Counter-terrorism is just as much about hearts and minds as it is about policing and intelligence. It requires calculated actions that do not alienate Muslims. It also requires effectively negating the ideology and messages of terrorist groups
India is in the list of the regions/countries most affected by terrorism, alongside West Asia, Pakistan and Russia. The top seven countries that have suffered the most fatalities due to terrorism since 9/11 account for nearly three-quarters of deaths in this period, with Iraqis suffering the most, according to the first Global Terrorism Index.
Developed by the Institute for Economics & Peace, the GTI is the first of its kind to rank countries on the basis of the impact of terrorism. GTI scores 158 countries over the last 10 years by aggregating a series of indicators. These include the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities and property damage.
According to the GTI, low-income countries are less affected by terrorism than lower middle-income countries, indicating that poverty is not the main cause of terrorism. Generally, terrorist attacks occur in a wider conflict situation.
Since the start of the Iraq war, the number of global terrorist incidents has increased four-fold. The US, under President George W Bush, started the war arbitrarily, without a UN mandate and without verifying evidence. This had horrifying long-term consequences not only for Iraq but in many parts of the world, where the war became a rallying cry for jihadists looking for new recruits. President Barack Obama is right in considering that any decision to go to war by the President should first be ratified by Congress.
Mr Bradley A Martin, after comparing world experience, has suggested that counter-terrorist measures seem to be most effective when combined with political efforts and strong policing. Prevention and deterrence are often underestimated. Mr Stephen Flynn, the noted US homeland security expert, advocates that the best defence for fighting terrorism might not be a good offence, but a good defence. Counter-terrorism is just as much about hearts and minds as it is about policing and intelligence. It requires calculated actions that do not alienate Muslims, and effectively countering the ideology and messages of terrorist groups.
Engaging with local religious leaders to condemn terrorism can be significant. The report notes that the focus has to be on local insurgencies with exclusive ties to elements that have the capability to conduct global operations. Insurgencies and terrorist groups tend to concentrate on local issues. The experience of global history shows that many effective strategies for countering terrorism are not military in nature, but combine policing actions, intelligence gathering, information warfare, and de-legitimisation.
Instead of a clash, there needs to be a dialogue of cultures. Systematic efforts need to be made to de-legitimise radical religious ideologies by supporting moderate groups and focussing non-violent principles. Historian William Dalrymple noted that: “In southern Pakistan, on the Indian border, Sufi Islam continues to act as a powerful defence against the puritanical fundamentalist Islam of the Wahhabi mullahs, which supports intolerance of all other faiths…Here is an entirely indigenous and home grown Islamic resistance movement to fundamentalism, with deep roots in South Asian culture. It is one of the few sources of hope left in the increasingly bleak political landscape of this strategically crucial country.”
The British Government has made the British Muslim Forum and the Sufi Muslim Council its main conversation partners with Muslim community. Mr Philip Jenkins, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University in the US, pleads that, “Sufis, better than anyone, can tell disaffected young Muslims that the quest for peace is not a surrender to Western oppression, still less a betrayal of Islam, but rather a return to the faith’s deepest roots.”
Massive investment in the ethical education to counter indoctrination is the need of the hour. Such an education can be based on the principles of Unesco’s Justice and Peace Education: Develop mutual tolerance and respect in a multicultural society and world; improve the participation and inclusion of girls and women; adopt peaceful methods for conflict resolution; bring about equity and solidarity in all spheres and internationally; cultivate the ability to make informed choices; teach respect for cultural heritage and protection of the environment and encourage lifestyles for sustainable development
Terrorism is a global phenomenon. Therefore, we need to organise a democratic global governance regime to tackle terror by conducting intelligence-sharing networks and carrying out other preventive measures. Outstanding issues, which become an excuse for terrorism, need to be speedily resolved. Particularly, minorities and aggrieved groups who do not have access to representation, policy-making and the right to peaceful protest should be treated with dignity.
Mr Steve Killelea, executive chairman of IEP, says in conclusion: “The GTI highlights that many of the countries suffering the most from terrorism have also suffered from foreign military intervention. Although the ‘responsibility to protect’ is paramount, caution needs to be taken.”