The appointment of recently retired Pakistani chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, to be the military head of the Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism is an important step forward in turning that group of 39 Muslim-majority countries into a practical force that can take action when required. The bloc was recently created as part of a Saudi-led initiative to find a way for Muslim nations to combat terrorism.
The new Muslim alliance was seen as an important part of mainstream Islam’s re-assertion of its own identity in the face of increasing propaganda and action from dangerous radical and extremist groups who in recent years have dominated the headlines with their violent terrorism, or even seizing large part of Arab states as done by Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) when it took substantial parts of Syria and Iraq.
General Sharif has extensive experience of leading counter-insurgency and counterterrorism programmes, which make him an excellent choice as leader. The Muslim world needs its own coherent approach to fight the terrible threat of terror when required. This means that General Sharif needs to lay down the military groundwork so that the 39 member states can understand how their forces might come together and combat terror when required.
There needs to be a clear understanding about what action would be acceptable for their forces to undertake. This requires a clear understanding of what kind of action they might be required for, and how action against terror might be different from action in the several political struggles that are ongoing in the region, often with radical elements taking part.
