“A profound moment of resilience, unity and hope” is how Unesco chief Audrey Azoulay described the upcoming reopening of historic religious sites in the Iraqi city of Mosul. Speaking to The National as she began a visit to the city on Wednesday, Ms Azoulay recounted how work to rebuild the landmark 12th century Al Nuri Mosque and its Al Hadba minaret after they were blown up by ISIS in 2017 was accompanied by restoration work on Al Safa and Al Tahera, two historic churches of Mosul.
It is an important moment of symbolism that stands in stark contrast to the cruelty and fanaticism that blighted so many lives in Iraq and neighbouring Syria under ISIS’s so-called caliphate. In contrast to the wanton destruction carried out by ISIS fighters during their 29-month occupation of Mosul, the international community, donors – led by the UAE organising stakeholders and a generous $50 million in funding – as well as local engineers, architects and workers came together to restore Mosul’s tolerant and communal spirit.
Nevertheless, it should be remembered that many Moslawis – as well as people across Iraq, Syria and other countries blighted by ISIS – still carry the physical and psychological scars of those difficult years. Many also remain displaced from their homes. Their suffering should be a warning that allowing ISIS or groups like it to regain a toehold in the Middle East would be a catastrophe.
ISIS is not finished. The terrorist network remains a threat in remote areas of Iraq, poses a risk of resurgence in Syria and a rapidly changing region presents the extremists with opportunities to regroup. The presence of thousands of battle-hardened ISIS prisoners held in camps in north-east Syria is a particular security problem, especially for the Kurdish-led forces that run these jails, and the new Syrian government.
This is a situation that must not be mishandled. Yet there is a worrying lack of urgency about co-operating to find solutions. This week, The National reported that the US wants radical elements in Syria to be sidelined by the new government in Damascus. But if anything has characterised the Trump administration’s ISIS policy so far it is incoherence.
Although one of its first acts was to target ISIS sites in Somalia, there have been threats to withdraw US troops from Syria, a move that would leave local forces exposed to attack even as they as they struggle to maintain security at detention sites such as Al Hol and Al Roj. Washington’s recent foreign aid freeze temporarily hit the salaries of security and humanitarian staff working at these facilities.
However, that such camps still exist years after ISIS’s reign of terror collapsed is a collective international failure. As foreign governments re-engage with Damascus, it is time for more accountability – that means repatriating more fighters to the countries where their radicalisation took place, and avoiding tactics such as stripping citizenship from suspects, thereby leaving them to be Syria’s problem.
There are signs of a more collaborative approach taking shape, with reports this week that Syria's new leaders are in talks with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who have "expressed willingness" to put their weapons under state control, according to President Ahmad Al Shara. Efforts that increase Syria’s cohesion and stability ought to be supported.
The ISIS issue is too dangerous to allow room for complacency. The years it took to rebuild Mosul’s historic religious sites, and the continuing difficulties of the displaced and those who suffered under ISIS all show the lasting damage that allowing extremism to develop can do. Fumbling the response to ISIS amid this time of regional volatility risks opening the door to a repeat of past crimes.
