Matt 24 watch, 241i: BBC reports the head of ISIS proclaims himself ruler of all Muslims . . . thus, Caliph (and -- most likely -- candidate to be Mahdi)

That was in the BBC news this morning.

Of course, without context required to facilitate understanding.

No great surprise given the black flag army theme and conquest of a strategic swath of land. 

Recall, the black flag army themed ISIS convoy:

And, the Islamist agenda across this century:

Onward, implication is attack on Israel with intent to slaughter the Jews.

U/D, ISIS 5 year "planned" borders -- probably "aspirational" . . . notice, "Khurasan":

Newsmax does give some details:

 The al-Qaida breakaway group that has seized much of northern Syria and huge tracks of neighboring Iraq formally declared the creation of an Islamic state on Sunday in the territory under its control.

The spokesman for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, made the announcement in an audio statement posted online. Islamic extremists have long dreamed of recreating the Islamic state, or caliphate, that ruled over the Middle East in various forms for hundreds of years.

Abu Mohammed al-Adnani declared the group's chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the new leader, or

caliph,

of the Islamic state, and called on those living in areas under the organization's control to swear allegiance to al-Baghdadi and support him.

"The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organizations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph's authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,"

al-Adnani said. He added that

with the creation of the caliphate, the group was changing its name to just the Islamic State, dropping the mention of Iraq and the Levant.

Notice, the universal declaration of war against the world.

The AP article continues:

It was unclear what immediate practical impact the declaration would have on the ground in Syria and Iraq, but analysts expected it to have a dramatic effect on the wider jihadi community.

Charles Lister, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, said it will likely have a global impact as al-Qaida affiliates and "independent jihadist groups must now definitively choose to support and join the Islamic State or to oppose it."

"The Islamic State's announcement made it clear that it would perceive any group that failed to pledge allegiance an enemy of Islam," he said. "Already, this new Islamic State has received statements of support and opposition from jihadist factions in Syria. This period of judgment is extremely important and will likely continue for some time to come."

Of course, the underlying Islamic theology and Islamist ideology built on it are left unexplained, again. The focus on debates among Jihadis is almost besides the point, we have a clear declaration that Islamism is a religiously motivated world conquest ideology here.

As in, tidal wave from the East:

 

Cf discussion on black flag armies and relevant hadiths here. END

PS: It will help to observe again my remarks a few days ago, in the context of Cheney's warnings and the historical context tracing back to the Second World War:

>>hardly had the ashes settled from that horrific war, when we found ourselves facing de facto World War III, the global Cold War triggered by the threat of Communism. (With reservations, cf Wiki's summary here.)

And now, rising up since 1978-9 with the Iranian Islamist revolution, we have been facing de facto World War IV . . . renewal of de facto World War 0, the 1400 year old long war -- yes, and yes again, that is so --  with Islamism.  Largely, due to the economic and military power and significance conveyed by the Middle East's Oil revenues (especially since the surge in oil prices from 1973 on and 1979 on) which provided the resource base for the Islamist agenda, in Sunni [Wahhaba-Salafi] and Shia [Iranian] forms.

Where of course, part of what we are seeing playing out in Iraq is the ongoing clash between Sunni and Shia. But we must never forget the wider implications of the global expansionist ideology that drives this.

Let us remind ourselves of the key texts in the chronologically last but one Surah of the Quran, 9 (from the well respected Yusuf Ali rendering . . . there is of course a disclaimer that the Quran cannot be translated, which I only mention as it is obviously falls of its own weight)

THE VERSE OF THE SWORD:

 Q 9:5 But when the forbidden months are past then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them and seize them beleaguer them and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent and establish regular prayers and practice regular charity [= become Muslim] then open the way for them: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

THE VERSE OF TRIBUTE:

 Q 9:29 Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His apostle nor acknowledge the religion of truth (even if they are) of the People of the Book [= Jews and Christians, sometimes extended to people of other established religions] until they pay the Jizya [= a protection money impoverishing head tax, as a tribute proving continued status as a surrendered person on pain of renewal of war] with willing submission and feel themselves subdued. [= reduced to hopelessly subjugated, apartheid like Dhimmi status]

This in effect universal declaration of war, recall, is commonly and widely held to be binding on the people of Islam as a sacred and enduring command in core scriptures of the religion.

One that is backed up by further commands that war is the province of strategic deception [taqiyyah]; so, one would be well advised to take the text and the 1400 year long history more seriously than the smooth dismissals by Islamist apologists indulging the Jihad of pen and tongue. And as there is a doctrine of abrogation where the later text supersedes the former, that this comes from the last or last but one surah, means it takes precedence over all more irenic texts that we may hear bandied about.

Yes, all of this probably sounds very strange to your ears.

Ask yourself: why is this so strange to me? How well do I know the underlying history? Do I really understand the IslamIST mindset? Have I learned my history and understanding of the course of our times from sound sources?

Most of all, ask: do I need to re-think?

(For starters  try here, here, here and here . . . don't forget here . . . as well as the reference site here.)  >>

We may not be interested in War, but ever since the 1930's war has been interested in us. 

And, universal war has definitively been declared, if we will but listen.

Indeed, the echoes of wars and rumours of wars as a birth-pang sign, should not be overlooked.