Hayat Tahrir al-Sham members, formerly al-Nusra Front, at a camp in the countryside of the northern Idlib province, Syria, August 14, 2018. Photo: AFP
Sardar Mesto | Exclusive to Ekurd.net
The spread of the coronavirus pandemic is actively used by radical Islamist groups to promote their ideas. One of the key points of this is the appeal to the “revenge of Allah”, which serves to punish the “world mired in the sin”, which, while at the same time its stern warning, will stop only after returning it to “pure Islam”.
At the same time, attention is drawn to the insignificant extent of the coronavirus pandemic in most Sunni countries, as well as extremely low mortality. This is due to the fact that “Allah punishes only apostates, of whom there are fewer among true Muslims than all others.”
In general, the spread of the pandemic was almost instantly adapted for the actions of jihadist groups in the new reality. Moreover, they do not have a single ideological base in relation to it. Some jihadist groups (Yemen, Somalia, and Sahel) made no “official” pandemic statements at all. They do not so actively address the topic of “punishment of Allah,” but, on the contrary, accuse the authorities of the states where they act of “infringing on the rights of Muslims”. This applies primarily to quarantine measures (especially restrictions on worship) and restrictions on freedom of movement.
Much more interesting are the messages distributed by large influential groups. So, in March, al-Qaeda issued a statement entirely devoted to the causes of the spread of the disease with the characteristic name: “Coronavirus: payment for obscenity and moral degradation,” which its leadership considers a manifestation of “Allah’s strong anger against those who cross the border and oppose it”.
However, the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group [formerly al-Nusra Front] urged its supporters to observe hygienic safety measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. But in a recent newsletter, apparently having received guidance from the “head office”, her leadership condemned the Muslims’ excessive attention to the coronavirus, pointing out that “true believers should not be afraid of Allah’s punishment,” which has been cast down on “apostates” (secular Muslims), “ libertines “(generally people who do not comply with Sharia),” false Muslims “(Islamic Sunni radicals include Shiites, primarily Iranian ones),” crusaders “(representatives of the West) and” atheists “,” Jews “and” oppressors Muslims ”(China and Russia).
According to the same report, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Syrian conflict, especially on the “rebel” groups, is insignificant and it is much more noticeable in relation to the “Satanic Assad regime”. So the rebels, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with the help of the UN World Health Organization, took “more radical and faster preventive measures than the Assad regime.” The proof is the introduction of temperature testing on the border with Turkey, using thermal images, and the sterilization (comprehensive cleaning) of schools and mosques. Such a circumstance serves as the basis for additional agitation against the Assad regime, which, by not taking measures against the pandemic, “is deliberately trying to destroy Muslims.”
According to the stuffing of horns associated with this group, Iran and Russia pushing him were involved, while Turkey, which is unable to resist them, is “not strong enough in Vera” and “maintains an alliance with the crusaders from NATO”, is also responsible for what is happening. The punishment for this is also the large number of Turkish citizens affected by coronavirus.
Meanwhile, in the territory under the influence of the Syrian Al-Qaeda, there is also an outbreak of coronavirus, including among its militants, the spread of which cannot be prevented.
The Syrian IS group, which seeks to use the unpreparedness of mankind for this challenge and clearly considering it a “gift of Allah” for itself, in its weekly An-Naba calls on its members to “attack and weaken the infidels and apostates” in Syria and beyond.
Particular attention is drawn in this regard to the fact that since the end of March of this year, 2,500 instructors in Iraq — a third of the representatives of the international coalition “led by the Americans have left it”, while others have suspended the training of Iraqi security forces because of the pandemic.
At the same time, in the short term, the risk of major terrorist attacks is reduced due to the massive introduction of deterrence measures, border and transport controls, which, however, does not prevent lone terrorists from attacking those who are objectionable to them using publicly available means.
However, in the medium term, the likelihood of terrorist attacks increases. So, representatives of the IG expect that the anti-virus measures of official authorities will only ruin previously prosperous people, which will weaken them and create among them a basis for their actions.
Sardar Mesto, a political analyst from Germany, specifies into Middle East issues, Syrian by nationality. See below.
The views expressed are the author’s alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Ekurd.net or its editors.
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