B. V. DOLGOV Candidate of Historical Sciences Center for Arab Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Keywords: Islamic state, Islamist ideology, Arab spring, Syrian crisis, Western goals The doctrine of the Islamic state as an alternative, according to its ideologists, to the" infidel and corrupt West", based on the "eternal and just laws of the Koran", continues to attract the attention of both Muslims and people of other civilizations. This is facilitated by the aggravation of socio-economic problems that occur in the Arab-Muslim world and, to a sufficient extent, in the EU and US countries, where the crisis also affects the spiritual spheres of Western post-Christian society. The terrorist expansion of the Islamic State (IS) organization can significantly destabilize the situation in the countries of the region. This primarily concerns Libya, where there is no central authority that would control the entire territory of the country, and on its land Islamist leaders have declared joining the IG. The doctrine of the Islamic state, which is based on the early and" authentic", according to its followers, Islam of the time of the Prophet Muhammad and the four "righteous caliphs" (the first caliphs who ruled after the Prophet Muhammad - Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali), has a fairly long history. Its founders in recent history were such prominent Muslim figures as Abu Ala al-Maududi (1903-1979), the founder of the Islamist Jamaat-i Islami party in Pakistan, and Sayyid Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), the ideologist of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood association. According to Islamist ideologues, " Islamic doctrines, laws and moral and ethical norms are universal in relation to any time and place. They are a powerful incentive for development in any era, and only they should regulate the life of Muslim society."1. A state created on the basis of Islam, according to them, will solve all socio-economic problems and contribute to the establi ... Read more