Just goes to show, “you don’t need a college education to get ahead”, as just quoted by my wife of 55 years. She’s pretty sharp for an old gal but I still love her.
From his Wikipedia page, “According to a biography that circulated on jihadist internet forums in July 2013, he obtained a BA, MA, and PhD in Islamic studies from the Islamic University of Baghdad.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2015/02/what-isis-really-wants/384980/
ISIS has declared Al-Baghdadi the new Caliph. They are attempting to reconstitute a Caliphate where every Muslim must submit or be declared an apostate. All elected leaders and secular dictators go against the Koran. They are also apostates and the literal reading of the Koran declares their life forfeit. This is why Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and even Iran are concerned. The more land ISIS controls, the more legit they seem, the more Muslims will join their cause.
They have the potential to be something very different from al-qaeda. The ISIS leaders actually look down on al-qaeda as not being true to Islam and the Koran.