Thousands of ISIS Accounts on “X” Platform… Details
Dr. Raham Abdullah Salama, the General Director of the Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism, stated that social media platforms are the weapon of choice for ISIS and other extremist organizations in recruiting youth. The number of ISIS accounts on the “X” platform exceeded 46,000 at the peak of the terrorist organization‘s activity.
During her speech at the third edition of the “Listen and Speak” forum organized by the Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism, Dr. Salama emphasized the urgent need to address several important issues in the current edition of the initiative, specifically targeting university students.
She emphasized that despite ISIS‘s losses and the defeat of its elements, the continued presence of an estimated 10,000 fighters between Syria and Iraq poses a threat to the security of these countries and the rest of the region. She highlighted the concern that the majority of these fighters originated from the Middle East and North Africa.
Dr. Salama explained that the danger of extremist ideology is not limited to groups that use religion as a cover for their heinous crimes, but extends to all groups, organizations, and individuals who promote extremist ideas that undermine religious and moral principles, pushing our values to the brink. Therefore, the second edition of the forum in 2022 was more intense, addressing issues imposed by globalization and unlimited openness due to the Internet.
The first session discussed the general causes of extremism, including despair, emptiness, resorting to unreliable references, the absence of institutional and familial roles, and the mismatch between international agreements and laws and what happens in reality. There are also specific causes such as unstable psychological conditions and unusual environments.
The session also explored the relationship between emotions and extremism, highlighting that extremism is based on distortion, exaggeration, aggression, intensification, and extremism. It emphasized the importance of maintaining positive assumptions, rationalizing emotions, self-improvement, effort, and reliance on God.
The Azhar Observatory organized the third edition of the “Listen and Speak” forum for Egyptian youth from various government and private universities. This edition comes after the success of the previous two editions in bringing together Egyptian university students with experts and professors to exchange views, address controversial issues, and clarify the facts to protect youth from falling into the trap of extremist ideology.
