (when the last known caliphate ceased to exist) and the Prophet Muhammad's death in 632 AD. It was through these caliphs that an actual caliphate (think size and power) eventually formed: When Prophet Muhammad died, the size of his flock was only as large as the green-colored area in the map below:Īfter his death, leadership of the community was passed on to successors known as caliphs. This matters greatly because it was Prophet Muhammad who founded the Islamic religion and launched the first 'self-governing political system that included all Muslims.' The premise is that 'Islam was founded as a religion and a state.' The very first caliphate popped into existence back in 632 AD, which just happens to be the exact same year the Prophet Muhammad perished from illness. This move also makes sense given ISIS' goal to basically organize itself into one cohesive almighty Islamic unit, or what is known as a caliphate.Ī caliphate as an all-encompassing state or nation that functions off Islamic law and is in effect a unified community of Muslim believers, or what Vox more poignantly describes as 'the idea of a glorious and unified Islamic civilization.' This move coincides perfectly with what Breitbart contributor Frances Martel describes as ISIS or IS' five-year plan to expand beyond it current borders in Iraq and Syria and take over other parts of the world (map of the plan included in the top picture).

'The spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, described al-Baghdadi as 'the imam and khalifah (caliph) for the Muslims everywhere.' He also said that with the establishment of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.' Since then, this sordid team of terrorists has decided to change its name once again (it was previously known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq) to just the Islamic State, or IS.Īccording to Fox News, this transformation of sorts occurred in late July on the first day of Ramadan, when ISIS declared the formation of an Islamic caliphate known as the Islamic State (IS) and designated its leader (or caliph) as Abu Bakr al-Bahddadi: Back in June, Inquisitr explained how the proper name for the brutal Sunni insurgent group terrorizing Iraq and Syria is ISIS, not ISIL.

Isis name