On October 26, 2015, a devastating earthquake struck South Asia, focusing on Afghanistan.
Rescuers rescued as many as 5 people, mostly in Pakistan, on November 400.
As people watched the tragic images of the catastrophe, some experienced eyes noticed that at the forefront of efforts was an Islamic charity, Jamaat-ud-Dawa.
Shortly afterwards, Reuters confirmed that these thousands of rescuers were in fact members of the non-governmental organization. The only problem; How Jamaat-ud-Dawa is just her showcase terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba, a group of fanatical jihadists in good relations with al Qaeda.
In the aftermath of the natural disaster, it did not come out Pakistan stronger, but Lashkar-e-Taiba. It strengthened its popular foothold, as the local community now praised it for its support with both resources and physical presence.
Jamaat-ud-Dawa was there, on the front lines, generously distributing aid to Pakistanis affected by the quake.
The practice was certainly not new. Rebel, paramilitary and terrorist organizations have been working in this way for a long time, taking advantage of natural and human disasters to weaken enemies and attract friends.
And the pursuit of political and social legitimacy usually comes more easily through the sensitive health sector. Where state mechanisms are incapable or unwilling to act and help, terrorism takes over even public health services, showing who works for the good of the cosmos.
And his pandemic coronavirus has created new opportunities for the most notorious terrorist sects on the planet;
The Taliban, first of all, who have launched a giant campaign to inform the world about the dangers of the coronavirus! Not only in the areas they control, but also in every corner of the country, with public health policy often appearing to be theirs.
At the same time, they have promised safe movement for health professionals through the territories they control. And in a country with at least inadequate health structures, they prove daily and in practice that it is a responsible and viable alternative to governing the country.
They have even officially offered a ceasefire in the areas of the country most affected by the coronavirus.
All this, of course, at a time when they are intensifying their attacks, constantly looking for more living space. The New York Times revealed that in the last week of March alone more than 300 Taliban attacks took place in Afghanistan.
The Associated Press's lens captured images on March 29 of al-Qaeda members disinfecting neighborhoods in Kabul.
The global upheaval from the pandemic certainly works in favor of terrorism, both for Al Qaeda as well as the Islamic State.
Which in the latest issue of "al-Naba", the official newsletter of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), instructed its members and citizens "not to enter the lands of the epidemic."
At a time when the threat is real for everyone, some have taken the opportunity to strike harder than before, while spreading the virus as a punishment for unbelievers.
The only way to save the Muslim? To repent of his sins, to protect himself and to join their ranks…
He does something similar and the Shiite politico-military Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose armed wing is considered "terrorist" by several countries. At the helm of the Islamic Health Society, Hezbollah has deployed dozens of ambulances across the country, sending its members to disinfect squares and public spaces.
At a time when the Lebanese government is trying its best to contain the pandemic, it is facing widespread corruption and financial hardship. Hezbollah, which is part of the government, has made all its health-related resources available to the state.
Analysts note that its strategy is excellent. It does not manage its own structures and services alone, despite placing them in state hands, thus gaining an even greater impact on all walks of Lebanese political life. Although it is a common secret that it is funded by Iran.
Again in AP photos from March 27, we see members of the Islamic Health Society, one of Hezbollah's arms, disinfecting a Beirut suburb. The original photo of the article comes from the same action.
Having redirected its organizational superiority from the battles with Israel and the Syrian civil war to the recent health tragedy, the Hezbollah sends a strong message to the entire Shiite community that he is a predictable player in times of crisis.
In war-torn Syria, the military's information campaign on precautionary measures has been undertaken by military Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
In its own newsletter, the "Ebaa" of March, even claims that it sought the guidance of World Health Organization on how the Syrians can protect themselves and their families.
Pressing its strength, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (Organization for the Liberation of Levante) prints thousands of newsletters every day and even distributes them from house to house in northern Syria, in rebel-held areas.
Al-Sham has sprung from the old Al-Nusra Front and is not joking at all about its murderous intentions. In fact, at the time when Bashar al-Assad neither cooperates transparently with global health agencies nor was it very willing to take action on the territories under its control, the Islamic terrorism operating on Syrian soil is becoming more and more powerful.
And now with the acute humanitarian problem and the recent health crisis, and more necessary.
Something similar is happening in Somalia, one of the countries where everyone warns that if the situation with the coronavirus escapes, we will talk about an unprecedented tragedy. The complete absence of health structures and a strong central government have allowed al-Shabab, the extremists mujahideen of East Africa who joined the al-Qaeda network in 2012, to spread an unimaginably successful disinformation campaign.
If you ask the average Somali who is responsible for the coronavirus, he will immediately tell you "the forces of the Crusaders". The westerners and their troops that is…
Who else is redeeming the fear and new possibilities of the pandemic, apart from separatists and terrorists? Everyone has something to gain by demonstrating effective crisis management while the state apparatus fails.
The favelas of Rio de Janeiro is perhaps the most typical example. Drug cartels and street gangs are trying to impose a traffic ban on the infamously unruly slums! Of course, none of them are ungovernable, they just have other mechanisms of obedience and their own regulatory articles of faith.
In such ungovernable states as the infamous Latin American Triangle (three cities in three different countries, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil), the African Sahel (a sub-Saharan strip of land that runs across the continent) and the archipelago of Southeast Asia, there other forms of government have the first say, far from central and centralized mechanisms.
And that is where the coronavirus strengthens criminal unions, cartels and every shadowy organization with political ambitions. Because the state is absent there. And there is a lot of room to take advantage of these government gaps and record emphatic propaganda victories.
Take her Somalia, for example. We know al-Shabab as another al-Qa'eda's military arm that has plunged the country into deadly bombings, depriving many lives.
At the same time, al-Shabab is one of the first human groups to show from the outset that they understand the dangers of using plastic for the environment.
In July 2018, the extreme fundamentalists announced that they are banning the use of the plastic bag in the territories they control!