Updated 08:01 p.m. Moscow Time
UNITED NATIONS, September 24 (RIA Novosti) - It is time to acknowledge the destruction brought about by al-Qaeda and ISIL and to contest the space they occupy in the media and in the Internet, President Barack Obama told a United Nations meeting Wednesday.
“It is time for the world – especially Muslim communities – to explicitly, forcefully, and consistently reject the ideology of al-Qaeda and ISIL... It means contesting the space they occupy, including the media and the Internet," Obama said.
The jihadist groups used propaganda to coerce young people to travel abroad to fight for them, and “turned students into suicide bombers,” according to the US president.
“We must offer an alternative vision. That means bringing people of different faiths together,” Obama stressed.
"The ideology of al-Qaeda, ISIL and Boko Haram will die if it is consistently exposed, refuted in the light of day," Obama added.
"No external power can bring about a transformation of hearts and minds. But America will be a constructive partner," the US president said.
The United States will concentrate on supporting counter-terrorism cooperation, according to the American leader.
“We will neither tolerate terrorist safe-havens, nor act as an occupying power. Instead, we will take action against threats to our security – and our allies – while building an architecture of counter-terrorism cooperation. We will increase efforts to lift up those who counter extremist ideology, and seek to resolve sectarian conflict. And we will expand our programs to support entrepreneurship, civil society, education and youth – because, ultimately, these investments are the best antidote to violence,” Obama concluded.
The terrorist ideology behind al-Qaeda has been expanding significantly. The growth in social media and the terrorist use of chat rooms, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other sites played a significant role in it. A large number of young people in Africa and the Middle East are being sucked into terror groups and being pushed to follow the Islamic ideology.
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), had close links to al-Qaeda before the groups cut all ties in February following a power struggle.
The IS has been fighting against Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, the group extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq, declaring a caliphate on the territories over which it had control.
