Daesh must not be allowed to rise again

Daesh is on the verge of being defeated in Syria, but that doesn’t mean the extremist group is exterminated. Countries are still worried about the return of the extremists and their potential threat. Saudi Arabia, for instance, has invested time and energy in developing strategies on how to tackle the return of extremists. The kingdom has made the fight against terrorism a key feature of its policies. It has set up centres to tackle the problem and wipe out radicalism from the roots.

Since taking up responsibilities in 2017, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has launched a ruthless war against terrorism and vowed its disappearance from the face of the earth. “We will not allow terrorism to tarnish our religion,” Prince Salman had said. The crown prince is aware that to be able to fight terrorism one must get to the root cause of it. In an interview with CBS’ 60 minutes aired in March last year, he promised to expel Muslim Brotherhood from Saudi schools which according to him “have been invaded by many elements from the Muslim Brotherhood organisation.” The Saudi government has also revised textbooks at schools to rid them of intolerance because it is a proven fact that focusing solely on the elimination of terrorists rather than on their radical ideology, in general, was counterproductive.

The kingdom has also strengthened its legislation to combat financing of terrorism, and introduced a new approach called PRAC (Prevention, Rehabilitation and Aftercare). The aim is to prevent the risks of radicalisation among youth, while de-radicalising extremist detainees and reintegrating them into the society.

Recognising the fact that the unemployed youth are often the first potential targets for radicalisation, the kingdom is creating job opportunities for many young men. The government launched this week a major tourism project in Al Ula, the region considered the Grand Canyon of the Arab Peninsula. It will include a resort designed by French architect Jean Nouvel, who designed the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The Sharaan resort, which will sit inside a nature reserve in the mountainous region of Al Ula, will help transform the area into a tourist destination and create approximately 38,000 jobs.

Thousands of Saudis have fought in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and the question of their return to Saudi Arabia is as problematic as the return of fighters to Afghanistan in the 1990s. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has been implementing an intense religious reeducation, rehabilitation and counselling programme (Al Munasabah) for security prisoners who sympathise with extremists.

At the international level, Saudi Arabia has played a major role in G20 in the adoption of the Action Plan against Terrorist Financing, and is one of the main funders of the United Nations Centre for the fight against terrorism. The kingdom knows that global extremism and Iran-Shiite expansionism have placed the Middle East on the brink of a general conflagration.

In this context, the unity and cohesion of the Gulf Cooperation Council is a balancing act in front of such danger. The fall of Daesh in Syria doesn’t mean its disappearance. Hence countries should not let down their guard and must continue to develop strategies to eradicate this global phenomenon.

Countries should not let down their guard and must continue to develop strategies to eradicate this global phenomenon.