CEBU (Philippines), April 22: An anti-terrorism drive by Asian governments risks alienating moderate Muslims and pushing them towards extremism, experts warned on Saturday.

Governments should seek the help of religious figures and community leaders to reverse the ‘ideology’ of hatred, they told an international conference here.

“Terrorist networks, their affiliates and ideology are a clear and present danger,” said Brig Gen Javed Iqbal Cheema, head of the national crisis management cell in Pakistan’s interior ministry.

But while there is a need to crush terrorism ‘with all the military force at every level globally’, Brig Cheema said extremism was a state of mind ‘that should be handled with care’.

Part of the strategy should be ‘enlightened moderation’ by governments by who can help the economic development of Muslim communities and help them resolve political disputes, he said.

Rohan Gunaratna of Singapore’s Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies said some domestic conflicts had become breeding grounds for militant cells.

“In your response to terrorism, you shouldn’t create extremists,” Mr Gunaratna said.

“You have to address the ideology that is driving the jihadis,” he added, calling on the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia to seek help from moderate Muslims to solve their problems with militants.

Brig Cheema said anti-terrorism strategies can only work if governments ‘objective identify and address’ the conditions that breed extremism.

“Since terrorism is not confined to a single country or one region, there is a need for evolving consensus at global level on a strategy incorporating both short-term and long-term measures that work in tandem,” he said.—AFP