London: The worldview of the ISIS — which has renamed itself as the Islamic State — stretches from Africa to India and covers much of China and Europe, according to maps attributed to the jihadist force.
The map purportedly shows the areas IS plans to have under its control within five years. After declaring a caliphate, the militants on Monday declared the group’s chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as Caliph Ibrahim and called on all Muslims around the world to swear loyalty to him.
“The legality of all emirates, groups, states and organisations becomes null by the expansion of the caliph’s authority and the arrival of its troops to their areas,” said Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, a group spokesman.
“Listen to your caliph and obey him. Support your state, which grows every day,” he added in an audio statement posted online, according to the Daily Mail. The Independent quoted Charles Lister, visiting fellow at the Qatar-based Brookings Doha Centre, as saying that the declaration signalled “massive trouble” regardless of the perceived legitimacy of the group.
The greatest impact could be on the broader international jihadist movement, in particular on the future of Al Qaeda, which once did not allow the IS to associate with it because of its extreme methods.
