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Anwar Mohammad Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs |
This week, the UAE-based Sawab Centre achieved a notable milestone, gaining its one millionth follower on social media platforms. A collaborative effort between the Governments of the UAE and the United States, Sawab confronts head-on the common challenge we face: It counters, undermines and will ultimately silence Daesh’s (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) online hatred.
Communication is an art requiring an appreciation of the nuances of language, context and audience. Sawab — well-versed in religion, culture and history — uses its expertise to undercut the false religious and historical justifications that Daesh employs to delude and lure in recruits.
In its online campaigns, Sawab has addressed issues ranging from Daesh’s exploitation of women and children, persecution of minority groups and others who do not conform to the group’s worldview, hardships of life under Daesh, lack of religious bases for Daesh’s acts and testimonies of defectors from the group.
Unique attributes
Eroding the Daesh online brand, however, is only half the battle; the longer-term objective of Sawab is to affirm and sustain a positive counter-narrative to Daesh and other violent extremists. For example, Sawab’s most recent campaign focused on the topic of national pride, highlighting both the unique attributes and common heritage of the countries of the Arab world.
The campaign, which earned more than 150 million impressions on Twitter alone, served as a counter to Daesh’s efforts to erase national identities through televised acts such as burning passports and bulldozing borders.
One challenge we face is that the online voices of moderation have in the past been muted when compared with the volume of Daesh and other extremists on social media. To address this, Sawab has cooperated closely with religious institutions such as Al Azhar, social media companies including Facebook and Twitter, public figures from various walks of life and other like-minded influencers in order to mobilise the vast majority who are opposed to Daesh.
By serving as a platform for moderates, Sawab promotes an alternative horizon, one of cultural openness, religious tolerance, coexistence, diversity, women’s empowerment and youth engagement in society. It also emphasises how these values are core Islamic virtues, emphasised repeatedly in the Quran and through the life of the Prophet (PBUH).
Even as Daesh suffers repeated military defeats, the fight against the group’s ideology will be an extended, generational challenge for the international community. It’s a fight that cannot be won on the battlefield alone, but by collectively employing various capabilities at our nations’ disposal, including the power of our ideas in places where so many of our young people currently seek out information.
Promoting a compelling vision
It requires us to build a common front among states, citizenry and the private sector to not only expose the lies and deceit that lie behind terrorist messaging, but also to promote a more compelling vision.
The growing appeal of the Sawab Centre is far more than the landmark of a million followers on social media. It is a reaffirmation that our people will reject terrorist ideologies.
As governments, we will continue to provide a forum for adherents of peace and pluralism who seek to advance the prospects for a brighter, more prosperous future.
