But she left a note which suggested she was following the violent extremist ideology of the Islamic State (IS) movement. The lack of connections to existing networks, the tone and content of her farewell letter and initial police information about her social media use suggest the strong possibility that she was self-radicalized by exposure to extremist materials on the internet. Extremist materials on social media likely played an important part in forming her worldview.

Articles or materials on extremist thinking are accessible on a wide range of platforms – including websites and personal blogs. But social media has the greatest influence because people can find and directly connect with others who share and support their extremist views.

It is possible that ZA committed her “suicide” attack because she was exposed to materials glorifying other suicide attackers, such as those recently in Makassar, South Sulawesi, and elsewhere, on the social media networks of which she was part.

The phenomenon of “instant radicalization” characterized by social media actually has its roots in al-Qaeda's (AQ) early use of the internet to spread its “global jihadist” ideology. AQ sought to promote this ideology as part of its long-term strategy to wage war on the United States and its allies. It needed the presence and support of extremist groups across the globe to establish itself as a popular movement throughout the Islamic world.

I and my friends, at the time, were among those impressed by AQ's concept of global jihad. We believed that globalizing jihad was a good approach: whatever we did at the local level would contribute to the broader global jihadist movement initiated by AQ. As a result, every directive and propaganda release from AQ became a reference for us in determining our own actions.

But strategy is essentially theoretical. Actors are forced to adapt and change their approach when the theory does not align with realities in the field. Or, in order to adapt to the changing conditions, improvisation is needed. This improvisation opened up the possibility that groups would diverge from the planned global strategy.

Popular

Govt aims for year-end launch of tax-friendly financial center

Militarizing civilian space

Fighting brain rot must begin now