The Coming of the Next DaeshBy Mohammad Aburumman

(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)

Daesh, the Arabic acronym for ISIS, has lost so much territory in the last three years.

This terroristic organisation, which has kept the world on edge for years, controls now only a few areas in Deir al-Zour, Raqqa, Bou Kamal, and a few other hot-pockets in the Syrian South.

Once in control of more than half of Syria and 40 per cent of Iraqi territories, now rivalling international and regional powers are racing to take over the leftovers of the Daeshi feast.

In other words, the unprecedented cross-national organisation, and its spectacle state, is on the verge of collapse and is nearly obliterated, with the fall of it's 'state.

Does this mean that the Daesh threat is almost over?

In his latest article published by Al-Haya newspaper in London, Hazem Amin said that he expects a new Daesh to fill in the void caused by the strategic vulnerability of the 'Eastern Sunni components.

More than ever today, the Sunni social components in both Iraq and Syria face a dangerous vacancy, which may realise Amin's fears.

More so, with the growing influence of Iran and the surge of the Kurdish dream, not to mention the intensifying sectarian tendencies of the militias in action in Syria and Iraq.

Soon, the black hole will collapse, and the Sunni vacancy will swallow every prospect of civility there.

Notably, what Amin spoke about in his article, we also addressed in our book, Hasan Abu Hanieh and I, on ISIS.

We spoke about the inarguable correlation between the surge of ISIS and the unprecedented Sunni crisis in modern time, as well as unimaginable identity crises it prefaces.

Most probably, these identity crises will endure the fall of ISIS.

Never has an organisation in our modern day time played the Sunni crisis so well.

ISIS employed it ways we couldn't even imagine before, to recruit so many youth Arab and Muslim youth.

To reinforce the rhetoric, the terrifying sectarian standoff only amplified the crisis, as Iranian policies worsened the situation.

Realistically and theoretically speaking, the military solution is not enough.

In fact, it may result in even greater damage in the absence of historic settlements towards more equitable, representative, and pluralist resolutions.

These resolutions should overcome the issues of sect, put an end to the systematic injustices of all components of society, lest, it will all go to waste!

Sadly, this is not what is happening today.

What the regional and international players involved in Syria and Iraq are doing is only turning this fear into an inevitability.

Should this recklessness continue, surely, ISIS will resurge, and it will be far more fierce and merciless than ever!

That said, in order to attain a more permanent solution, we need to address the crucial crisis of the Sunni identity.

Youths in the Arab World have no sense of justice or belonging.

In fact, more side-lining policies are being in acted now than ever, and political arrests are higher than before in many Arab countries.

Above all, the youths have no sense of hope for pacifist and peaceful political change.

It is oppression and the suppression of pacifist youth movements that has set ablaze the Arab Spring in 2011.

Needless to say, in most of our Arab World, nothing much has changed.

The very same oppressive mechanisms stand, and this time, these conditions may lead to far more violent, extremist movements, since the peaceful endeavours were suffocated!

Yesterday, the Egyptian court stood the sentencing of former Egyptian President, Mohammad Mursi, to 25 years in prisons, under the charge of collaborating with Qatar.

Truly, the allegation itself is preposterous, but there are Arab countries taking it seriously!

Yesterday, one of the columnists at an Arab newspaper was advocating the arrest of Islamist leaders and their incarceration. His reasoning was that they're 'Qatari cells.

Notably, these 'cells he spoke of are known for their anti-Daeshi and anti-Qaeda positions!

This tone, which serves only division and thrives on it, tries to silence and discredit even the most peaceful, Islamist opposition voices.

Meanwhile, economic crises build and corruption ceaselessly wreaks havoc in many Arab states. Not to mention increasing unemployment.

All these factors are but merely precursor to a phase that is far more dangerous than anything we know.

The coming is not of popular, revolutionary movements led by the middle class.

Instead, so long as these conditions stand, we are loot at an explosion of a frustrated, furious generation, without the slightest hope in pacifism, civility, and democracy.

This article is an edited translation of the Arabic version, published by AlGhad.

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