Middle East and North Africa

Introduction [1]

There is hardly any country in the world which has not been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The situation in the US or South Korea shows that even the most affluent and stable countries in the Global North have not been spared, and are fighting to keep their populations safe and their economies functioning. If it is extremely challenging for the Global North to control the pandemic, countries in the Global South face an excruciating uphill struggle.

Across the world, the staunchest holdouts in the face of COVID-19 [1] have been religious radicals, fundamentalists, and militants of just about every faith. While some have latched on to conspiracy theories, miracle cures, or end-of-times theologies, others are using the crisis as an opportunity to spread religious ideology and hate, urging followers to engage in militant or terrorist activity. Salafi-Jihadi groups are no different.