Terror apologists encourage extremism

British Prime Minister David Cameron sparked a controversy a few weeks ago when he warned of those who preach extremist ideologies that act as incubators for terrorists, but are not directly involved in terrorism. Cameron is definitely right in the sense that the terrorist threats we are facing today are the responsibility of those who justify such acts using a variety of pretexts that led to consecutive waves of terrorism.

One of the most bizarre terrorist incidents was the car bomb attack that targeted the Italian consulate in central Cairo in the early hours of Saturday. The attack killed one civilian and injured dozens as well as caused partial damage to the consulate which was closed at the time of the bombing.

In a statement posted online, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) said it was behind the attack.

It is really hard to understand the aim behind the attack and why it targeted the Italian consulate in specific. Did the perpetrators have a spare car which they wanted to detonate? Or was it an attempt by Islamists to prove their existence in the light of the Egyptian army crackdown on their positions in Sinai Peninsula?

No one can verify the authenticity of statements claiming responsibility for the almost daily terrorist attacks. They could be issued by some local pro-ISIS groups that attribute the attacks to the ultra-radical group in order to add more credibility to their operations.

There have been previous attempts to target tourist sites in Luxor, Egypt, but they failed after the perpetrators raised the suspicions of the authorities. In Tunisia, one attacker managed to kill dozens of tourists on a Sousse beach in a vile attack whose aim, it appears, is to deliver a blow to the country’s economy which, like that of Egypt, relies on tourism revenues.

Unfortunately, such attacks cannot be easily foiled. It takes one person, such as the Tunisia beach attacker, to commit a massacre and harm tourism for months or even the entire season. The same can be said about the practice of rigging cars with explosives and detonating them near locations that represent foreign interests.

The new wave of terrorism, which has been fed by regional instability particularly in Syria and Iraq, cannot be stemmed completely. But its damages can be limited. At the end of the day, terrorist attacks are the work of individuals who are ostracized by society and therefore it is easy to mobilize the public opinion against them.

History shows that terrorism will eventually defeat itself. The recent terrorist attacks prove that those who justify such acts are obsessed with violence and bloodshed.

The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arab Today.