viernes, 18 de julio de 2014

viernes, julio 18, 2014

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

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in Iraq's Nineveh province©AFP
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants in Iraq's Nineveh province


When a shocked America askedWhy 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, tooresisted.


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.

The group, referred to in the region as Daesh, has struck in the heart of the Arab world, capturing territory across Syria and Iraq, attempting to erase borders and demanding allegiance to its brutal, backwards interpretation of Islam.


In its sweep across Arab lands, Daesh has been attacking Muslimsnot foreigners. In Syria, its targets have been other rebels rather than government forces, and in Iraq, it is fighting Shia Muslims.

Emerging as primarily an Arab dilemma, Daesh has ignited a heated debate in which commentators, religious scholars and ordinary people are now asking: “What is wrong with us?”

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.

“There are questions in society more than after the September 11 attacks because the menace is closer and because of a sense of loss and confusion,” says Abdelwahab Badrakhan, a Lebanese commentator.


He argues that the Arab uprisings were seen by intellectuals in the region as the response to a decade of malaise after the September 11 attacks, the Iraq war and the introspection over the need for freedom and democracy.

“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 askwhat 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.

Supporters of the Islamic State have looked at the reigns of caliphates and at massacres that took place to justify their [own] behaviour,” says Mr Hassan.

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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