Page 74 - Sayuru 40 full set
P. 74
72 Sayurusara 2019 December
OUTBREAK OF ISLAMIST EXTREMISM IN
SRI LANKA AND SUGGESTIONS
FOR LONG LASTING SOLUTION
Introduction With the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq
and Syria, analysts are pondering the kind of
The Islamic State1 is a transnational organizational form the group would take next. The
Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that influence of the so-called Islamic State in South Asia
controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 thought to be minimal, but India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
through 20172 . ISIS is a global terrorist group which and Afghanistan, have all had the shadow of ISIS’
propagates violent, extremist ideologies. global footprint land on their doorstep. Therefore
it is pertinent to analyze how the influence of ISIS
According to Blanchard & Humud ( 2018) spread across South Asia, specifically after 2014, when
the group attracted a network of global supporters pro-ISIS social-media platforms circulated the ‘ISIS
and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, received Khorasan’ maps that showed the region as part of the
pledges of affiliation from groups in several other caliphate’s global ambitions of conquest3 .
countries. A series of terrorist attacks attributed
to the group or to individuals it has inspired have A bombing at a Philippines cathedral in January
claimed hundreds of lives on four continents since 2018 brought new attention to ISIS’ ability to expand
November 2015, including in the United States. It beyond Iraq and Syria. However ISIS ability to operate
took advantage of regional instability and political beyond its proto state was clearly demonstrated after
upheaval to control large areas of Syria and Iraq. the deadliest Easter Sunday attacks they claimed to
Although ISIS was beaten back by the Global have masterminded in Sri Lanka. The attack was among
Coalition and no longer occupies any territory, it the deadliest ever carried out by Islamic State acolytes
still poses a threat to the world. outside Iraq and Syria. That the group responsible for
1. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da’esh.
2. Blanchard, C.M., Humud, C.E., (2018). The Islamist State and U.S Policy.
3. Taneja, K., (2019). End of the Islamic State, but not the end of ISIS.
4. The New York Times, 25th April 2019
5. Blanchard, C.M., Humud, C.E., (2018). The Islamist State and U.S Policy.
6. Taneja, K., (2019). End of the Islamic State, but not the end of ISIS.
7. Opcit.
OUTBREAK OF ISLAMIST EXTREMISM IN
SRI LANKA AND SUGGESTIONS
FOR LONG LASTING SOLUTION
Introduction With the territorial defeat of ISIS in Iraq
and Syria, analysts are pondering the kind of
The Islamic State1 is a transnational organizational form the group would take next. The
Sunni Islamist insurgent and terrorist group that influence of the so-called Islamic State in South Asia
controlled large areas of Iraq and Syria from 2014 thought to be minimal, but India, Bangladesh, Pakistan
through 20172 . ISIS is a global terrorist group which and Afghanistan, have all had the shadow of ISIS’
propagates violent, extremist ideologies. global footprint land on their doorstep. Therefore
it is pertinent to analyze how the influence of ISIS
According to Blanchard & Humud ( 2018) spread across South Asia, specifically after 2014, when
the group attracted a network of global supporters pro-ISIS social-media platforms circulated the ‘ISIS
and its leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, received Khorasan’ maps that showed the region as part of the
pledges of affiliation from groups in several other caliphate’s global ambitions of conquest3 .
countries. A series of terrorist attacks attributed
to the group or to individuals it has inspired have A bombing at a Philippines cathedral in January
claimed hundreds of lives on four continents since 2018 brought new attention to ISIS’ ability to expand
November 2015, including in the United States. It beyond Iraq and Syria. However ISIS ability to operate
took advantage of regional instability and political beyond its proto state was clearly demonstrated after
upheaval to control large areas of Syria and Iraq. the deadliest Easter Sunday attacks they claimed to
Although ISIS was beaten back by the Global have masterminded in Sri Lanka. The attack was among
Coalition and no longer occupies any territory, it the deadliest ever carried out by Islamic State acolytes
still poses a threat to the world. outside Iraq and Syria. That the group responsible for
1. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - ISIL or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria - ISIS, or the Arabic acronym Da’esh.
2. Blanchard, C.M., Humud, C.E., (2018). The Islamist State and U.S Policy.
3. Taneja, K., (2019). End of the Islamic State, but not the end of ISIS.
4. The New York Times, 25th April 2019
5. Blanchard, C.M., Humud, C.E., (2018). The Islamist State and U.S Policy.
6. Taneja, K., (2019). End of the Islamic State, but not the end of ISIS.
7. Opcit.
