Extremist group's war on education breeds next generation of fighters

KABUL -- From Afghanistan to Africa, al-Qaeda is shutting down schools and exploiting illiteracy to cultivate child soldiers and replenish its extremist ranks, exposing what analysts call the group's inability to endure in educated societies.

The group has waged a sustained campaign against education, attacking schools, threatening or killing teachers, and instilling fear to force widespread closures.

By denying children access to learning, al-Qaeda creates the vulnerable, uninformed populations it needs for recruitment, analysts say.

"The majority of Afghans remain illiterate, and many children in rural districts lack access to schools," said Dawood Sultani, a political analyst in Herat province.

"For decades, terrorist groups have deprived Afghans of learning opportunities, instead fostering extremist ideologies within communities."

Analysts describe this as a self-preservation strategy. "Recruiting fighters among the uneducated is far easier," Sultani said.

"In an informed society, groups like al-Qaeda would struggle to survive."

The deliberate targeting of women's education forms the cornerstone of the campaign.

Educated women pose the greatest threat to extremist groups, said Sediqa Jafari, a former university professor in Herat.

"Denying women education doesn't just harm them -- it hinders the entire society," she told Salaam Times.

Educated mothers are more likely to prioritize their children's schooling and resist extremist narratives.

Indoctrination through violence

This pattern extends beyond Afghanistan. In Africa's Sahel region, Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, has attacked schools and terrorized educators, forcing mass closures that leave thousands of children without formal education.

Where schools are destroyed, al-Qaeda replaces them with radical institutions designed to normalize militancy.

These propaganda-based institutions teach distorted religious interpretations to create the next generation of violent extremists, according to Kabul-based university professor Firoz Sangar.

Illiterate youth are especially susceptible. They cannot distinguish between authentic religious principles and terrorist propaganda designed to justify violence, he told Salaam Times.

These young men and women who lack understanding of religious matters easily accept al-Qaeda's "corrupted version" of faith, Sangar said.

Training videos show al-Qaeda teaching boys to make bombs and set booby traps, transforming children into weapons through psychological manipulation.

"Terrorist groups turn young men into extremists by distorting religion and brainwashing them," Sangar said.

Blocking national progress

This deliberate cultivation of illiteracy and radical ideology has devastating long-term effects on the stability of affected regions.

A population without access to education lacks the tools for peaceful conflict resolution and economic development, analysts warn.

"While developed nations have advanced through investments in science and education, Afghanistan has been held back by al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups' opposition to learning," said Kabul-based university professor Rafiullah Danish.

The strategy, he added, exposes al-Qaeda's core vulnerability, namely its complete dependence on ignorance for survival.

"Al-Qaeda's main goal in restricting access to modern education is to promote illiteracy and extremism so it can recruit more uneducated youth," Danish said.