South Asia: Rising Extremism Opens Way for ISIS How the Region and the U.S. Can Help Turn the Tide Publication Type: Analysis and Commentary Share This Print the Page

Across South Asia, complex strains of extremism are opening the way for the Islamic State and destabilizing governments. From elements in the Afghan Taliban to the ascent of Hindu nationalism in India, extremists are drawing the region deeper into volatile internal and external conflicts, according to experts on religion and extremism speaking recently at the U.S. Institute of Peace. There are no quick ways to reverse the trend, they said. But steps that could slow radicalization include bolstering free speech, attacking terrorists’ financial networks and undermining the myth that a long-ago caliphate ruled over a perfect society.

Scattered belongings after a suicide bombing targeting a demonstration by Hazaras, an ethnic minority group, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo Courtesy of The New York Times/Adam Ferguson

The spread of the Islamic State is triggering particular concern. The extremist group is taking advantage of the “tumultuous mix” across South Asia to put down roots and attract new fighters to inflame the region, said Farid Senzai, the president of the Center for Global Policy (CGP), a research organization focused on issues in Muslim societies. CGP co-hosted the discussion at USIP. ISIS militants and commanders are beginning to appear in Afghanistan as it loses territory in Iraq and Syria, said Scott Worden, the director of USIP’s Afghanistan and Central Asia programs. In Bangladesh, extremist ideologies are taking hold among educated youth connecting with ISIS, according to Kamran Bohkari, the director of political affairs at CGP. “There is a nexus between these local and transnational groups,” said Ali Mohammad Ali, a senior fellow at CGP. He sees al-Qaida as the most significant regional threat. “The transnationals can’t survive and work in Afghanistan alone. So how can we can divorce the local groups from the international ones, so we can speak of a political settlement and a possible peace in the future?” The panelists agreed that the U.S. has limited capacity to staunch the spread of extremist ideologies and that the prime responsibility lies with the region’s governments. States that use religion to promote national identity must face up to the fact that it puts them in a losing competition with religiously based extremists, Bohkari said.

The U.S. has limited capacity to staunch the spread of extremist ideologies.