Reflections on the Issue of ISIS

Abstract: The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, is the most extreme manifestation of a Muslim response to the history of the past few centuries. The mystery of ISIS attracts both academic scholars and political decision-makers to debate drastically. This essay attempts to illuminate three issues of ISIS: the nature of ISIS, the relationship between ISIS and European Muslims, and US strategy towards ISIS. Firstly, ISIS is much more a terrorist organization than a functioning terrorist political entity. Secondly, the phenomenon of many European Muslims joining and fighting for ISIS has numerous reasons: not only because of the failure of the top-down integration policies of European countries, but also the bottom-up maladjustment of European Muslims; not only on account of the internal structural problems on the identity, but also the external stimulating factors, such as “anti-Islamism” or “Islamophobia”. Thirdly, in the guidance of its “ambiguous” strategy towards ISIS, US implements “multilateral” policies and “limited” measures against ISIS. In conclusion, this essay analyzes the impacts of ISIS on the regional and international order as well as its security.