Afghan veterans shaped the global terrorism landscape
during the last three decades. Today, blowback from the conflict in Syria is driving the global terrorist threat.
In the West, 9/11 was the high point of the Afghan blowback. Paris is one of the first attacks of the Syrian blowback. The template to strike Paris was Mumbai of 11/26. With threat groups and personalities from Asia, the Middle East and Africa travelling to Syria to fight, the countries in the global south will remain most vulnerable. This includes Bharat, now one of the six countries most affected by national and international terrorism.
The contemporary wave of terrorism by Muslim groups can be traced back to 1979. A son of a Mullah, Pakistani President General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq who assumed the presidency in 1978, played the decisive role in the fight against the Soviets, who invaded Afghanistan. Supported by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United States of America and the United Kingdom, General Zia called Muslims worldwide to travel to Pakistan to wage a jihad against the Soviets. No Bharatiya Muslim joined the fight as Bharat under Indira Gandhi was an ally of the Soviets.
The Arab fighters, who fought the Soviets, were led by the Jordanian ideologue Abdullah Azzam and his Saudi financier Osama bin Laden formed al Qaeda. After the defeat of the Soviets, the foreign fighters travelled to conflict zones worldwide. The closest conflict zone to Afghanistan and Pakistan was Kashmir.
Historically, Muslim leaders and rulers rallied support for their battles by advocating Islam. However, the fight was never perpetual. The formulation of a jihad till victory or death was popularised by al Qaeda and a decade later implemented by Islamic State (IS). Unlike other groups, IS espoused and its resources enabled it to wage a constant battle against its enemies both in its core of Iraq and Syria and outer layers—the provinces. Cautious of not expending its resources outside the core area, IS shares its expertise by dispatching its planners and experts. Libya is IS's fall back theatre. However, IS shares most of its knowledge through the internet, especially through social media.
Both al Qaeda and IS ideologues framed the fight as good against evil. Those seeking atonement for their sins were attracted by their ideologies. However, unlike post 2001 al Qaeda, IS created a caliphate and spectacular battlefield victories, making their rhetoric believable. Compared to the rhetoric and actions of Taliban dependent al Qaeda, IS organic capabilities were apparent. IS strategic capabilities are a ten year leap forward of existing insurgent and terrorist capabilities. With its access to vast resources, IS did not limit itself either in their imagination or ambition.
Contemporary Terrorism
In the early 21st century, Jihadism has become a way of life. Starting with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the defeat of the Soviet military and the fall of communism, the idea of jihad became popular. The anti-Soviet multinational Afghan Jihad (1979-1989) created a free floating pool of foreign fighters and supporters. At the forefront was Pakistan's President General Zia-ul Haq, who was determined to fight the Soviets. Several government actors notably Pakistan and Saudi Arabia supported by the US and UK were determined to contain the spread of communism.
The first Arab organisation to support the fight, Maktabil Khidamat was started by Abdullah Azzam in 1984 and conceptualised al Qaeda Al Sulbah in 1988. The writings of Abdullah Azzam, the father of Jihad, spread worldwide and the idea of jihad was internalised. Azzam's protege was Osama bin Laden, first a financier and then a fighter arriving from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Azzam established Al Jihad, the most popular Arab publication that was distributed worldwide including the Diaspora. Osama established al Qaeda as an operational entity starting in 1988. Although the fight against the Soviets was primarily won by the Afghans and Pakistanis, victory was claimed by the Arabs who provided significant funds and publicity. The idea of jihad spread throughout the Middle East with its genesis in the anti-Israeli Palestinian conflict but remained largely isolated from other global jihad arenas of Bosnia, Kashmir, Chechnya, Algeria and Kosovo. The national Muslim movements transformed into Islamic movements in Libya with the formation of the Libyan Islamic Fighters Group, in the Philippines, with the formation of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and several such entities in Chechnya. Drawing inspiration from these conflict zones, several hubs of jihad appeared worldwide throughout the 1990s. Most of the Arabs who fought and supported returned to their home countries spawning new jihad groups and creating new jihad arenas. A few thousand stayed back in tribal areas of Pakistan some marrying local women and others forming or sustaining groups to topple their own governments at home. They claimed that Muslim regimes were corrupt and unIslamic.
With Osama moving to Sudan with his group of veterans, a jihadist infrastructure was created in Africa. Al Qaeda created and prepared a new generation of fighters in training camps in Sudan and Somalia. Throughout the 1990s witnessed the rise of violence in north and east Africa and the threat gradually spread to sub Sahara Africa and the Sahel gradually engulfing the west of Africa. Even before the East Africa bombings in August 1998, North African and African jihad groups emerged throughout the 1990s. The idea of jihad found resonance in Africa and its propaganda spread sharply in the 2000s.
With the advent of the Internet and its exploitation starting in 1993, the idea of jihad as the pinnacle of Islam spread. Published in Australia, Nida-ul Islam was distributed online and distributed worldwide including in the US. Al Qaeda established its media office in Neasden, north London in the second half of the 1990s and issued press releases including the al Qaeda bombing of the US Embassies in East Africa in August 1988.
The turning point was 9/11, an event that resonated throughout the Arab and Muslim World. Although an Afghan veteran Ramzi Ahmed Yusef had attacked the World Trade Centre in February 1993, the idea of targeting the West especially the US did not find resonance. The Internet was harnessed by al Qaeda and associated groups. With the creation of a transnational subculture, they travelled country to country meeting with fellow jihadists and serving their cause. Some worked in the jihadist businesses from publishing to retail selling jihadist products (honey, water, clothes) and a few married into the families. As the jihadi online community grew with the advent of the social media in 2004, many worked in the publishing of books, magazines, online bulletins, TV and video broadcasting and in social media. Avid uses of the Internet, young radicalises very rapidly compared to X and Y generation of Jihadists.
New Threat Landscape
After the US intervention in Afghanistan in October 2001, the foreign fighters displaced from Afghanistan formed two bases of operations. They started to operate into Afghanistan from Tribal Pakistan and into Iraq from north of Iraq. After the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the world witnessed rise of the Tawhid wal jihad led by Abu Musab al Zarqawi who renamed his group Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). The AQI evolved into the Islamic State (IS) through three intermediaries – Mujahidin Shura Council, Islamic State of Iraq, and with the expansion of the fight into Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. The success of the jihadists led them to exploit the Arab Spring. The western failure to understand the threat posed by jihadists led to the rise of jihadism from Libya to Iraq and Syria. The overwhelming military success of the jihadist phenomenon led to IS declaration of a caliphate.
The Rise of IS
To recruit, IS harnessed from the fault lines of countries and fissures in society. In the conflict ridden core area, many joined IS to survive. After the failed invasion in Iraq, the threat groups had constant flow of recruits. The conditions of occupation created poverty and insecurity to unprecedented levels. The Baathist Administration, military and intelligence services were dismantled—to survive many joined threat groups including IS. As rivals fought, ordinary civilians were the primary victims. They were compelled to choose sides to survive. As Iraqi government was Shia dominated, joining IS ensured security from rival groups (Shia militia). As IS paid, joining IS addressed the challenge of getting a job. There was a lack of job opportunities in government for the Sunnis after the fall of Saddam.
IS recruits from a spectrum: Baathists to religious scholars. Wanderers, social misfits, gangsters and addicts turned to “religion” to cleanse themselves of their sins. However, they learnt not to mainstream Islam taught at reputed schools such as al Azhar. The Internet emerged as the main platform to drive IS.
The IS wages perpetual war to create a global caliphate. The IS has unleashed among its fighters and supporters the idea of a global conquest. Through declaration and preparation, IS has launched a perpetual fight against its enemies. IS community of believers grows every day. Against their enemies of God, they dream that with God's blessings, they will be victorious.
The IS official propaganda and its supporters refer to the conquest of Rome and placing a flag on the White House. The idea of an unending fight against the west is recent and can be traced back to Al Qaeda, the ideological mentor of IS. IS presents an enduring threat to the world! The annals of history will record the IS as the most violent threat group of the early 21st century.
Rohan Gunaratna (The writer is a Professor of Security Studies and heads the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore. He is currently conducting interviews with returnees from Syria and Iraq)
Leave a Comment