RSVP REQUIRED. Email dheffernan@emetonline.org to RSVP and obtain further details.

The New Caliphate: The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham

On June 29th, 2014, the Islamist terror group, and a former affiliate of al-Qaeda, originally known as the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) declared the creation of an Islamic State in large portions of the lands formerly controlled by the Middle East nations of Iraq and Syria. The leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has named himself Caliph Ibrahim, and now claims religious authority over all Muslims throughout the world.

ISIS is known for its harsh interpretation of Wahhabi Islam and its brutal violence, which is directed at women, Christians, Shia Muslims, non-fundamentalist Sunni Muslims, Yazidis, and many others. It has thousands of foreign fighters in its ranks, and has claimed responsibility for bloody attacks on Iraqi/Syrian government, military targets and thousands of civilians. Most recently, ISIS expelled thousands of Arab Christians and Yazidis from their ancestral lands in Iraq because of their unwillingness to convert to radical Sunni Islam. Those religious minorities that have refused to leave ISIS territory have been executed, some by crucifixion. Over the past decade, ISIS has also killed hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq, and has repeatedly promised to attack the U.S. homeland.

EMET is proud to host Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and the senior editor of The Long War Journal. Mr. Joscelyn will brief attendees about recent events in Iraq, Syria, and the (so-called) new Islamic State.

Wednesday August 13, 2014
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM (Eastern Time)

Lunch to be Served (Dietary Laws Observed)
RSVP: To dheffernan@emetonline.org
Subject Line: “August 13 ISIS Event”

Thomas Joscelyn

Senior Editor of The Long War Journal, and Senior Fellow at FDD
Thomas Joscelyn is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and senior editor of The Long War Journal, a widely read publication dealing with counterterrorism and related issues. Much of his research focuses on how al Qaeda and its affiliates operate around the globe. Mr. Joscelyn was the senior counterterrorism adviser to Mayor Giuliani during the 2008 presidential campaign. He has testified before Congress on numerous occasions, including before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, House Homeland Security Committee, House Foreign Affairs Committee, and House Judiciary Committee. Mr. Joscelyn is also a frequent contributor to The Weekly Standard. His work has been published by a variety of other publications and cited by the Associated Press, Reuters, The Washington Post, USA Today, TIME, Foreign Policy, and many others, and he makes regular appearances on television and radio programs.

Mr. Joscelyn has constructed dossiers for hundreds of terrorists during the course of his work. The Daily Beast has described him as one “the most trusted authorities on the al Qaeda network because of his encyclopedic knowledge of terrorist biographies.” In 2007, he published a monograph titled, Iran’s Proxy War Against America, which details Iran’s decades-long sponsorship of America’s terrorist enemies. In 2008, he completed an exhaustive review of the Guantanamo Bay detainee population, cataloging and analyzing thousands of pages of declassified documents.