It&#x27;s also worth pointing out that even Salafi jihadism isn&#x27;t a homogenous whole, with many of the other jihadist movements actively fighting ISIS<p>A key difference between al Qaeda, which could broadly be defined as trying to &quot;tip the scales eventually toward a Caliphate&quot; whilst battling for certain populist causes and ISIS is that the latter considers itself to <i>be</i> a Caliphate, and is actively pushing for the Islamic equivalent of Armageddon. That means it isn&#x27;t going to calm down, but it also means that its claims to legitimacy based on fulfilment of prophecies about unification of territories are more readily defeated by military means than other jihadists&#x27; claims to be defending the Muslim world from infidels.<p>Edit: see also this user&#x27;s point and linked article <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10581489" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10581489</a>