The Narratives – Mohamed Miah

Mohamed Miah | The Narratives

How Extremist Groups Were Designed to Destroy Muslim Identity

For more than thirty years, Muslims across the world have lived within a narrative we never created. Every bombing, every act of violence, every security scare has been framed as “Islamic extremism,” even when the evidence collapses, the accusations fall apart, and courts eventually clear the accused.

Yet none of these so-called “Islamic” groups work for the benefit of Muslims. They do not liberate land. They do not protect innocent lives. They do not strengthen the Ummah or uphold Islamic ethics. Instead, they consistently produce one outcome: fear of Islam, hostility towards Muslims, and a justification for the powerful to expand control.

This pattern repeats itself globally – in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, America – and just as clearly in India. But India is only one piece of a far wider design. The enemy was manufactured, but the target was always Muslim identity.

A World Built on Fear

Every empire has needed a villain.

The West had communism.

India’s ruling class has Islamophobia.

Israel has “terrorists.”

Russia has “insurgents.”

China has “extremists.”

Fear unites people. It justifies war, surveillance, nationalism and hostility.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a new global enemy was required. “Islamic terror” stepped into the gap, providing the perfect antagonist for governments, militaries and media industries.

The timing was no accident.

Broken Nations and the Soil of Despair

Extremism grows in places where the world is already broken:

Iraq after the invasion

Afghanistan after decades of war

Syria torn apart by foreign interference

Somalia, Nigeria and Pakistan under constant instability.

Chechnya suffocated by Russian repression.

These lands carry trauma, humiliation, poverty and occupation. But despair alone does not produce global extremist networks. Someone has to weaponise it.

Engineering an Extremist Brand

The modern extremist “brand” did not emerge organically.

Afghanistan became a Cold War laboratory, flooded with weapons, funding and propaganda. After the war, the fighters were abandoned, and the resulting vacuum birthed Al-Qaeda.

Iraq turned into a furnace after 2003, when the entire Iraqi army was dismissed and prisons became radicalisation hubs. ISIS grew directly from the chaos that foreign powers engineered.

Syria transformed into a theatre of shadows, where armed groups appeared with matching uniforms, coordinated media strategies and endless supplies.

Wherever extremists rise, geopolitical interests sit comfortably behind the scenes.

India: A Domestic Version of the Same Strategy

While global extremist groups often emerge from war, India created an enemy without any such conditions.

For decades, the state has capitalised on accusations of “Islamic terror” to consolidate Hindu nationalist power. Investigations later revealed:

fabricated cases, coerced confessions, planted evidence, torture, wrongful imprisonment, collapse of charges in court

The Mumbai 12 are a clear example: accused, demonised, and only acquitted nearly twenty years later.

Meanwhile, several proven Hindutva extremist cases – Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid – were quietly buried or diluted.

The goal wasn’t truth. The goal was a permanent enemy.

Extremism That Serves No Islamic Purpose

Whether global or local, extremist groups fail in the same way.

They do not fight occupation.

They do not free Palestine or Kashmir.

They do not protect Uyghurs or Rohingya.

They do not challenge authoritarian regimes.

They do not restore justice or stability.

Instead, they kill Muslims, destroy Muslim societies, weaken Muslim economies, and create Islamophobia everywhere.

Their actions serve geopolitical power, not Islamic justice.

Who Profits from “Islamic Terror”?

Western governments gain approval for war and surveillance.

India’s BJP gains elections through Islamophobia.

Israel deflects from occupation by labelling all resistance “terrorism.”

Russia and China justify crushing Chechens and Uyghurs.

Media profits from fear.

Defence contractors earn billions.

Dictators in Muslim countries silence opposition.

The result is always the same, the world strengthens itself by weakening Muslims.

Infiltration and Controlled Chaos

Extremist movements often begin with real grievances, but quickly become infiltrated, redirected or hijacked.

Splinter groups appear. Leaders are turned. Funding becomes mysterious. Actions become irrational.

This is how resistance gets corrupted:

Palestinians become “terrorists.”

Kashmiris become “extremists.”

Uyghurs become “radicals.”

Indian Muslims – even when innocent – become “suspects.”

Once the label sticks, the truth no longer matters.

Destroying Muslim Identity Without Firing a Shot

The greatest harm is not physical – it is psychological.

Muslims become apologetic for their own faith.

Young people hide their religion.

Communities fracture over sectarian narratives.

Liberation movements lose legitimacy.

Mosques become security risks instead of spiritual homes.

The beauty of Islam is overshadowed by the actions of groups who do not represent it.

The war is cultural, psychological and generational.

The Real Target Has Always Been Us

Extremist groups do not weaken superpowers.

They weaken Muslims:

spiritually politically culturally economically socially

They turn Islam into a threat.

They turn Muslims into suspects.

They turn justice movements into criminal acts.

The manufactured enemy was never created to win battles.

It was created to control the narrative of who Muslims are.

And that is the true battleground.

Any group that harms Muslims, destabilises the Ummah or contradicts Islamic ethics cannot claim to serve Islam. Their actions align far more with the ambitions of powerful states than with any divine cause.

They are not our soldiers.

They are tools – intentionally or not – in a global system that benefits from Muslim division, weakness and fear.

To understand this is to reclaim the narrative.

And to reclaim the narrative is to reclaim our identity.

The Real Muslims Behind Closed Doors

In the midst of the noise about extremism and manufactured narratives, there are real Muslims living the truth of Islam every single day.

Quietly, and without any need for applause, they help the poor, the vulnerable and anyone who turns up at their door.

One viral social experiment showed a mother asking churches for baby formula and being turned away, yet when she approached a local mosque, she was welcomed instantly and given what she needed. It wasn’t charity for show; it was instinct, mercy and duty.

Across Britain, especially in cities like Birmingham, London and Manchester, mosques run food banks, warm hubs, school-supply drives and winter shelters for entire neighbourhoods, regardless of faith or background.

These are the Muslims the world rarely sees: the ones feeding the hungry, supporting families in crisis and living the compassion Islam commands. Their actions cut through propaganda and remind us that the true face of Islam is dignity, kindness and service — nothing like the manufactured enemy created to make us fear ourselves.

We Are Not Them — And They Are Not Us

I’m done apologising for groups or individuals who do not represent us. I’m done condemning people who act in ways that Islam itself rejects. They are not our ambassadors, and they are not our reflection. Their actions are not our burden to carry.

We are Muslims who live Islam with dignity, compassion and the Sunnah in our hearts. We are the people who feed the hungry, protect the vulnerable, give charity quietly, pray for peace, and hold onto mercy even when the world is unkind to us. Our identity is shaped by kindness, justice and humility.

They are not us, and we are not them.

Our Islam is lived in our character, our service and our sincerity.

And no narrative, no headline, and no manufactured enemy will ever take that away from us.

So feed whatever right-wing narrative you want to spin. Write the headlines you need to justify your politics. Put it on loop across every 24-hour news channel.

It won’t change who we are.

Because our shield is Islam, and our strength comes from a place they cannot touch.