UAE has taken first step to tackle terror

The ban on 83 groups is justified, but the UAE needs cooperation to combat extremism

ISIL militants wave the group's flag from a commandeered Iraqi military vehicle in Fallujah. Photo: AP

The UAE’s powerful counterterrorism policies may have shielded it from any major attack or disruption, but there is no room for complacency as terrorists strengthen themselves with sophisticated arsenals, diversified funding and by recruiting more followers. As extremist groups multiply and spread throughout the region, this country needs a “pre-emptive defence” to ensure that it continues to maintain stability, tolerance and prosperity. And the first step towards taking action is to identify the enemy.

As The National reported yesterday, the government has designated 83 organisations – including Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, its UAE branch Al Islah, as well as ISIL, Al Qaeda and Al Houthi rebels in Yemen – as terror groups, in line with a federal law on combating terrorism. Several organisations fighting on both sides in the Syrian conflict along with Islamist groups in Libya, Tunisia, Mali, Pakistan, Nigeria's Boko Haram and Pakistan's Taliban account for the bulk of the list. Saudi Arabia announced a similar move in March.

The justification for the ban is compelling, with ISIL and others twisting the message of Islam and seeking to destroy the philosophy of tolerance that the UAE holds dear. Of particular concern is the way that ISIL’s military successes are attracting militants from other organisations, raising the prospect that the self-­declared caliphate will become a mammoth terror group. Declarations of allegiance from militant groups in Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia show the potential for that.

We have already seen this phenomenon in action, with Islamist groups in places as far away as the Philippines joining the Al Qaeda network after the group’s murderous attacks on the US on September 11, 2001. This is why defeating groups like ISIL is crucial.

Not only is it important to prevent these groups getting bigger but the UAE’s designation of them terror groups makes the government’s announcement an act of transparency. Nobody now can claim any of them deserve support of any kind. The principles of freedom will prevail over twisted distortions of Islam, but that will require a combination of zero tolerance and regional cooperation.