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Violent Extremism and World Strategies to Fight It: Lessons Learned

Maj. Awni Shati M. Etaywe

Introduction

Extremism and terrorism have recently aggravated throughout the Middle East,

especially in light of the implications of the Iraqi and Syrian crises which fueled

unprecedented violence, forced displacement, killings and destruction to the extent that

extremism and terrorism have become inseparable after taking serious religious, political,

social, psychological and security turning point that is detrimental to the peace and

security. This damage is what has united the world in apprehensions, fears and

challenges, especially when a terrorist incident has become possible any time

everywhere.

The international community has been addressing extremism and terrorism within

visions that contribute to removing uncertainty and elucidating misunderstanding of

millions of people around the world in the aftermath of the events of September 11. In

light of contradicting and classing concepts, views and ideologies, the world today comes

together politically and morally to fight against extremism and terrorism, considering the

need to tell apart between being Arab and Muslim and being extremist and terrorist

despite having some Arabs and Muslims who are used as a tool by extremists and

terrorists. This differentiation is what Jordan has sought in its initiatives, including the

Amman Message, which has been introduced by Jordan as being an integral part of the

international efforts to fight extremism and terrorism, and Jordan itself has been

subjected to criminal incidents against hotels in Amman and against other facilities in

Aqaba.

Despite the seriousness of both extremism and terrorism, we find that the

terrorism has received much more research and study than extremism, perhaps due to the

perceived physical results of the terrorism. Unlike terrorists, these results usually appear

late among the extremists. In view of this, we find a lot of definitions for terrorism, while

little has been done with regard to the definition of extremism. However, being a

prerequisite to terrorism, extremism always come to the fore within the global concerns,

especially after being exercised today by highly organized and capable groups, and thus,

making facing extremism an urgent and difficult task.

In light of world‟s failure to introduce a frame of reference for the definition of

extremism, the British government has defined extremism as "vocal or active opposition

to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty

and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs" (Kundnani, 2015).

Others, like MacDonald and Casciani (2014), see extremism from a socio-political view,

which is “the fight against pluralism, the suppression of dissent, and closing the door of

the exchange of ideas, and the tendency to deal with all opposition as illegitimate”.

Therefore, having a reference definition of extremism would guide the efforts to fight it.

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Moreover, learning from the experiences of others‟ fight against extremism would serve

the humanity, and it is the purpose of this article as well.

Forms of extremism

Despite its inconsistency with religion and decent morals, extremism is there in

different form, most importantly:

Cognitive extremism: It is linked to the idea andknowledge. The cognitive

extremist considers his idea the absolute constant, canceling the function of

his/her mind in contemplation and reflection, as well as denying the opposing

views.

Emotional extremism: It is associated with an overwhelming drive towards a

certain direction thoughtlessly, thereby damaging himself or others with anger

and negative emotions.

Behavioral extremism: It is overstated unacceptable behaviors that become

an end which should be repeated and compel others to abide by them forcibly.

Drivers of extremism

There are key drivers and motives for extremism. They chiefly include the following:

Psychiatric disorders: Under this category comes neurotic disorder such as

anxiety and depression. Through such disorder, extremism becomes a way to

move from the narrow circle of anxiety by transferring the individual conflict

from oneself to others‟ whereby the conflict becomes between oneself and the

wider society, and thus the conflict becomes less painful for the extremist.

Biological and educational drivers: This can be concluded in the way of

depriving the individual of safe care in the years of his childhood, resulting in a

disorder in the relationship between the child and his/her community, including

the relationship with those with authority. This can also be felt as a result of

educating young people according to a seditious doctrine that vent hatred against

others, resulting in blowing up all the foundations of peaceful coexistence and

good neighborliness.

Socio-economic drivers: This includes issues such as poverty, unemployment

and corruption and the resultant social problems such as begging, homelessness

and family disintegration.

Political drivers: This driver is obvious in cases of conflicts of interest, where

extremism is a tool in the hands of the political system to intimidate it opponents.

For example, the Murambatsvina operation (remove the filth) was waged by the

Zimbabwean President (Robert Mugabe) against his opponents who had not voted

for him in the 2005 elections, which led to the displacement of more than 700,000

of Harare and Bulawayo's population. In this example, a politician has applied the

approach of Lenin, which entails "intimidation as a tool for social cleaning."

Ethnic and racial drivers: This becomes highlighted when a certain group

considers themselves the supreme ruler over others, and thus leading to a clash

between the people of different ethnicities.

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Psychological and cognitive factors, e.g.

negative feeling of deportation

Exposure to ideas and speaches

that justify violent

extremism

Social interaction, and personal ties with radicals and

extremist

A combination of agendas: The interests of actors may drive actors to capitalize

on any of the previously mentioned drivers, and tap on the cases of oppression

and injustice exercised against a class of society with the purpose of achieving

actors‟ interests and agendas, even through a "proxy war".

The height of extremism: Violent extremism

It is the height of extremism for an extremist ideology to turn from the idea to a

violent conduct and assault on property, lives or freedoms by using tools that may

come to the formation of armed organizations in support of the original. Such

formations maypractice against other such practices as oppression, kidnapping,

hostage-taking, political assassinations and sectarian violence. In brief, „violent

extremists‟ has been used by nations, including the United States to refer to

individuals who support or commit ideologically-motivated violence to further their

political goals.

According to the 2014-report of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in

Europe (OSCE), there are structural conditions that fuel ideologically-motivated

extremists, as shown in the model below:

Taken from Marc Sageman‟s (2004) Model

According to the model, the potential threat of violent extremism increases

whenever an interaction and overlapping occur between the psychological and

cognitive conditions with the interpersonal and social ties, and leaving the door

open for ideas and speeches to fuel the same extreme thought.

The risks of violent extremism, and world strategies to fight It

Countries all over the world applied different strategies to fighting extremism,

particularly the violent extremism, after actors around the world realized that the

military and security option is not adequate to win against extremism. Despite the

need to follow the security option sometimes, it must be applied along with other

measures that altogether must achieve three things concurrently, namely:

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Disengagement and terminating existing conflicts in communities.

Eradicating extremism in ways that lead extremists to give up their ideas

and violent tactics.

Protecting the moderates from extremism by considering and meeting the

needs of the community and its members (Chariloin and Bourrat, 2014).

Failure to address the deep conflicts between the authorities and groups of people

often generates chaos and a breeding ground for extremist. The risk increases when the

military is divided and has multiple loyalties, as in the case of Yemen. Moreover, failure

of some of the applied alternatives in a number of countries’ attempt to eradicate

extremism can be ascribed to the nature of the choices that are (not) agreed to be

applied by the actors in those countries. In this context, several countries have adopted

different choices to fight against extremism. However, those choices can be reviewed and

used as experiences and lessons from which we can learn to build a holistic approach to

fight extremism. These choices include the following:

Launching national initiatives: This option allows you to re-integrate and

educate some individuals that slipped into extremist group‟s circles, and thus give

hand to those individuals to return to their former moderate society. This give-

hand option can be fruitful after the targeted individuals are being subjected to

specialized programs, and this is what has been exercised with some individuals

in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Algeria.

Creating community-partnerships: The creation of a partnership with the

citizens and the heads of clans and tribes inhabiting the border areas is likely to

support passing the information about the activities of extremist groups or even

individuals inside the society and on border. This option was adopted in Tunisia

and Saudi Arabia.

The use of force and security option: Despite the need for military power to face

violent extremism, all actors must agree on the limits of using it in order to ensure

its value and effectiveness in dealing with extremist groups, especially when this

option is accompanied by such actions as demolition of houses and the removal of

the villages.

The existence of an intellectual and specialized consulting forum: This is a

necessary step to promote concerted efforts and make constructive proposals to

fight extremism, as in the establishment of the European network against

extremism in 2011 to strengthen response to extremism. This European forum has

submitted a document that was afterward adopted by the European Union, and it

pinpointed some areas that the member states should address, including for

example:

To develop holistic national strategies to combat extremism.

To establish centers for the study and monitoring forms of violent

extremism.

To develop appropriate training for those working in the field of fighting

extremism.

To financially support projects that use modern means of communication

so as to launch anti extremism propaganda.

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To encourage the youth to think critically.

To promote European and non-European countries intra and inter

cooperation.

To develop programs to enable members of extremist groups to renounce

violence and their ideologies.

To address the economic and social motives, and to fight intolerance and

discrimination.

Creating a framework of general and special/guided government actions:

This option was followed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in

Europe (OSCE) that felt having general as well as special/guided actions to fight

extremism is a must, and should include the following:

General actions Special/Guided actions

Address the conditions that

prepare for terrorism

Counter the spread of ideas and

speeches that consider terrorism

legitimate

Prosecute the inciter of extremism

Help individuals who are pro-

extremism, and communicate with

people who are at risk to slide toward

extremism

To agree on a frame of reference to the definition of extremism: It is necessary

to agree on a solid definition of extremism whereby the formulation of needed

strategies to fight it becomes more practical on the basis of respect for the basic

values of nations and peoples, in line with the Universal Declaration of respect for

cultural diversity which was adopted by UNESCO in 2001 and stressed by Islam

as well. An agreement on a reference definition for extremism will strengthen the

country‟s pursuit to hold bilateral and regional agreements designed to fight

extremism at a wider spectrum. This will also help formulate a unified vision for

criminalizing extreme behaviors, identify viable practical tools, introduce a

mandate to gather intelligence information, describe and prosecute extremists,

allocate demanded resources, and to identify the competent authorities and give

them the mandate needed to respond.

Intellectual Security: Intellectual security is associated with „reason‟ as choice

generator and decision maker that can tell apart between extremes, and being

entrusted with the analysis and capable of distinguishing. In light of the

importance of „reason‟, all parties have realized the need to protect the mind from

deviation and immoderation that may drive human and organizations to use

violence to persuade or subdue others. This option has received the interest of

different countries such as Saudi Arabia. On the same line of thought, achieving

intellectual security at the country level has become a priority to countries all over

the world. Intellectual security can be achieved through implementing such action

as the following:

To qualify scholars, preachers, imams and concerned institutions to win the

war of ideologies.

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To distinguish between moderation and adherence to religion on the one hand,

and extremism and ideological deviation on the other hand.

To elucidate the meaning of good citizenship and that religion is not the

antithesis of patriotism, but the two go hand in hand, considering that religion

preaches love of the homeland and defending its soil.

To deal with youth social and economic challenges, and thus protect them

from exotic thoughts, through the provision of employment and education

opportunities, and improve their incomes.

To develop the educational systems and improve outcomes thereof, and

qualify teachers in order to fight against extremist ideology.

To develop the family and its role in immunizing the young people from any

delinquency, deviation and extremism.

To direct all types of the media to renounce extremism and ideological

deviation, and to update citizens with what is going on around them and the

impact of developments on society.

Cooperative and coordinated border management: This would ensure the

creation of buffer zones along the border with neighboring countries, and thus

hinder the movement of extremist groups and their supply. This option is evident

in the Tunisian-Algerian experience.

Holding regional alliances: An example of using this choice is evident in the

Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, in conjunction with building international

partnerships and coordination with the UN Security Council to confront

extremism.

Lessons

The stark lesson in light of the shortcomings of many international experiences in

the war against violent extremism is that „the security and military choice is not

decisive in the fight against (violent) extremism. Therefore, there must be a multi-

dimensional and clearly defined integrated holistic strategy with details that

should be executed concurrently to ensure the strengthening of the operational

capability, regional cooperation and action directed toward local communities,

according to a non-exclusionary policies or practices that ensure mutual

cooperation among government institutions and various agencies to guarantee the

unity of efforts.

The existence of a nationally united professional army and security services is

critical to prevent the division of nations.

Failure to find a just solution to the Palestinian conflict as well as the ongoing

conflicts in the Middle East does fuel extremism and gives rogue actors an excuse

to outlaw on the pretext of the pursuit of justice.

Extremism is cross-border phenomenon for being linked to thought. Hence,

addressing intellectual extremism is a prerequisite for the elimination of (violent)

behavioral extremism, and it requires consensus on a reference definition of

extremism that ensure the protection of the fundamental values and identity of

societies.

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Intra-regional alliances and international cooperation strengthen the capacity of

countries in the fight against extremism, and cracking down on the movement of

extremists.

To achieve intellectual security is a priority that requires the employment of

competencies and specialized personnel, including example-religious scholars

(and clerics), sociologists and psychologists to facilitate the “war of

ideologies/ideas” strategy.

It is necessary to have a point of professional monitoring, research and early

detection and treatment of cases of intellectual, emotional and cognitive

extremism before it turns into (violent) behavioral extremism. This requires

cooperation with experts and specialists, and creating partnerships with

institutions such as the European network against extremism and the Organization

of the Islamic Conference.

The unity and respect for the right of citizenship based on respect for liberties and

human rights, sanctity of blood, countering racial and partisan voice, and focusing

on the humanitarian collective values and commonalities constitute a solid

foundation for confronting extremism.

The cessation of hostile statements against Islam and other faiths is a matter of

respect for diversity and freedom of religion, and thus help diminish the drivers

for extremism.

The reality of the family is the result of public actions and programs, the system

of education, and the culture of the media practice at the national level. The better

the selection of their inputs along with measurable short, medium and long-term

goals and indicators, the more positive the results on individuals‟ social structures

will become.

The introduction of creative economic solutions and development projects in the

era of globalization and privatization, especially in remote and border areas, in

cooperation with tribal leaders is likely to reinforce efforts to fight poverty and

unemployment, and thus closes any door for possible cooperation between the

inhabitants of those areas and extremist groups on the pretext of satisfying their

basic needs.

Enacting laws that frame the implementation of a holistic national level

approach/strategy to allow building capacity and expertise, and law enforcement

against violent extremists, whilst leaving the door open to national initiatives that

allow intellectual extremists to go back to their moderate social structure, does

facilitate the fight against forms of extremism.

Conclusion

In light of the intensification of the conflict of interests, and the desire to expand

at the expense of other nations and people, fueled by sectarian divisions, absence of

respect for human rights, social justice and good governance, the absence of holistic

strategies and approach to face violent extremism has imposed on the Middle East

particularly and the world in general a historic moment to establish a holistic approach.

This approach should integrate all efforts at the military, economic, cultural, social and

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intellectual levels into one national level strategy that address the form and

motives/drivers of extremism.

References

- Bourrat, F. and Chariloin, F. (2014). Which state strategies should be employed in the

Arab world to combat Jihadism? 13:9, translated by Awni S. Etaywe, JCSLL-JAF, 2014.

- Casciani Dominic. (2014). How do you define Islamist extremism? Retrieved on April

12, 2015 from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27777892

- Fehmi, L. (2014). Europe reviews its strategy to fight extremism. Retrieved on Feb 24,

2015 from http://www.aljazeera.net/news/international/2014/1/15

- Kundnani Arun. (2015). A Decade Lost: Rethinking Radicalisation and Extremism.

UK: Claystone

- Empowering Local Partners To Prevent Violent Extremism In The United States. The

White House, Washington. Retrieved on 17 May, 2015 from

http://www.dhs.gov/topic/countering-violent-extremism.

- Sageman, M. (2004). Understanding Terror Networks. In Preventing Terrorism and

Countering Violent and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism: A Community-Policing

Approach , OSCE, 2014.