The clearly stated goal of the Islamists is to establish a caliphate, or empire, within the Arab and Muslim world that would overthrow existing governments and impose upon the people a harsh and radical interpretation of Shari 'ah (Islamic religious law).

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center For Security Policy

Unable to offer its own citizens anything other than poverty and fear, it was also unable to prevent itself from being hijacked by drug barons, war lords and jihadists of every stripe, from those who merely hoped to establish a new caliphate in central Asia to those whose target was the heart of the world's most powerful nation.

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Their stated goal is to establish a global "caliphate" subject to a repressive, Taliban-like interpretation of sharia.

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It is the particular mission of the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots, notably al Qaeda, to accomplish this objective and establish a new, global caliphate to rule in accordance with shariah.

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