The Islamic State (IS) group poses various threats across the world, especially in the United States and among its allies including nations in Southeast Asia, a professor from Thammasat University says.
The threats posed by the group are not just limited to brutal killings, but also the recruitment of new members, specifically through social media.
"It is not too much to say a radical movement operating in the Middle East is one of the products of the US invasion and it is unpredictable how the crisis will end," the expert on Islam, Jaran Maluleem, said, referring to the IS.
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Citizens from many countries, including nations in Southeast Asia, have travelled to Syria via Turkey to join the IS.
Some were stopped by authorities as they made their way to Syria but many have succeeded in joining the militant group.
Mr Jaran said a key tool the IS uses to recruit youngsters is the idea of a caliphate, which is a form of Islamic government.
The group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has declared himself to be the spiritual successor to Mohammed, also known as a caliph.
The caliph is empowered to run the territory's administrative and religious affairs.
The idea of a caliphate was abolished after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.
Islamic State propaganda ranges from crude to sophisticated, and is mostly internet based, like this monthly magazine. It is ironic how the group manipulates 21st century communications and technology in its campaign to restore a caliphate which collapsed in the 13th century.
According to Mr Jaran, the influence of the militant group among young people also poses a threat to the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean).
The regional grouping's members need to address the recruitment of youngsters, he said.
Mr Jaran said there are unconfirmed reports that a Thai student who studied in the Middle East recently joined the IS.
Even though the student is from southern Thailand, the possibility of the IS getting involved in the fighting in the deep South or other countries in Asean is still low, Mr Jaran said.
However, due to the large Muslim population in the region, authorities should look out for IS propaganda used to attract young Muslims to the group.
"We cannot rule out the prospect that the IS has its eyes on Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia which has the highest number of Muslims in the world,'' he said.
"But the overall situation in the Asean area is a long way off from descending into violence," Mr Jaran said.
He admitted the number of people joining the radical group is on the rise, particularly youngsters.
He said militant groups in Asean, such as Jemaah Islamiah (JI), have offered moral support to IS in their fight against the US, but there is no proof to suggest any JI members have joined the IS.
"Most of the people who join IS are likely to be anxious, depressed and lonely.
"They are more likely to be socially isolated and many are fond of the IS ideology but hesitate to express their feelings in public," Mr Jaran said.
A senior Asean diplomat told the Bangkok Post that dozens of people from her country were stopped from joining the IS in the Middle East last year but she could not estimate how many had successfully joined the group.
The IS threatens security in the region and Asean members should discuss ways to stop the possibility of conflict, she said, adding the actions of the group are unacceptable under Islamic practice.
"Talking about IS, it is about terrorism, it is about people who claim they are Muslims but they are not.
"They might be Muslims, we don't know, but we do not recognise them," the diplomat said.
"What religion do they belong to? They cannot do such cruel things. The word Islam means peace and what they do is against the fundamentals of Islam," she said.
The group's propaganda machine involves releasing videos of hostages being brutally murdered which forces the international community to react with outrage.
Taking into account the group's oil trading and other money-making schemes means IS could be the wealthiest and most powerful militant group in the Middle East.
After splitting from al-Qaeda, the IS has been active mainly in parts of Iraq and Syria, with an estimated 30,000 members.
The IS militants recruit new members by using social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to show the successes they have enjoyed as they took over large parts of Iraq and Syria.
The ideology of the group attracts Muslims from across the world.
The group also uses social media to strike fear into the hearts of its enemies by uploading gruesome murders of its hostages.
The IS claims the brutal killings of its hostages were acts of revenge against the US and its allies.
After the IS executed two foreign hostages earlier this year, the US-led coalition launched a series of air strikes against the group's strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
However, Mr Jaran said coalition air strikes are not the way to defeat the militant group.
"Defeating IS will not end the militant movement because many Muslim groups are still loyal to the group and share the same ideology.
"Even if the IS disappears, another group will lead the movement in its place," he said.
The IS and other militant groups are the consequence of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in the US.
Asean members should not get involved in the conflict.
They should continue to promote regional peace, Mr Jaran said.
Indonesia's Vice President Jusuf Kalla speaks at the opening of a conference on terrorism and Islamic State in Jakarta, March 23. (Reuters photo)