Officials even warned that extremist groups may become emboldened at this time when governments and authorities are focused on the sweeping changes to societies and economies brought on by the coronavirus crisis. These radical groups are using the pandemic to project their extremist agenda, calling the virus "an act of God against the enemies of Islam." Experts also stated that Muslim extremist groups and far-right organisations are using online platforms to exploit the global virus outbreak. Experts and security officials say they are concerned about the swell of calls from extremists to strike at a time when they believe they could get away with terrorist acts and not be detected. While saying there were no imminent threats, the Department highlighted stress fuelled by the pandemic and a surge in online hate speech.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 12, 2020 10:47 UTC