Nonetheless, the symbols and “memories” from the longue durée that Baghdadi uses – such as the black flag of the Abbasids and the glorious stories of a time when the caliphate constituted a great power and a lodestar for all Sunnis – have an enduring impact. Of course, these ideas would amount to little were they not backed by modern weaponry, and had the countries whose territory the Islamic State is seizing not failed to create inclusive social contracts.
尽管如此，巴格达迪利用源自长时程的符号和“记忆”——如阿巴斯王朝的黑旗和关于哈里发帝国曾经无比强盛、是所有逊尼派的明灯的光荣故事——这些符号和“记忆”能产生持久影响。当然，如果没有现代武器作支撑，如果被伊斯兰国蚕食国土的国家当初成功地形成了包容性社会契约，这些观念也将一无是处。但它们用不可磨灭的强大的历史叙事灌输伊斯兰国观念。