In February 2014, al-Qaida issued a statement that shocked the entire Jihadi movement. For the first time in its history, the group declared that a local affiliate, the Islamic State in Iraq, was no longer part of al-Qaida. The renegade Iraqi group, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, had expanded its operations to Syria, taking over the regional branch Jabhat al-Nusra; but in the process, the group had defied orders from al-Qaidas amir, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Islamic States actions, and increasingly aggressive posture towards fellow Jihadis, eventually ignited a Jihadi civil wara period defined by internal tensions that ultimately turned global. With devastating impact, thisfitnaleft the Jihadi movement more polarised and fragmented than ever, seriously threatening its internal cohesion.Jihadi Politicspresents the first exhaustive account of infighting within the global Jihadi movement. Based on years of digital anthropology, hundreds of primary documents, and interviews with Jihadis, it offers an unprecedented glimpse into historic and current conflicts between and within Jihadi groups. This thorough examination of the years 2014-2019 offers a more nuanced understanding of the current state of Jihadism, with important insights into its future evolutionincluding Islamic States role in Afghanistan.
