Doctors turning into terrorists is neither new nor surprising. The phenomenon of educated jihadis is now a global pattern. Multiple studies show that nearly 70 per cent of major terror attacks worldwide were planned and executed by technically trained individuals, particularly engineering graduates.

Among doctors, the most notorious example is Zakir Naik, who used respectable platforms like television to radicalise Muslims across the subcontinent. Naik obtained his MBBS from Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, the former Al-Qaeda chief, held a master’s degree in surgery from Cairo University.

Mahathir Mohamad, who reshaped Malaysia’s Islamic identity, studied at King Edward VII College of Medicine, Singapore. Mahathir has openly articulated his belief in political Islam and consistently returned to rigid interpretations of Islamic scripture. He declared Malaysia an “Islamic state", emphasising Islamic solutions to global issues.

Zakir Naik has been a permanent resident of Malaysia since 2016. India revoked his passport in 2017 on charges of money laundering and hate speech.

While analysing terrorism, we must recognise that every human has both an Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and an Ideological Quotient (IdQ). Among Muslims, Christians, and Communists, the ideological quotient tends to overshadow individual reasoning because each is rooted in a single-book belief system that often subsumes critical thought.

The persistence of groups like the Flat Earth Society, whose members interpret biblical verses as scientific proof that the Earth is flat, illustrates how ideology overrides intellect. Some commercial pilots are members of this society, showing that professional training does not immunise one against ideological rigidity.

At the Middle East Forum, Pakistan’s distinguished nuclear scientist Pervez Hoodbhoy was asked why the Islamic world, despite possessing vast resources and a........

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