How terrorist and extremist groups are exploiting coronavirus cracks in society

Al-Qaeda and Isis are using Covid-19 to forge legitimacy and draw more people to their violent causes, while right-wing extremists and white supremacists step up racist violence. Governments need to start preparing their defence

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A sign that reads “Fear causes racism” is seen on a boarded-up shopfront in Seattle, Washington, in March. Photo: Reuters

Abdul Basit

Abdul Basit is an associate research fellow at the S.

Published: 10:00pm, 1 May 2020Updated: 4:33am, 2 May 2020

As the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, terrorist groups across the ideological spectrum are using it to validate their ideologies to lure more recruits and plot new attacks.

While transnational militants such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State (Isis) frame the pandemic as divine retribution, right-wing extremists in the West blame migrant communities, particularly the Jews and Chinese, for bringing contagion, and have called for strong borders, protectionism and anti-immigration policies.

The coronavirus pandemic will create a new set of grievances while exacerbating existing ones, resulting in deprivation and disenfranchisement that could lead to new forms of political violence.

In 19th century Britain, a group of textile workers known as Luddites violently protested against technology for displacing their jobs. In the wake of Covid-19, some radical fringe groups in Europe have burned 5G telephone towers, erroneously believing radiation from these poles cause the disease. Some neo-Luddite groups may find a common cause if they lose their jobs to greater technological penetration in a post-Covid-19 world.