Global Insight
July 16, 2014 2:18 pm
Rise of Isis shakes Arab world from long state of denial
Surge of al-Qaeda’s offshoot leaves society questioning itself
When a shocked America asked “Why do they hate us?” in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, it was confronting an Arab world in denial.
As US-led wars were waged in Afghanistan and Iraq, and demands escalated for the reform of authoritarian regimes, failed education systems and intolerant religious discourse, Arab governments – and in some cases societies, too – resisted.
More than a decade on, the stunning surge of al-Qaeda’s offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (known as Isis), is shrinking the room for denial.
In its sweep across Arab lands, Daesh has been attacking Muslims – not foreigners. In Syria, its targets have been other rebels rather than government forces, and in Iraq, it is fighting Shia Muslims.
In many cases, this reflects the desperation of societies shaken by the Middle East’s descent into near chaos only three years after peaceful youth uprisings lifted hopes for a better future for the first time in decades.
It is also an expression of the existential fear that unless societies and governments take the Daesh threat seriously, more errant youth will be attracted to its barbaric ways, and an entire regional order will disintegrate.
Although Daesh represents a minority view in the region, it has succeeded in Iraq at winning the acquiescence of Sunni non-followers, who say they prefer living under the control of a vicious Sunni organisation to the rule of the Shia prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Some sympathetic tribes are backed by Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Gulf allies, states that appear more concerned with getting rid of Mr Maliki than checking Daesh’s rise. Observers say radical Saudi Islamists, some active on Twitter, support Daesh and its ideology.
“But now we discover that all the illnesses that we thought had been answered by the Arab Spring have returned to the surface because the post-uprising period lacked leadership and was confused by internal struggles that fuelled sectarianism and extremism.”
In a powerful commentary in the pan-Arab al-Hayat newspaper, Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi political analyst, drew parallels between Daesh’s onslaught and Genghis Khan’s invasion of central Asian cities in the 13th century, when he is said to have declared himself the punishment of God for the sins committed by Muslims.
“It is time to ask ‘what went wrong’. It’s time to look inside us,” wrote Mr Khashoggi, adding that the only dynamic movement in the region was the flood of extremism.
Isis advances say as much about its fighters’ capabilities as the disarray among Syria’s rebels. Plagued by infighting, the rebels have been drained of foreign funding as they have confronted better-armed, hardline Islamists. The US and Gulf countries have focused on a few moderate, “vetted” rebel groups, hoping to weaken Islamist popularity.
Hassan Hassan, a Syrian commentator who has written about the debate, says discussions taking place on social media between Daesh’s supporters and critics have also been useful in explaining the appeal of a group that rejects existing regimes, as well as any system perceived to be dictated by the outside.
The debate is also forcing a re-examination of Arab history and the rule of the caliphs, the successors to the Prophet Mohammed that the Daesh leader and self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, claims to be emulating.
The soul-searching will not bring Iraq or Syria closer to peace but it could add to the regional pressure to confront Daesh. As Mr Hassan says, “When danger is from within and there is no international force willing to intervene, people have to start looking at ways to shield their countries from this new challenge.”
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2014.
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