Religious Extremism and Online Radicalization

How Extremist Narratives Are Hijacking Digital Platforms in Pakistan

As digital access continues to expand across Pakistan, a parallel and dangerous trend is also on the rise: the growing presence of religious extremist networks online. Once limited to physical madrassas, private gatherings, or borderlands, extremist ideologies have now infiltrated smartphones, social media feeds, encrypted chat apps, and video platforms, creating a virtual ecosystem that fosters hate, promotes sectarian violence, and recruits vulnerable youth under the guise of religious piety.

This digital radicalisation presents a complex threat to Pakistan’s internal security and social cohesion, especially as groups — both banned and clandestine — exploit the lack of regulation, state oversight, and digital literacy to spread their messages. Scholarly articles published in well reputed Journals also affirm the spreading menace of religious extremism and online radicalisation.

Reference : Jstor

Tactics of Digital Extremism: How Hate Goes Viral

Religious extremist groups, including offshoots of FAK (Fitna-al-Khwarij) and FAH (Fitna al-Hindustan), have adapted to the digital age with alarming sophistication, often disguising their content in religious language, cultural symbolism, and charismatic appeals. Their tactics include:

1. Social Media Influence Operations

• Fake accounts, bots, and anonymous handles spread sectarian content, glorify violence, and amplify conspiracy theories.
  
• Hashtag campaigns on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and TikTok trend content that dehumanises rival sects or promotes takfiri/apostle narratives.
  
• Influencer imams with large followings subtly embed extremist talking points under the banner of “Islamic reform”, often blurring the line between genuine religious education and radicalisation.
  

2. Encrypted Recruitment Networks

• WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal are used to form private indoctrination groups, where radical clerics share lectures, PDFs, and videos meant to groom individuals over time.
  
• These groups often provide a sense of community, grievance validation, and moral purpose — especially attractive to disenfranchised youth or those facing identity crises. 

3. Gamification and Memes

• Extremist content creators often use memes, edited clips, and emotionally charged visuals to appeal to younger demographics, using language and formats native to youth culture.
  
• Radicalisation is framed not just as a religious duty but as a cool, rebellious, or heroic lifestyle, echoing the media strategies once employed by ISIS. 

4. Exploiting Religious Events and Political Turmoil

• During moments of political instability, sectarian tensions, or religious events (e.g., Muharram, Eid, elections), extremist groups escalate their online activity, aiming to inflame sentiments and provoke violence.
  
• Events like blasphemy accusations or mosque attacks are rapidly spun into viral outrage cycles, often culminating in mob violence or offline attacks.
  

Impact on Society: Division, Violence, and Distrust

The consequences of unchecked digital radicalisation are far-reaching and corrosive:

Sectarian Violence

Online hate speech has been directly linked to real-world lynchings, mosque attacks, and communal riots. Minor incidents are exaggerated and politicised to provoke sectarian responses, especially against Shia, Ahmadi, and Hindu communities.

Youth Vulnerability

Young people, particularly from marginalised, conservative, or low-income backgrounds, are most susceptible. Lacking critical thinking tools or alternative narratives, they are drawn into binary worldviews of “true believers vs enemies of Islam”.

Erosion of Trust in Institutions

Extremist narratives often include anti-state rhetoric, branding the judiciary, military, and government as “Western puppets” or “pro-secular apostates”. This undermines public confidence in national institutions, weakening state legitimacy.

Breakdown of Social Cohesion

The flood of radical content fosters mutual suspicion among sects, ethnic groups, and political identities. It turns public discourse into a battleground of accusations and takfir (declaring others non-Muslim), discouraging open dialogue or reform.

Why Regulation Has Failed So Far

Efforts by Pakistani authorities to contain online radicalisation have been piecemeal, reactive, and politicised:

• The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked certain websites and taken down accounts but it focuses more on blasphemy or political issues rather than anti-minority hate speech.
  
• The National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) remains underfunded and lacks the digital infrastructure or partnerships to effectively map extremist networks online.
  
• Laws like PECA 2016 have so far proved ineffective to clamp down on extremist propagandists.
  
• Tech platforms headquartered abroad, including Meta, Google, and X, offer limited content moderation in Urdu, Pashto, Balochi, or regional dialects, enabling dangerous content to remain online for extended periods. 

What Can Be Done: A Strategic Response

To dismantle the growing nexus of religious extremism and online radicalisation, Pakistan needs a multi-layered and coordinated strategy that goes beyond bans and censorship:

1. Digital Literacy Campaigns

Educate the public — particularly youth — on how to identify disinformation, religious manipulation, and online indoctrination tactics. Integrate critical thinking and media literacy into school curricula.

2. Counter-Narrative Production

Support moderate clerics, scholars, and youth influencers to produce content that counters extremist narratives with inclusive, authentic, and religiously grounded messages. Empower local voices to reclaim online space.

3. Monitoring and AI Tools

Invest in machine learning tools to track hate speech, monitor viral trends, and detect early signs of online radicalisation. Collaborate with tech platforms to enhance local language moderation.

4. Legal Reforms

Revise and clarify cybercrime laws to specifically criminalise incitement to sectarian hatred while protecting legitimate religious expression and freedom of speech.

5. Community Engagement

Involve mosques, madrassas, and religious leaders in digital de-radicalisation programmes. Equip them with digital skills to monitor their own communities and promote interfaith harmony.

Winning the Digital Frontline

The digital realm has become the new ideological battlefield in Pakistan’s struggle against religious extremism. Extremist groups are no longer only hiding in caves or remote borderlands; they are recruiting from WhatsApp groups and Facebook, trending on TikTok, and sermonising via YouTube. Their narratives — cloaked in religious language but steeped in hate — threaten not only individuals but the foundational pluralism and security of Pakistan itself.

To win this battle, the state must act decisively but intelligently — combining regulation with education, enforcement with engagement, and restriction with reform. The question is not just whether extremist content can be banned but whether a compelling, peaceful, and inclusive religious counter-narrative can rise to replace it.

You may interested in:

• Internal Political Polarization and Information Warfare
• Fact-Checking Initiatives: Local and International Models
• Promoting Responsible Journalism and Ethical Reporting
• Geopolitical Dimensions of Information Warfare Against Pakistan
• Menace of Cyber-Terrorism: Exposing the Networks Spreading Anti-Pakistan Propaganda