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Salafi-Jihadists and the Coronavirus Pandemic

(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Yoram Schweitzer and Aviad Mendelboim - According to spokesmen for the Salafi-jihadist stream, the pandemic has proven that the Western countries, including the U.S. and European countries, are a paper tiger. On March 31, the al-Qaeda leadership stated that the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the fragility of the world economy and the weakness of the criminal materialism of the Western world, which was a source of pride, and stated that the technological progress and globalization championed by the West have become the source of its failure. The Western world was called on to pay attention to the evidence of Allah's might that the pandemic has provided and to adopt Islam. Nor did the spokesmen spare harsh words for Iran, accusing it of exporting the virus and claiming that the pandemic that has seriously harmed it is proof that Shi'ism is not the true Islam but a fraud. At the same time, ISIS suicide attacks, which were their "trademark," have plummeted sharply in recent months. Moreover, while some advocate showcase terrorist attacks such as those carried out in Paris, London, and Brussels, the fact that the vast majority of residents of the West are holed up in their homes makes it harder to harm them. Yoram Schweitzer heads the Program on Terrorism and Low-Intensity Conflict at INSS, following a distinguished career in the Israeli intelligence community. Aviad Mendelboim is a research assistant at INSS.
2020-05-01 00:00:00
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