The Recent Development of the Islamic State

Wednesday Forum – Dec 2, 2020

This talk will focus on three aspects: 1) the reconfiguration of the Islamic State (IS) after the loss of territorial control in Syria and Iraq, 2) the theological dimensions of IS, and 3) the online activity of IS. As to the first dimension, IS has lost the control of the territory in Syria and Iraq. It changed to a war of attrition (harb intinzāf), a kind of guerrilla warfare at a global level. As to the second dimension, an overview of the theological developments of IS will be given, especially referring to the strategies of the new leadership. As to the third dimension, the reconfiguration of online communication, structures and new phenomena will be discussed.

Rüdiger Lohlker is professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria, since 2003. He taught at several other universities before and worked as a data base consultant in Rabat (Morocco) on a project on Arabic manuscripts. His research focusses on the history of Islamic thought, espicially Sufism, Islam and sciences, Salafism, Jihadism, and Islamic/Arabic online communication.

Look at the full poster of this event here.