This study traces the origins of the Islamic State to 1999 when Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zaraqawi established Al Qaeda in the Land of the Two Rivers. It examines how it has managed to spread its influence into Africa, the Caucasus and the Far East. Despite having a vast number of forces arrayed against it the Islamic State is growing stronger. Reasons for the resilience displayed on the part of the Jihadis include encouraging polarization between groups and then benefiting from this process and its diverse funding sources from oil sales to the trafficking of antiquities and narcotics. It has deployed soft power and displayed superior military strategy combining conventional military doctrine with asymmetric warfare. Current counter-terrorism strategies to degrade and destroy Islamic State are not working. There is no quick-fix military solution to the challenged posed by Islamic State such as the decapitation of the leadership and aerial strikes against key Islamic State command and control positions. There is a deterioration of the Sunni-Shia divide in the region. The phenomenon of Islamic State will continue to grow in the short to medium term. Part of the reason for this relates to the fact that the reformation of Islam has largely stalled on account of the fight back from more conservative clerics. Demographic and environmental variables are also serving to fuel religious fundamentalism globally. It is delusional to believe that it can be overpowered overnight while it is delusion for the Islamic State to believe that it can succeed. A distinctive contribution to literature; an essential and priority read.