Whatever else it is, ISIS is the perfect manifestation of the Postmodern condition of contemporary warfare—sometimes referred to as Fourth Generation Warfare.
Involved in what seems like an extremely "asymmetrical conflict," they have nevertheless developed a sophisticated system of fighting and proselytising that has allowed them to carve out an enclave based on the alienated Sunni Arab populations of the former Baathist states of Iraq and Syria.
Perhaps the most Postmodern thing about ISIS is the element of larping or cosplay that seems to pervade the movement—an arcane insistence on roles taken from a fictional book (The Koran), combined with a tech savvy approach that riffs on the alienation, detachment, and cultural divisions created by Western Liberalism. Another Postmodern aspect is the doubt surrounding its true identity and motivations, giving it something of the nature of a holographic simulacra.
Much of this is evident in their rather well-produced English magazine DABIQ. The latest issue (dated 1436 in the Islamic calendar) seems to address allegations that the movement is little more than a CIA or Mossad front by running an interview with a captured Mossad spy referred to here as "Murtadd" (apostate), who, of course, in the Post-modernist nature of things might just be a stooge for higher up Mossad plants. But make your own mind up.
