The Islamic State (IS) has swiftly mutated from just one of the factions fighting the authoritarian Syrian regime into a dreaded militant force to establish “the most successful and feared caliphate in recent history”. IS fighters now control a third of both Iraq and Syria, an area larger than Britain, to establish a militant hub in the heart of the Arab world, according to analysts in the Gulf. To fund their long-term ambitions, the IS may be raising more than $2mn a day in revenue from oil sales, extortion, taxes and smuggling, according to US intelligence officials and counter-terrorism experts.
GCC states have said they are ready to act “against terrorist threats that face the region and the world”. At a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) meeting on Saturday, the foreign ministers of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and the UAE also vowed to fight “terrorist ideology which is contrary to Islam”.
Qatar is “repelled by their (Islamic State) views, their violent methods and their ambitions,” HE the Foreign Minister Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah said recently. “The vision of extremist groups for the region is one that we have not, nor will ever, support in any way.”
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has underscored the threat posed by militants, calling for “rapid” action. “Terrorism knows no border and its danger could affect several countries outside the Middle East,” he was quoted last Friday as telling ambassadors. Saudi Arabia’s top cleric has already branded Al Qaeda and IS militants as “enemy number one” of Islam.
After forging deals with other armed sectarian groups and tribes angry at the Shia-dominated central government in Baghdad, the IS is now the most powerful force in parts of northern and western Iraq, with a strength of 8,000 to 20,000 fighters, according to Iraqi government estimates. “What we are fighting now is a well-trained and well-armed terrorist army,” said a senior Kurdish official.
Undoubtedly, the Islamic State is a clear and present danger, operating across borders. Despite lightning gains made in war-torn Syria and fragmenting Iraq, the projected threat of the IS, extending its geographical reach beyond those borders, looks far too unfounded as of now.
But its ideology can.
With the confirmed death in January of one of the first known Canadians fighting for the IS in Syria; with four Indians (there is not a single recorded instance of anyone from India, which has the world’s second-largest Muslim population, having joined Al Qaeda) now suspected of having joined the group; with a pollster finding support for the IS at 16% in France, Islamophobes in many countries, especially where Muslims aren’t a majority, are sure to cause suspicions in community relations, says an article published on Al Jazeera website.
With a militant outfit - which is seen as a bigger threat to Muslims than the West, at least in the short term - gaining in strength and appeal across the region, Gulf countries need to be on a high alert. “We now have a fear which is much bigger than the differences in foreign policies,” says Kuwaiti political analyst Ayed al-Manaa.
