Multilateral fronts key to fighting terrorism

A multilateral, unified and modern approach is required in order to combat the terrorist activities of today’s international nonstate actors, terrorist groups, domestic militia groups and individual terrorists.

The focus should be on the establishment and advancement of a comprehensive, locally and internationally coordinated counterterrorism strategy. The first front ought to focus on the effective use of social media platforms. With the prevalence of so many social media platforms, it has unfortunately become relatively easy for extremists and terrorist groups to spread their ideologies, radicalize people and sponsor, recruit for and even plan the execution of their terrorist activities.

This requires every government to set up organizations to track and monitor extremists’ activities online, via social media outlets, blogs, websites, etc. The UN has acknowledged that, in Western Europe, the number of incidents linked to terrorist activities has increased. In a report titled “A New Era of Conflict and Violence,” it stated: “There has been a sizable increase in the number of attacks carried out by actors with far-right, white nationalist, or anti-Muslim beliefs in both Western Europe and North America in the past two decades … with social media playing a crucial role in the dissemination of xenophobic speech and incitement to violence. Extremist groups today have unprecedented access to the general public through the internet, which allows for more efficient and effective recruitment, incitement, and propaganda, as well as the purchase of weapons and unregulated money transfers.”

At the same time, it is critical to establish institutions that will promote an alternative and moderate ideology, while educating and raising awareness online about extremist ideologies. Examples include Saudi Arabia’s establishment of the Ideological Warfare Center, the Digital Extremism Observatory, the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue and the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology. The Kingdom aims to challenge the messages of extremist groups through these initiatives.

Being proactive rather than reactionary is instrumental in addressing global terrorism

Dr. Majid Rafizadeh

According to a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, these centers focus on “confronting extremist ideology and sectarian divisions through promotion of a national culture of dialogue and a moderate, welcoming interpretation of Islam. In particular, the Digital Extremism Observatory focuses on countering extremist messaging and recruitment in new media, while other centers similarly engage with social media as a venue for messages of moderation and tolerance.”

The second step requires creating a mechanism that not only strengthens cooperation between institutions within a country (among cities, counties, towns and villages), but also makes it easier to share and access information and intelligence between governments around the world, which will be key in preventing potential terrorist attacks and extremist activities.

Being proactive rather than reactionary is instrumental in addressing global terrorism. Some actions already taken by governments and organizations are positive moves in the right direction. These include the establishment of the UN Counter-Terrorism Center, with the assistance of Saudi Arabia, which pledged $110 million to help enhance the center’s capabilities and effectiveness.

Political and economic stability is also critical. Global terrorist groups and militias tend to exploit weak or failed states, as well as undeveloped nations, in order to gain and consolidate power and subsequently carry out their terrorist plots around the world. As a result, providing resources, security, stability and humanitarian assistance to such nations is vital.

It is important to point out that one of the most unproductive approaches to combating terrorism is to play the blame game, which only leads to wasting time, inciting rivalries and feeding the very violence that we are trying to overcome. The method of pointing fingers at others is a simplistic, short-sighted approach that most often ends in failure. In addition, such behavior strengthens animosity between countries at a time when the entire global community needs to work together.

Finally, alongside this multifront strategy, interfaith and intercultural dialogue must be promoted to help eliminate mistrust, misunderstandings and prejudices. Promoting interfaith dialogue is critical when it comes to reducing tensions and conflicts, whether in the Middle East or other parts of the world. The more countries that pursue this objective around the globe, the more peace the world will experience.

In a nutshell, if there is going to be a fundamental change in the battle against global terrorism, it will most likely come from a multilateral and unified effort. The international community ought to pursue a locally and internationally coordinated counterterrorism strategy. Such a strategy should have several fronts, including examining and tackling the ideologies of terrorist and extremist groups, using powerful social media campaigns to raise awareness and counter their propaganda, helping weak and failed states gain political and economic stability, and addressing poverty and underdevelopment in some parts of the world.

Every country can meaningfully contribute to this strategy to counter global terrorism by achieving the unification of all forces.

• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh