In its self-assigned mission to restore the long-lost Islamic empire, the Islamic State (IS) has subscribed to a puritanical ideology which is geared towards early Islam. These were tempestuous and violent times, when the Prophet Muhammad waged war on the Arab Peninsula in order to spread his beliefs. As many members of IS see themselves as authentic throwbacks to this era, the group has begun to piously reproduce the social codes and laws of war of this time in today’s context. IS enforces its norms on anybody under its control, while branding those who resist, or follow a different persuasion as apostates worth killing. Common sense dictates that much of what IS does will cause it to lose public sympathy, both among its subjects in the region and supporters around the globe. However, this is not the case. IS knows exactly how its actions affect its audience. In the third part of this series of articles, the author argues that the deployment of various forms of terror as strategic tools is the third key factor for the group’s success.