This is an introductory chapter highlighting how ISIS constructs its worldview by misinterpreting Islamic foundational texts and presenting human ideologies as divine revelation. It explains that ISIS ideologues, beginning with figures such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, isolate Quranic verses from their broader exegetical context and use these distorted readings to justify violence. Central to this process is the concept of takfīr, or excommunication, which became ISIS’s tool for claiming authority over who belongs to Islam and who does not. The chapter stresses the importance of distinguishing between sacred texts and the long history of human interpretations, a distinction ISIS intentionally neglects so that it can legitimize its political and military aims. It also surveys three common narratives about ISIS: that it is a Western creation, that it continues the legacy of the Kharijites, and that it reflects Islam as a whole. By outlining the weaknesses of these views, the chapter argues that understanding ISIS requires examining its own literature and hermeneutical practices. This sets the foundation for interpreting ISIS as an ideological phenomenon rather than an Islamic one.

The rise and (eventual but not complete) fall of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) marks a pivotal chapter in contemporary Middle Eastern history. Emerging from the political instability of post-2003 Iraq, ISIS evolved from an insurgent group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi into a proto-state with global ambitions. Its ability to exploit regional chaos, particularly during the Syrian Civil War, enabled its rapid expansion and the establishment of a self-declared caliphate in 2014. This territorial conquest was accompanied by brutal atrocities, sectarian violence, and cultural destruction, which drew widespread international condemnation and a coordinated military response. This chapter traces the origins, transformation, and eventual decline of ISIS. It follows the splintering of the global Salafi-jihadist movement as groups such as al-Nusra – another extremist front previously aligned with ISIS and al-Qaeda – publicly distanced themselves from ISIS. It also analyzes the conditions, particularly wars and invasions, that enabled ISIS to rise and control territory, before losing it all in 2019.

There is a long history of persecution of the Yazidi minority in Iraq. Following the rise of ISIS in the early 2010s, however, their status as non-Muslims rendered them particularly vulnerable. According to ISIS’ interpretation of Islamic law, Yazidis were infidels. Men who refused to convert were to be killed, and women enslaved. Therefore, when ISIS launched a surprise attack on Sinjar, a region heavily populated by Yazidis, all those who could immediately fled. Tens of thousands of Yazidis became stranded and besieged on Mt Sinjar, in extremely hazardous conditions. At imminent risk of genocide, they desperately sought assistance. Within days, a multifaceted international response enabled the vast majority of them to survive and escape. A key focus of the chapter is the nature of that response. It considers what led to the provision of emergency humanitarian aid, to the US military strikes that prevented further ISIS attack, and to the opening of a route to safety. Through careful examination of these critical events, it identifies the factors that mitigated genocide. The chapter concludes by reflecting on what lessons can be learned from this case study of resilience.

This chapter examines the financing of ISIS and how the United States and the international community were able to thwart ISIS’s access to finance through a combination of methods, including the use of sanctions, the prosecutions of foreign terrorist fighters, and an aggressive bombing campaign.

This chapter examines cases where cryptocurrency has been used by terrorist actors. At the same time, the chapter also examines the important role played by the private sector in ensuring that virtual assets are not misused. The chapter also takes a peek at the role of government regulation in the industry and where the private sector has concerns regarding an overly interventionist approach that could stifle a new technology.

This chapter examines the roles played by the FATF and the UN in countering terrorist access to finance. The chapter also notes the role played by the G-7 (G-8), OAS, and the ASEAN Regional Forum. Among the issues discussed in detail are sanctions, capacity building, and the importance of FATF’s recommendations that are a feature of government efforts to counter terrorist financing and money laundering.

Chapter 7 is an examination of the ways in which religion is still being used to facilitate slavery. We describe the use and justification of slavery by ISIS, trokosi slavery in West Africa, and deuki and devadasi slavery in Nepal and India. Next, we show how the caste system in India and Buddhist conceptions of karma are implicated in modern slavery. After briefly discussing child marriage, we close with an analysis of how religion is a driver of enslavement today.

This chapter considers the overlaps and divergences between cults and terrorist movements. It begins by considering whether terrorism has entered a new era that increasingly overlaps with apocalyptic religious cults. It then takes into account the historical tension between defining groups that engage in extremist violence for ideological purposes as terrorist groups, as cults, or as a combination of the two. Following this, an analysis of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria provides a vehicle for drawing out the commonalities and dissimilarities between the two concepts. Finally, the chapter concludes by considering any need to differentiate between terrorism and cults when engaging in risk assessment for individuals at risk of violence, along with strategies for intervention.

This chapter offers three case studies to illustrate the main theoretical claim of this book. The rise of ISIS was animated by a narrative of historical humiliation of Sunnis by “apostates.” This narrative featured key elements of our account of humiliation in international affairs – from dismissal of past promises to contempt towards cultural and geographical realities. Russia’s foreign policy in the last two decades is also deeply tied with a sense of national humiliation, both reflected and manufactured by Vladimir Putin, according to which Russia has been displaced and discarded as a serious world power by the United States and its NATO allies. Finally, we look at the 1973 Middle East war as an example of a conflict fueled by a need to reverse an earlier humiliation. Egypt’s primary aim in this war was to erase or counteract the humiliation it suffered in the 1967 war with Israel. Interestingly, in this case, the officials who negotiated the war’s conclusion took the sentiment’s potency into account as they designed the terms of the ceasefire and armistice.

The conclusion of the book summarizes its main arguments and findings and considers their implications for research on forced migration, conflict, and political violence. Beyond strategic displacement, the book illuminates the politics of civilian movements in wartime, which can shape the perceptions of civilians as well as combatants during and after war. To demonstrate this, the chapter provides evidence of a survey experiment from Iraq that shows how displacement decisions during the ISIS conflict influence people's willingness to accept and live alongside others after war. The chapter also discusses the policy implications of the analysis in five areas: displacement early warning, justice and accountability, humanitarian aid, post-conflict peacebuilding, and refugee resettlement and asylum. It also discusses some of the limitations of the analysis in the book and pathways for future research.

The chapter examines the methodological conundrums of producing knowledge about past traditions through present-day realities, a dilemma we navigate using the “progressive-regressive” method, a term first articulated by Marc Bloch. But beyond the study of the past, the study of the non-Western world poses particular challenges, which we explicate using Joan Cocks’ concept of neo-cosmopolitanism. The Islamic world, while culturally and historically distinct, has always operated within global circuits of economic and political exchange and has shared social imaginaries with the universal civilization of a given time. Where necessary we transcend the limits of three epistemic postures: Enlightenment liberalism, Orientalism, and postmodernism. We examine the status of “science” in the Abbasid world in relation to Ghazālī’s distinction between profane natural knowledge and sacred signs (āyat). Political fragmentation and economic change overlapped with Islam’s encounter with foreign scientific traditions. Ghazālī intervened to differentiate ẓāhir (the apparent) and baṭin (the hidden) as reconcilable components of knowledge, rendering these encounters theoretically coherent.

According to Tacitus, Tiberius declared before the Senate that he observed all of the deeds and pronouncements of Augustus as if they were law (Ann. 4.37). This chapter explores the degree to which that statement is true and the consequences of Tiberius’ adherence to Augustan precedents. I begin with an overview of Tiberius’ relationship with the Senate. I then examine the much criticized fiscal policies of Tiberius. Even those were a consequence of his reverence for Augustus and his desire to preserve Augustan precedent. Next, we examine the notion of the pax Augusta under Tiberius. Again, we see that Tiberius was bound by Augustan policy in his failure to expand the empire. Finally, we analyze the persecution of Jews, worshippers of Isis, and astrologers in the reign of Tiberius. These persecutions were prompted not only by Tiberius’ desire to follow Augustus’ precedents but also, more importantly, by attacks on the domus Augusta.

This chapter examines belief in misinformation during the Coalition air war against ISIL in Iraq. In particular, it investigates a unique nationwide survey of contemporary Iraq that measures Iraqis’ factual perceptions about the Coalition airstrikes against ISIL, as well as whether they have lived under ISIL rule where the vast majority of strikes actually occurred. Moreover, this survey is paired with geo-located event data on the Coalition airstrikes themselves obtained from Airwars in order to measure the respondents’ proximity to the events more directly. Overall, the results reveal that Iraqis’ factual misperceptions about Coalition actions are widespread – fueled by both their own preexisting political orientations and streams of information in the dispute – but that civilians with greater personal exposure to the campaign are much less likely to embrace these falsehoods. Indeed, both experience living under ISIL control and proximity to the airstrikes themselves significantly reduce factual misperceptions about the Coalition’s aerial campaign, including false claims about its targeting of Shiʿa Arab-led militias and its strategic benefits to ISIL.

This chapter focuses on a selection of recipes included in Byzantine alchemical and pharmacological compendia that are preserved in manuscripts dating between the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries: MSS Parisinus gr. 2314, Bononiensis 1808, and Vaticanus gr. 1174. These manuscripts represent important case studies that are compared with similar collections, from late antique medical encyclopaedias to Byzantine alchemical writings and Nicholas Myrepsos’ pharmaceutical handbook. Through an in-depth analysis of the contents and the terminology of these works, I track the transformation of their technical vocabulary, focusing on cross-cultural exchanges between the Byzantine, Arabic, and Latin traditions. Byzantine authors and copyists reshaped and ‘updated’ a long-lasting technical tradition deeply rooted in late antique and early Byzantine writings, which continued to be read and commented on during the Palaiolοgan period, when scholars compiled large selections of formulas and prescriptions belonging to different, yet overlapping fields, such as metallurgy, pharmacology, and cuisine.

Protest in the face of authoritarian rule necessitates a kind of audacity rarely, if ever, called for in daily life. When uprising turns to revolt and revolt to civil war, new questions arise: What comes next? What combination of suffering and joy does the future hold? And to whom should one now turn to manage those matters previously entrusted to the state? Even as new political possibilities arise, the stuff of ordinary life does not disappear but instead must be managed on terms that are both newly expansive and constrained. As people confront the hopes and hardships that come with rebellion, bread must be baked, crimes punished, and garbage collected.