The lack of reaction from the Arab and wider Muslim world after the terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut is both shameful and unfortunate. The US-led coalition to fight Isis in Iraq and Syria is reeling from desertions by Arab states that have increasingly found excuses not to take part in military actions against the Islamist militant group, even though some of their own capitals have been targets.
The Paris aftermath has led in the west to an excess of discussion on military and political policy on Iraq and Syria, how to deal with the Syrian leadership and how to cope with the refugee crisis. Yet in the Arab world there has been little policy reassessment or debate.
International pressure is mounting on the Arab states. Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates minister for foreign affairs, was quoted on Monday by the official WAM agency as saying that the UAE would “participate in any international effort demanding a ground intervention to fight terrorism” in Syria. But unless western nations galvanise the states into action and their governments to act more responsibly over the crisis in the Middle East, the situation across the Muslim world will become increasingly dangerous. Isis is already killing far beyond its heartland — most recently in Afghanistan and Bangladesh.