Top defense officials from some 40 Muslim-majority countries met for a summit aimed at countering “terrorism” and announced their plans at a news conference in the Saudi-capital, Riyadh. The alliance was announced two years ago by Saudi Crown-Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the new power broker in Saudi Arabia and the man who also serves as defense minister of the country, which claims the mantle of leadership in the Islamic world. Officials have described the coalition as a grouping that would allow member states to request or offer assistance among themselves in fighting groups they designate as terrorists. Such assistance could include military force, financial aid, military equipment or security expertise, and will have a permanent base in the Saudi capital.
The coalition will focus not only on a military, security and intelligence track but also efforts to combat terrorist financing and ideology. It is also important to note that while Iraq and Syria, which have been fighting the Islamic State for the past three years, are not part of the coalition. Neither is Saudi arch-rival the Islamic Republic Iran, which Riyadh accuses of supporting terrorism. Qatar, which has been isolated by Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies for the past six months over alleged support of terrorism, was originally part of the coalition but did not appear to be in attendance at this week’s meeting.