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    01-Jul-2015

To defeat Daesh dogma - By Osama Al Sharif, The Jordan Times

 

 

There was an important subliminal message in Friday’s dual attacks in Kuwait and Tunisia: Daesh is much more than a terrorist organisation wedged between Syria and Iraq; rather it is a cross-border dogma that inspires and motivates people, mostly youth, all over the world.

Much has been written about Daesh’s appeal and its surprising ability to recruit and induce, not only through fringe mosques in Europe and elsewhere but by using and adapting to the most sophisticated means of modern communication.

We know very little about the internal structure of this organisation, which has spread at an alarming rate over the past three years. But we know that its ideology appeals to other extremist organisations and groups worldwide and through smaller cells in Europe and North America.

Mohammad Abu Rumman, expert on Islamist movement, noticed that the young Tunisian who carried out the attack on Bardo museum last March and the one who killed tourists in Sousse last week came from middle-class families. He pointed to the fact that most of the Tunisian youth who joined Daesh in Syria have university education.

In his view, and that of others, what all these young people have in common is a deep belief in the “model” Daesh, and other salafist jihadist groups close to it, propose to build.

That model seeks to implement Islamic Sharia in full so that a more equitable society can be created on Earth. This utopian Islamic state will cancel political borders and restore the past glory of the caliphate.

But in addition to adopting such beliefs, others go as far as to consider Daesh the only viable force to repulse the Iranian/Shiite expansion into the Muslim realm. They see themselves as soldiers defending the Sunni world against heretics, apostates and infidels.

What is dangerous about such beliefs is that they are shared by millions of Muslims who, while maybe not ready to join Daesh and become jihadists themselves, sympathise with its ideology and objectives.

The restoration of the Islamic caliphate is a romantic dream for a majority of Muslims, who believe it is the answer to today’s complex political, social, cultural and economic challenges.

Even some Islamist scholars went out of their way to find excuses for Daesh’s atrocities and its bloody methods.

One such apologist recently told me that Daesh is implementing true Islam in times of war. In his view, the Muslim world is under attack by the West and the only way to respond is to adopt extreme measures to fend off the aggressors and pave the way for the restoration of the caliphate.

People like this Islamist expert refute the hypothesis that Daesh supporters are mostly radicalised Muslims.

The doctrine Daesh has adopted is partially or completely supported by Muslims, or recent converts, who belong to mainstream Islam.

The perpetrator of the attack in Sousse had no prior criminal record; neither do so are many young recruits who decided to leave their homes and join Daesh in Syria or Iraq.

There are many visible and hidden reasons behind the Daesh appeal to young men and women all over the world.

Marginalised youth find a purpose for their lives by joining the militant group. It empowers them as they believe they are fighting for a noble cause.

But there are political and social causes as well, all of which require careful study if the phenomenon is to be explained and confronted.

The world is engaged in a war against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. But the franchise is expanding quickly and new battlefronts are emerging in Muslim countries, as well as in Europe and North America.

The most immediate danger comes from lone-wolf attackers who may not be directly tied to Daesh, but carry out their attacks in its name.

These secondary battlefronts will soon become primary ones.

Daesh will eventually be defeated in Iraq and Syria, provided that countries that support it out of sympathy or for political expediency realise that they will eventually become targets as well.

But the longest confrontation will take place within Muslim societies, where the romantic appeal of an Islamic state “model” attracts even those who are classified as moderates.

The solution will be to provide an alternative model, one that does not contradict with universal Islamist values but achieves the objectives of social justice, equal opportunities and empowerment of members of the society.

Making the transition will not be easy and it will require long-term planning that will reflect on education, especially for future generations.

To defeat the ideology Daesh espouses, change must begin at home, in the heart of the Muslim world, and we must brace ourselves for a long and tiring battle of ideas.

 

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