Even the Germans, who since the end of the Second World War adopted a policy of avoiding war, have decided to wage war against terrorist organisations and send a military force to Syria. The Russians, who dared to declare war in Syria preceded them and imposed their political vision on the region and the world.
Due to this international and regional vacuum, some countries decided to act against those who call themselves Muslims and militant groups like ISIS whose danger is no longer limited to conflict zones only. Rather, extremism and terrorism has become a threat to Muslims and the international community.
We are pleased that Riyadh, the capital of the Islamic world, acted and decided to take the lead amidst this vacuum and combat the germ which is quickly spreading in all continents. The number one enemy in the world today is the terrorism of Islamist organisations. It is very important that there is action and that we do not leave others to assume our responsibilities and draw the world’s political and ideological map. We will not agree with the Russians on the classification of terrorists and we will not accept the sectarian categorisation which we have been recently hearing from Washington. In addition to this, we cannot sit on the side of the road watching this confusion and each party’s claim that it will fight terrorist organisations in the region and the world.
The good news is that the alliance of Islamic countries announced by the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman appeared not as an idea or a proposal, but as an integrated project. Until now, 34 out of 52 Muslim countries have joined. Thus, the first military alliance of Muslim countries, which are able to say that they are concerned and have legitimacy to fight groups which use Islam to spread chaos and threaten societies, was born.
It is incumbent in this age to move forward and not to bow to others. The success of Saudi Arabia in building a military alliance is an important development that is based on international legitimacy and will produce great results.