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Terrorism and False Ideology

An Introduction

Since 2017, the Ansar al-Sunna insurgent group which is associated with ISIS evacuated more than 430.000 people from Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique. Last month, these terrorists beheaded more than 50 people in the same province. Some local youth are attracted to this group’s false ideology because of poverty and unemployment issues.

Last August, two female suicide bombers killed more than 14 people and at least 70 people were injured in Jolo, Southern Philippines. These attackers, who are widows of slain terrorists, used the improvised explosive devices to kill innocent people and a number of security forces. Further, they were affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) which is known as Islamic State – East Asia Province. This has suggested that the terrorist attacks are to be led by females and young people.

According to the recent American Enterprise Institute (AEI) report on youth and terrorism, terrorist groups like ISIS and al Shabaab designated the roles of young women to that of wives and mothers. Where else, Boko Haram use the young women and girls as suicide bombers. Nowadays, these female terrorists are playing a prominent role within these groups and in most cases, they are undetected by the security and intelligence agencies.

The Security Landscape since 9/11

Since nineteen years ago, the landscape of international security has changed ever drastically. Terrorism and terrorist activities it not restricts itself with one territory or region. Terrorism is becoming a global issue. It has expanded from north to south and from west to east. After Al Qaeda was defeated, then the world has seen more atrocities committed by ISIS. A couple of years ago, this group also had been defeated.

In the Indian subcontinent and Afghanistan, there are new terrorist groups which are affiliated, either with Al Qaeda or ISIS like Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS),  Jamaatul Ahrar,  Hizbul Ahrar and Jamaatul Ahrar and Hizbul Ahrar.

In 2018, under the US Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the Secretary of State has included the ISIS-Philippines. ISIS-West Africa, ISIS-Greater Sahara, al-Ashtar Brigades (AAB), Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) as the foreign terrorist organizations,

The re-emerging of Al Qaeda and ISIS with their affiliated groups is a matter of concern. The security and intelligence agencies may have succeeded by eliminating the leaders of these groups but still failed to eliminate the core ideology.  This ideology has been subscribed by the sympathisers and supporters of these groups and most of them acting independently as a lone wolf to achieve their ‘noble’ goal by killing innocent people.   

In July, the UK Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace had said that ISIS's ideology is poisonous and there is a possibility for this group to be resurfaced again. Further, he said this ideology was still intact, and ISIS remains as the prevalent security threat to the UK.

The new paradigm of a terrorist attack no longer requires a well-coordinated with the huge financial assistance, but rather executed by the lone wolves with less monetary contribution.

The terrorist groups are re-emerging because the ideology is tenacious. Therefore, lone wolf terrorist attacks become conspicuous. For the intelligence and security agencies, this type of attacks becomes very challenging to be detected and prevented.

The Present Danger

Last October in Paris, Samuel Paty was brutally beheaded by a terrorist from Chechnya, Abdullakh Anzorov who was 18 years old. Anzorov used a cleaver to kill Paty. He had lived in France since 2008. Seven people were charged in the court including two students and a parent of one of Mr Paty's students.

Meanwhile, in Nice, Brahim Aouissaoui a migrant who arrived in September from Tunisia murdered three people in the Notre-Dame basilica. One of the victims was partially decapitated. He was 21 years old and used a knife to carry out the attack.

Vienna is one of a safest city in the world. The city’s reputation is dented in the early November when a 20-year-old suspected terrorist, Kujtim Fejzullai killed four people and hurt more than twenty people. Prior to this attack, he was imprisoned for trying to travel to Syria to join with ISIS and was released earlier due to his youth.

These incidents in Paris, Nice and Vienna exposed that the false ideology of the terrorist group is deeply ingrained with youth. The poverty, unemployment, racial and religious discrimination issues are to be used by the handlers of terrorist groups to recruit young people and women. Later, they will be brainwashed to commit the atrocities against the innocent people in the name of the religion.

Further, these perpetrators are influenced by false propagandas and they believed what they have done is to protect or to take revenge behalf of their ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’. Unfortunately, they are misguided by their own deceitful preachers in the name of the religion.

Conclusion

The face of terrorism is always evolving. The method and mode of a terrorist attack is becoming unpredictable. The terrorists always find a little opportunity to launch their fatal attacks like in Nice, Paris, Vienna and Cabo Delgado. They are using females and young people to conduct their attacks to evade detection by the intelligence agencies.

Therefore, the intelligence and security forces should not have undermined the ability of these terrorist groups. The tactics of these groups are shifting to use of non-conventional weapons like household knives and vehicles. In addition, they are also using fake suicide vests to deceive the security forces and the public to ‘protect’ themselves.

In meantime, preventing any attacks conducted by a terrorist is very perplexing for these agencies. Therefore, the family members or friends of suspected terrorist/supporter/sympathiser must play a proactive role by alerting the relevant agencies.

Furthermore, intelligence and security services must also partner with religious authorities to build an effective narrative against the false ideology of terrorist groups. In addition, to counter the propaganda materials used by these terrorist groups, they can also use artificial intelligence (AI) by detecting and eliminating such materials to be circulated publicly.

In a nutshell, the political and religious leaders need to refrain themselves by making inflammatory and insensitive remarks which will upset a particular group of people. Thus, the approach taken by Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand in the wake of Christchurch attack is highly commendable compare to the approach taken by French President, Emmanuel Macron. Further, the religious and community leaders must put a strong condemnation by alienating the perpetrators rather than supporting them. These leaders also must show great empathy on the victims and victims family.  



Kuala Lumpur 
23.12.2020 6.13pm 
©Copyright is reserved. 2020.

This opinion was published on 30/12/2020 -

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