The world breathed a collective, but tentative sigh of relief this week as news from Iraq and Syria indicated that the terrorist group Daesh could be near collapse.
This most despicable of terrorist groups has been on the retreat in Mosul its biggest prize in Iraq as the Iraqi government continued a weeks-long offensive against it.
Daeshs supposed capital in Syria, Raqqa, has also been encircled by various forces.
This development should not come as a surprise to anyone. Daesh has brought nothing but death, destruction and misery to the peoples of Iraq and Syria. And while we should all rejoice in what seems like the inevitable defeat of Daesh as a physical entity, we must recognize that humanity will continue to grapple with the groups mindset and its many different manifestations for some time to come.
It is incumbent on all nations currently seeking to defeat Daesh militarily to redouble their efforts to address the root causes that led to the rise of the terror group and which account for radicalization.
Just as importantly, nations and peace-loving people around the world must do their part to counter narratives that seek to foment fear, hatred and division whether they are propagated by Muslims, Christians, Jews or any other group. The future peace and prosperity of mankind depends on exposing extremists of every strand.
Scholars studying the root causes of terrorism have long reached a consensus that radicalization is a complex and often lengthy process that entails a confluence of factors.
Contrary to casual observers who believe that ideology alone explains radicalization, multiple studies suggest that ideology is only one factor and often a small one on the road to radicalization. Political, ethnic and socio-economic factors all play a role.
That means that the international community must come to terms with some of the underlying causes that make youths susceptible to recruitment by terrorist organizations.
Political marginalization, impediments to social integration and economic deprivation are vexing issues that nations have to address to ensure that their youths do not become easy prey for terrorists.
We must recognize that humanity will continue to grapple with the terror groups mindset and its many different manifestations for some time to come.
Fahad Nazer
At the same time, the international community must also find solutions to a number of civil wars that have been raging for years and which have become a destination for militant foreign fighters from around the world, especially Syria.
I have repeatedly argued that while Daesh might have its roots in the war in Iraq, it is the brutality of the Assad regime in Syria that enabled it to grow like a malignant tumor and to become the destination of foreign fighters from all around the world.
Just as importantly, nations must be weary of voices that seek to spread hatred, fear and division. These forces are at play in the Islamic world, in the West and elsewhere. These voices of division help sustain the Daesh mindset, which views any person who does not adhere to its dark worldview as a mortal enemy that must be destroyed.
This mindset is not endemic to the Islamic world, as some maintain. Those who maintain that the Islamic world is under siege by the West and must be defended abet Daesh directly by lending credence to its false narrative. Those who argue that the West is under attack by Muslims likewise help Daesh by making Muslims in the West feel alienated and more susceptible to recruitment.
In recent weeks, this incitement in the West has also led to numerous deadly attacks against Muslims in Britain, Canada and the US.
Any reasonable person with a rudimentary understanding of history must acknowledge that terrorism and violence are not endemic to a particular religion, ethnicity or nationality. Those who believe otherwise are part of the problem, not the solution.
What the world is facing today is not a clash of civilizations but a clash of narratives. It is between two diametrically opposed views. One stresses what civilizations, nations and human beings have in common.
The other stresses our differences. Fortunately, the voices calling for peaceful coexistence, cooperation and even integration vastly outnumber those who view conflict, war, competition and disintegration as inevitable.
Daesh as a physical entity was bound to perish because its cult of death and destruction offered people no hope. Those adhering to its hateful mindset likewise have nothing to offer but fear. Time will prove that they too, were on the wrong side of history.
Fahad Nazer is an international affairs fellow with the National Council on US-Arab Relations. He is also a consultant to the Saudi embassy in Washington, but does not represent it or speak on its behalf. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, CNN, The Hill and Newsweek, among others.
See the original post:
Is this the end of Daesh? - Arab News
- Modern Survival Manual Surviving the Economic Collapse - December 18th, 2016 [December 18th, 2016]
- What Explains the Collapse of the USSR? - E-International ... - January 13th, 2017 [January 13th, 2017]
- Where Should the External Priorities of the Visegrd Lie? - Visegrad Insight - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- PH gov't, communists urged to pursue talks even without ceasefire - Inquirer.net - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- New Texts Out Now: Helga Tawil-Souri and Dina Matar, eds. Gaza as Metaphor - Jadaliyya - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Kazakhstan Going Into Soft Power Overdrive - EurasiaNet - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Economic Crash 2017 and How the Next Financial Crisis Could Be Worse Than 2008 - Lombardi Letter - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Mass incarceration and the perfect socio-economic storm - OUPblog (blog) - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Give peace a chance, not 'all-out' war, say solons, Leftist Cabinet members - InterAksyon - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Celebrating Black History: Detroit Techno icons - Mixmag - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Why 'financial inclusion' may be the wrong terminology - NewsDay - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- 'Conspiracy' in peace talks collapse seen - Inquirer.net - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- 2017 and beyond: Future unpredictable - Zimbabwe Independent - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Zuma's interventions will deal with white monopoly capital - Office of ANC Chief Whip - Politicsweb - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Lobster crash erodes West Coast way of life - GroundUp - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Hopes remain for revival of peace talks - Manila Bulletin - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Lobster crash erodes West Coast way of life - News24 - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Financial Black Swans Could Rock 2017 Stock Market Forecast - Lombardi Letter - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Zimbabwe: A Crisis Unfolding - Zimbabwe | ReliefWeb - ReliefWeb - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- 'Bumper harvest to stop aid politicisation' - Nehanda Radio - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Zimbabwe: A Crisis Unfolding - New Zimbabwe.com - New Zimbabwe.com - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Who We Play For saving lives through athlete heart screenings - Tallahassee.com - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Terrorist resurgence - Daily Times - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Seeing Sabon Tasha in new light - Daily Trust - February 20th, 2017 [February 20th, 2017]
- Facing tragedy with courage - The News International - February 28th, 2017 [February 28th, 2017]
- Socio-Economic Collapse | Prometheism.net - Part 3 - March 1st, 2017 [March 1st, 2017]
- Rethinking Nonviolent Resistance In The Face Of Right-Wing ... - Huffington Post - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Vladimir Putin Isn't a Supervillain - Foreign Policy (blog) - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- First ceiling collapse at Charlotte Maxeke in January already, claim staff - News24 - March 3rd, 2017 [March 3rd, 2017]
- Rethinking Nonviolent Resistance in the Face of Right-Wing Populism - The Wire - March 4th, 2017 [March 4th, 2017]
- Historical Materialism Versus Historical Conceptualism - Dissident Voice - March 6th, 2017 [March 6th, 2017]
- World Bank, Sokoto Govt commit N9b for rebuilding of collapsed ... - THISDAY Newspapers - March 8th, 2017 [March 8th, 2017]
- Nigeria: Sokoto Govt and World Bank pledges $28.8million for rehabilitation of collapsed Dam - Ecofin Agency: Economic information from Africa - March 9th, 2017 [March 9th, 2017]
- Time for a rebirth of Zimbabwean politics - Bulawayo24 News (press release) (blog) - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- This Brexit battle is cold, hard capitalism vs. civilised, co-operative order - The New European - April 8th, 2017 [April 8th, 2017]
- Swet Shop Boys: Why white skin is no longer a safety net - Deutsche Welle - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Impact of Prez Akufo-Addo's W/A tour on economy - Graphic Online - June 6th, 2017 [June 6th, 2017]
- Important meeting for our nation's future | Deniliquin Pastoral Times - Deniliquin Pastoral Times (registration) (blog) - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- Creating a Better Economy with Data Science - Stanford Social Innovation Review (subscription) - June 8th, 2017 [June 8th, 2017]
- TB Joshua : 'Investigate Fani-Kayode's claims on Synagogue building collapse' - Analyst - Pulse Nigeria - June 11th, 2017 [June 11th, 2017]
- Integration and security: Estonia's Russian-speaking minority - New Eastern Europe - June 12th, 2017 [June 12th, 2017]
- Late Matanzima celebrated as a visionary- Education, development described as his legacy - Daily dispatch - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Prof. Guy Standing: Every country can afford Universal Basic Income - EURACTIV - June 16th, 2017 [June 16th, 2017]
- Climate, social equality also behind collapse of govt formation talks: Green leader - NL Times - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- Country needs USDA Rural Development - Iowa Farmer Today - June 17th, 2017 [June 17th, 2017]
- The downgrade and retirement funds: what does it mean? - African Independent - June 18th, 2017 [June 18th, 2017]
- National priorities defy convention in St Lucia - St. Lucia Times News - St. Lucia Times Online News (press release) - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Use of harmful chemicals for fish preservation harmful to consumers - Ghana News Agency - June 20th, 2017 [June 20th, 2017]
- Use of harmful chemicals for fish preservation harmful to consumers ... - BusinessGhana - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- Op-Ed: South Africa's central bank row points to dangerous levels of intolerance - CNBCAfrica.com - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- Collapsed bridge cut off over 5000 residents in llorin - National Accord - June 22nd, 2017 [June 22nd, 2017]
- The Wonderful World of Binary Categorizations - Geopoliticalmonitor.com - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- Dangerous levels of intolerance exposed in Reserve Bank row - Independent Online - June 23rd, 2017 [June 23rd, 2017]
- South Africa's central bank row points to dangerous levels of intolerance - eNCA - June 24th, 2017 [June 24th, 2017]
- Reserve Bank battle points to dangerous levels of intolerance - Mail & Guardian - June 26th, 2017 [June 26th, 2017]
- There is a strong economic case to preserve future of traditional fishing - Alfred Sant - Malta Independent Online - June 27th, 2017 [June 27th, 2017]
- Empowering Women in Developing Economies - HuffPost - June 30th, 2017 [June 30th, 2017]
- Nkomo could have saved Zim: Zapu - NewsDay - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Govt completes inspection 1.6 lakh bridges, plans new tech - Zee News - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Centre claims to have completed safety audit of 1.6 lakh bridges; to work on 147 dilapidated structures - Firstpost - July 3rd, 2017 [July 3rd, 2017]
- Collapse of UT and Capital banks A case of a collective national failure (Article) - Citifmonline - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- UNZA vice-chancellor lays down marker - Zambia Daily Mail - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- What Makes a Terrorist? - The New York Review of Books - August 24th, 2017 [August 24th, 2017]
- How the Collapse of Venezuela Really Happened - The ... - February 18th, 2018 [February 18th, 2018]
- Socio-Economic Collapse in the Congo: Causes and Solutions - October 3rd, 2018 [October 3rd, 2018]
- Sick Bees Part 18F8: Colony Collapse Revisited ... - April 25th, 2019 [April 25th, 2019]
- Classic Maya collapse - Wikipedia - April 25th, 2019 [April 25th, 2019]
- Great Civilizations Aren't Murdered, They Commit Suicide ... - May 5th, 2019 [May 5th, 2019]
- Dollar Collapse Predictions: What Will Happen When It Happens? - May 5th, 2019 [May 5th, 2019]
- 10 Steps to Prepare for Americas Economic Collapse - May 31st, 2019 [May 31st, 2019]
- Do you really think NDC faithful would ever condemn a coup dtat? - Modern Ghana - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Economic and Institutional Restructuring for the Next Nigeria - Soludo - Proshare Nigeria Limited - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- ET CEO Roundtable: Build a wealthier nation with state help, industry execution - Economic Times - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Ghanaians could well face the wrath of God should they betray the Free SHS provider! - Modern Ghana - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- The Return to Power of Local Hotel Brands? | By Robert Govers - Hospitality Net - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Brexit: Systemic Risk and a Warning - Resilience - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Why is Poland's Law and Justice party still so popular? - EUROPP - European Politics and Policy - October 1st, 2019 [October 1st, 2019]
- Presidential elections in Tunisia: who are the globalists betting on? - United World International - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]
- Kevin Taylor, youre a reporter, not an opinionist; youre guided by the rule of impartiality! - Modern Ghana - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]
- The Unholy Mess of US Middle Eastern Strategy - Valdai Discussion Club - October 16th, 2019 [October 16th, 2019]