Conspiracy theories

Whereas the majority of Muslims tends to believe that the genesis of Daesh (or the so-called Islamic State) could be traced by the stretch of the imagination to Wahabism, the orthodox Muslim sect founded by the 18th century preacher and scholar Mohammad Al Wahabi, a surprising number still believes that the militant Muslim movement is a part of a grand design for the Middle East, founded by the enemies of the Arab and Muslim worlds, to divide and rule the region!

People who tend to believe in conspiracies seriously believe that the radical Islamic movement is the brainchild of the US, made to order to sow distrust and division, and start fratricidal wars among the countries of the region to help weaken them and render them easy prey to Western control.

Some even go to the extent of seeing Israeli hands in the pot, while other accuse Damascus of being in league with it to help defeat the opposition in Syria.

Of course, this is all nonsense, but the mere fact that so many people entertain such thoughts reinforces the belief that things in the region are not necessarily what they appear to be.

The countries of the region still cling to the view that they were created by a 20th century Western design in the first place, and their borders were set by Sykes-Picot master plan.

The 1916 accord struck between the United Kingdom and France, with the consent of tsarist Russia, divided the Middle East into British and French spheres of influence and control, and laid the foundation for the creation of Israel.

Some people, therefore, conclude that the West is bent on creating a new Middle East on the ashes of the current and Daesh is the ploy and pretext to achieve that purpose. 

Of course most sober people dismiss such wild ideas and interpretation of events in the area.

The fact that so many cling to this wild interpretation of the rise of IS could weaken the resolve of the people-based efforts to combat it.

Raising awareness about the multidimensional threats posed by IS may have to entail addressing the suspicions of the public, thus rendering the campaign against extremists more profound.