Afghans reject extremist ideology as survey shows rising public awareness

A recent Salaam Times survey finds that a significant majority of Afghans view al-Qaeda as a serious threat to the country’s future, reflecting growing public awareness of the group’s extremist ideology rather than fear of its diminished operational strength.

Nearly 3,500 people took part in the month-long October survey. Of those, over 63% said al-Qaeda poses a serious threat to Afghanistan’s future, while 11%considered it somewhat dangerous.

Another 9.2 %believed the group is not a serious threat, and 16.6% were unsure.

Respondents came from nearly all parts of the country.

Public resilience

Despite concerns, Afghans interviewed stressed that resilience, awareness, and community engagement remain key to preventing extremist influence.

Zabihullah Hemat, 36, from Herat, said confronting al-Qaeda’s ideology is essential.

"If we can counter extremism and al-Qaeda’s propaganda by increasing literacy and awareness among young people and communities, this group will be defeated," he told Salaam Times.

"Al-Qaeda reaches its goals only through promoting extremism and misleading messages," he said, adding that standing against extremist groups is crucial to prevent Afghanistan from becoming "the global terrorism hub it was during the 1990s."

Hemat emphasized that safeguarding the country’s future begins with confronting extremist narratives and limiting the group’s space to operate.

Another Herat resident, Jamaluddin Ahmadi, 29, said that defeating al-Qaeda is not solely a military effort.

"In past years, al-Qaeda turned Afghanistan into a gathering place for terrorist groups from around the world. Afghans will never again allow this terrorist group to turn their homeland into a center of global terrorism and threats," he said.

The group was heavily weakened during nearly two decades of US and NATO military presence, when its hideouts were dismantled, Ahmadi said.

Continued vigilance, he added, is necessary to ensure it does not re-establish itself.

He said that although al-Qaeda and similar groups still pose ideological concerns, Afghans have learned from past experience and will not permit the group to regain influence.

Security analysts also pointed to the organization’s pronounced decline.

Al-Qaeda’s operational capacity has eroded greatly over the past twenty years in Afghanistan, the Middle East, and Africa, said Nazifullah Khalili, a Kabul-based analyst.

"Most of al-Qaeda’s leaders and key members have been eliminated in air operations by US forces in Afghanistan and other countries in recent years," he added.

Al-Qaeda is almost leaderless," Khalili said.

"Operationally, al-Qaeda has become very weak, and all of its activities are now mostly limited to a few parts of Africa," he said.