--- title: Obama to World Leaders: On 'Extremism', We're all in This Together description: "We come from different countries and different cultures, different faiths… [but] we are all in the same boat" Obama said Thursday. canonical: https://time.com/3715030/barack-obama-violent-extremism-summit/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-19T16:33:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:53.294Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Calls for International Unity in Fight Against Terror, Extremism og:description: "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie and all of us have a responsibility to reject it." og:url: https://time.com/3715030/barack-obama-violent-extremism-summit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcf4ec646c656d1d/69877feb8e060104f345a5f1/president-barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Barack Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Calls for International Unity in Fight Against Terror, Extremism twitter:description: "The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie and all of us have a responsibility to reject it." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfcf4ec646c656d1d/69877feb8e060104f345a5f1/president-barack-obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Calls for International Unity in Fight Against Terror, Extremism > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy [Watch (HLS stream): Inside ISIS and Al-Qaeda’s Battle for Brand Supremacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gK3s3WLk.m3u8) (5:16)  _Published 2015-02-04. They may share similar goals but the two groups are bitter rivals_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 19, 2015 4:33 PM UTC  President Obama pauses while speaking at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, Feb. 18, 2015. President Obama pauses while speaking at the White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, Feb. 18, 2015. Jacquelyn Martin—AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Feb 19, 2015 4:33 PM UTC President Obama echoed [Wednesday’s call for unity](http://time.com/3714339/barack-obama-violent-extremism/?xid=newsletter-brief) in the global fight against violent extremism in his final speech before a White House summit tackling the issue. After two days of talks with community leaders from across the U.S., the State Department on Thursday hosted a group of high-level international leaders as a part of the Countering Violent Extremism Summit. During his speech, Obama again called on leaders to dispute extremist ideology that claims the West is at war with Islam. “The notion that the West is at war with Islam is an ugly lie and all of us—regardless of our faith—have a responsibility to reject it,” Obama said. In the wake of terror attacks in Paris and Egypt, and ongoing battles against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria, the summit has largely focused on extremist activities related to the Muslim community. The focus on Muslims has drawn ire from both conservatives—who say the administration hasn’t gone far enough to call out terrorism carried out through the faith—and American Muslims, who say the counter violence efforts being proposed will lead to further targeting and discrimination. Obama on Thursday acknowledged that the targets of ISIS and al-Qaeda propaganda are largely members of the Muslim community and the terror organizations claim they are driven by Islam. He said that that countries had a responsibility, however, to lift up the voices of millions of Muslims around the world who actually represent the faith, and frankly, are just like everyone else. “A lot of the bad is absorbed,” Obama said. “Not enough of the good.” Obama also said by confronting religious conflict, political, economic, and educational issues—all of which he said terrorists exploit in their efforts to recruit—countries can counter extremist messaging in a meaningful way. The summit and gathering of international leaders piggybacks off of a call to action against extremism Obama made in September before the United Nations Security Council. _Read next:_ [_Obama Urges Americans to Keep Calm in Fight Against Violent Extremism_](http://time.com/3714339/barack-obama-violent-extremism/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] This is Amadi Coulibaly, one of the gunmen in the terrorist attacks in Paris. In this video, which surfaced four days after the attacks, he's pledging allegiance to the leader of ISIS. [ FOREIGN ] But days before this video was recorded, another assailant, Cherif Kouachi, claimed allegiance to a different jihadist. Al Qaeda and Yemen. [ FOREIGN ] We don't know how closely the gunman actually coordinated with the two terrorist organizations. But this episode shows how the face of radicalism has changed since 9 / 11. Al Qaeda is no longer the key player when it comes to Islamic terrorism against the West. Instead, multiple jihad groups cooperate and at times compete with one another. al- Qaeda is one of the longest operating Jihadist militant organizations, having plotted against the west since the early 1990s. but in the past decade, its core leadership has been decimated by drone and special ops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen. It lost its spiritual leader, Osama Bin Laden, almost five years ago. Into the vacuum has stepped a tangled web of jihadi groups. With similar ambitions, but fiercer tactics. [ FOREIGN ] Al Qaeda is now led by Egyptian born Ayman Al- Zawahiri, Bin Laden's former personal physician and ideological heir. But the recent creation and descent of ISIS created chaos in Al Qaeda's inner order. ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi ,. Rose in the ranks of another al- Qaeda offshoot, al- Qaeda in Iraq. [ FOREIGN ] The native Iraqi has a Ph. D. in Islamic studies and is a young proven leader. But he only became a militant after the Iraq invasion a generation apart from the older order of al- Qaeda leaders. Al Qaeda and its Iraqi branch coexisted until 2013 when one voice recording changed everything. [ UNKNOWN ] [ MUSIC ] In 2013 [ UNKNOWN ] once leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, published a recording online and that's in the official creation of ISIS. ISIS. His intention was to extend his power from Iraq into Syria. But Zawahiri, Bin Laden's successor and leader of core Al Qaeda, had not authorized Baghdadi's move into Syria. He wanted Baghdadi to keep his power within Iraq's borders. But Baghdadi refused and with that, Al Qaeda dissociated itself from ISIS. ISIS. It was the first time that al Qaeda had formally repudiated an affiliate. However, the two groups are divided by more than just a leadership squabble. While al Qaeda and ISIS are tied by similar extremist ideology, inspired by a violent interpretation of Islam. They disagree on tactics and objectives. While both groups share Osama bin Laden's original goal of reestablishing the Caliphate, they disagree on how to bring it about. Other al- Qaeda affiliates, like al- Qaeda. Al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and al- Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have not recognized ISIS as legitimate. These groups leadership based in Yemen and in dessert regions of southern Algeria are also part of the network that trained under Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. To make things even more complicated, another organization has inserted itself into the fray, beyond the Arab world, Boko Haram, an Islamist group founded in Nigeria, in 2002. The group has so far limited itself to Nigeria's territory, where it has kidnapped scores of young people, in order to further it's goal of eliminating Western education. There's some evidence that Boko Haram has received training and support from Al Qaeda's northwest Africa affiliate. But recently, Boko Haram has increasingly aligned itself with ISIS, drawn by it's successes. In fact, a month after ISIS declared its caliphate. Boko Haram also began taking land in northern Nigeria. Now, it controls an area about the size of West Virgina. And after ISIS' highly produced videos began appearing online, Boko Haram started copying their style. They adapted the flag used by ISIS. Began to mirror ISIS' language and statements. And even used the same Islamic verses as background audio. [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] It's premature to speak of a formal link between ISIS and Boko Haram. But the big question is whether the African group is simply imitating ISIS or if there is actually formal communication. Between the two groups. No matter the connections or otherwise between these groups recent history suggests the biggest risk to the west is from so called lone wolves. Radical sympathisers like Amidi [ UNKNOWN ] who are not necessarily aware or don't care about leadership squabbles at the top. They just share their goal of destabilizing the west. 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