This article aims to connect sectarian hatreds, failed states, and Islamic eschatology to the growing extremism within the Sunni jihadist movement. It comprises four interrelated themes. First, it provides an overview of the ideological currents (Iranian Shia revolutionary doctrine and Sunni jihadism) that contribute to sectarian conflicts raging across much of the Arab Middle East. Second, the article examines the impact of the 2003 U.S. directed Iraq war and the 2011 Arab Spring revolts that have aggravated intra-confessional animosities gripping the Mideast. Third, the article assesses the role of apocalyptic sentiments in accelerating intra-confessional violence in the Muslim world. Fourth, the essay relates these developments to greater extremism among Sunni jihadists whose fratricidal violence is selfdefeating yet difficult to combat.