Terrorism in Madinah, Rooted in Raqqa

12 August 2016

By Salman Al-dossary

Two chief factors play as to why Germany has yet not suffered a terrorist attack: ''cooperation among security and intelligence agencies and luck,'' according to the German security chief.

After the latest attacks on Saudi Arabia and Turkey, no one can expect where the next operation will take place; maybe in the Eiffel Tower, UK Parliament, Spanish coasts, Munich, or probably on the Australian lands. All areas could be targeted by terrorism.

It is impossible for security and intelligence apparatuses alone to limit the penetration of ISIS militants among people, who are being killed and terrorized, as long as the source of this terrorist organization is able to put schemes, monitor, receive from and cooperate with whoever is willing to support it.

Despite strikes on the organization's strongholds in Iraq and Syria, ISIS is still instructing solo extremists or whom the West calls ''lone wolves.''

Even without instructing them, ISIS supporters see this organization as an independent state with its own lands and capital, and no matter how much effort countries put to counter this terrorist trend they believe that these counter actions might be able to limit terrorist organizations but will not eradicate them.

We all remember how al-Qaeda's settlement in Afghanistan was behind the spread of the organization's terrorist acts worldwide. And when the world united to combat it in its stronghold in Tora Bora, its operations reduced remarkably.

It is true that after leaving Afghanistan, al-Qaeda and its allies resorted to the internet to spread their thoughts and were embraced in many countries; yet they could not benefit from Afghanistan's logistic support in training and equipping their followers in the country's wide lands and areas.

Therefore, ISIS' terrorism could not be defeated as long as the world has not yet agreed on a specific mechanism to fight the terrorist organization in its stronghold, allowing the group to continue with its extremist acts.
When Saudi Arabia called its ground troops to participate in fighting ISIS in Syria, it took the right decision, thus, putting the ball in the West's court, specifically the United States.

By taking this decision, Riyadh showed that it has done and is still doing all what it takes to fight terrorism at a time when many countries are watching, condemning or benefiting from all what is happening.

With the emergence of ISIS in Syria, regional countries, headed by Saudi Arabia, warned from this terrorist group and from the threats it poses.

What happened is that world countries, precisely the U.S., did not take these warnings into consideration and preferred letting terrorist organizations fight each other to abolish one another, until it suddenly woke up to find the most vicious terrorist organization the history has known.

Things did not stop here; even after the world was shocked by its dangers as terrorist operations spread in various countries, major powers have failed to translate their words into action.

For instance, the United States, which is considered the world's superpower, witnesses great contradictions among its leaders' statements. U.S. President Barack Obama refuses the participation of U.S. ground troops in Syria.

During a press conference at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Turkey, Obama pushed back against calls for the U.S. to broadly rethink its strategy against the extremist group. ''It is not just my view, but the view of my closest military and civilian advisers, that that would be a mistake,'' Obama said of sending additional U.S. troops to take on ISIS.

United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter welcomes this participation whereas U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expresses his reservations concerning this matter.

It is worth mentioning that ISIS' attack on one of the most holy sites on earth, the second holy mosque in Saudi Arabia, which is the Prophet's Mosque, located in Madinah, is enough for Westerners to be certain that this terrorist group hates Islam more than any other extremist organization throughout history, and that Saudi Arabia is one of the most affected countries by ISIS' terrorism.

Isn't ISIS that dubs Saudi Arabia, government and people, as blasphemous?

If they want to win the fight against ISIS, they have to stop promoting the idea that ISIS was rooted in Saudi Arabia and is influenced by Islamic thoughts.

The extremist group has attacked four Islamic cities in the Holy month of Ramadan; then how can this group be influenced by thoughts they say are Islamic?

Salman Aldosary is the editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. 

©  EsinIslam.Com

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