The Trajectory of ISIS: Political Discourse and Youth Agenda

Introduction The influence of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is spreading fast not only in the Middle East but also across the globe. The sophistication and intensity of the ISIS’s onslaughts to expand their territory has raised questions of how they manage to accomplish their missions in the recent past. Most studies on the problems facing Middle East have focused on the immediate issues and concerns related to radical Islamic groups; however, this research seeks to investigate the future of ISIS in the dimension of youth agenda. Studies have shown that majority of the youth in Islamic states believe that Islam should play a role in the political discourse (Motadel, 2014; Sarikil, 2010). Their demand, based on theory, is that states based on Islamic principles are more desirable than one with liberal approach to governance (Motadel, 2014). Although the youth desire to have states under strong Islamic principles, history indicates that youth put more importance to their ethnic and sectarian identities than to their national identity (Jung and Raudvere, 2008). The emerging problem, among other issues, in this scenario is that the imagined ideal Islamic state is in question because there is no single Islamic identity that everyone would agree upon. Therefore, one fundamental question arises, â€Å"what is this Islamic State being advanced by the ISIS and what is it practicality in the perspective of future political discourse?† We advance this question further and ask: What do the Muslim youth believe in the purely â€Å"Islamic State† and systemIs there any single Islamic ideology among the Muslim youthsIf yes, what are these ideologiesIf no, what are the conflicting differences and what do they mean for the future of ISIS? Reference Jung, D. and Raudvere, C. (2008). Religion, Politics, and Turkey’s EU Accession. NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Motadel ,D. (2014). â€Å"The Ancestors of ISIS,† The New York Times. 23 September 2014. Internet: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/opinion/the-ancestors-of-isis.html. Date accessed: 25 October 2014. Sarikil, Z. (2010). Curbing Kurdish ethno-nationalism in Turkey: an empirical assessment of pro-Islamic and socio-economic approaches. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(3): 533-553.