This week Long Island University announced the winners of the George Polk Awards, one of the highest honors in journalism, and among the winners was a fascinating story you may have missed.

"The Jihad Next Door," by Lebanese-Australian journalist Rania Abouzeid took on the timely question of how ISIS so quickly emerged as a major threat in Iraq and Syria. 

Published online in Politico Magazine, the story explains how ISIS began as an al Qaeda affiliate, then emerged as a rival to the parent organization. 

Abouzeid will receive the George Polk Award at a ceremony in New York on April 10. The awards, given by Long Island University, place a premium on investigative and enterprising reporting that gains attention and achieve results.

The award committee released the following statement about Abouzeid:

Australian-Lebanese journalist Rania Abouzeid will receive the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting for “The Jihad Next Door,” an extensive and authoritative account of the rise of the Islamic State, published online by Politico Magazine. Abouzeid gained access to Jihadist fighters and their leaders, showing how they used the conflict in Syria to gain strength and support, outflanking badly equipped and disorganized moderate rebels to form a powerful and more dangerous offshoot of Al-Qaeda.

Abouzeid, a daughter of Lebanese immigrants, has 15 years of experience reporting in the Middle East.

Abouzeid writes with great clarity and authority. She projects the same qualities in the following interview: 

Sources: Lebanese Examiner, the Journal Sentinel, Jabalna Magazine