“The end of the world”: Why America misunderstands ISIS — and what you really need to know

Your conception of ISIS is scarily -- and dangerously -- incomplete, expert Charles Lister tells Salon. Here's why 

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TOPICS: ISIS, ISLAMIC STATE, JIHADISTS, CHARLES LISTER, TERRORISM, BASHAR AL-ASSAD, IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM, IRAN, IRAQ, SYRIA, POLITICS NEWS, WAR ON TERROR, MEDIA NEWS, NEWS, POLITICS NEWS

(Credit: Reuters)

For a little more than six months, the United States has effectively been at war with the Islamic State (aka, ISIL or ISIS). Yet despite the country having committed significant resources already to “degrading” and defeating the group, with more likely to come, ISIS itself remains little understood. Is it a terrorist group? Is it a paramilitary organization? Is it the next iteration of al-Qaida in Iraq? Is it even Islamic?

The lack of clarity is at once strange and unnerving, considering the possible stakes. And that’s why a new book from Charles Lister of the Brookings Institution, the esteemed and centrist think tank, is so welcome. Straightforwardly titled “The Islamic State: A Brief Introduction,” Lister’s book is an in-depth look at the organization — its roots, its practices and its goals — from an expert journalist with years of experience in the Middle East.

On Tuesday morning, Salon spoke over the phone with Lister, who is currently at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar. Our conversation is below and has been edited for clarity and length.

It seems like we still aren’t quite sure what to make of ISIS. How do you conceive of the group?

I think in many respects this is the most important question that needs to be asked about this whole issue. Fundamentally, ISIS is a transnational terrorist organization but there’s another level of nuance or analysis to that. There’s an extent to which, as an organization in Iraq and Syria, it has presented itself almost as a Sunni nationalist movement, in the sense that it presents itself as a supporter of Sunni Arab rights and representation in predominantly Sunni areas of those countries. In that sense, it has presented itself as a protector against repression from perceived enemies to Sunni Islam— in Iraq, the Shia, and in Syria, the Alawi and Iranian militia groups.

There’s a number of different levels you can look at the organization but fundamentally they are a terrorist organization in the way they’re structured, in the way they operate, and in terms of their objectives. They have a more effective way of reaching out to their potential support base on a local basis that can sometimes present almost as a Sunni Arab nationalist line. With regards to their international support base, the image is very, very different and in that respect, ISIS then presents itself as an almost apocalyptic international Jihadist organization whereby it recruits fighters to join its cause. Specifically, on a territorial basis, the cause is the establishment of an Islamic state, a caliphate, and a new 21st century Islamic movement.