Religious Extremism

Blasphemy Laws Against "Insulting Islam" Provoke More Violence in Pakistan

March 01, 2016

The Pakistani government's execution of an individual convicted of murdering a government official who had advocated for reform of the country's strict blasphemy code, which carries the death penalty for "insulting Islam," has produced a spike in social unrest between followers of the country's conservative Islamist clerical establishment and supporters of liberalization in the strict blasphemy codes.
Egyptian Government Seeks Legitimacy with Blasphemy Cases

February 29, 2016

To raise its legitimacy with the volatile Islamist base in Egyptian society, the government of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is branding itself "the guardian of religion," presiding over a sharp increase in blasphemy cases that disproportionately affect the Christian minority and that have a chilling effect on free speech and media rights.
Falling Oil Revenues Raise Questions About Durability of Saudi Arabia's Islamic Autocracy

February 23, 2016

Policy experts are raising red flags about the durability of Saudi Arabia's Islamic autocracy, as significantly declining oil revenues and notorious regime corruption are generating domestic popular discontent and radical Islamist critiques regarding the legitimacy of the Sunni monarchy.
Pakistan's Islamist Establishment Condemns Prime Minister's Opposition to "Honor Killings" of Women

February 23, 2016

Pakistan's Prime Minister is at loggerheads with the country's powerful Islamist religious establishment, which is condemning his plan to impose strict legal consequences for perpetrators of "honor crimes" against women, a pervasive practice by which sharia law is used to justify the murder of women on grounds of preserving family honor.
Saudi Religious Police Arrest Doll Mascot for Violating Sharia Law

February 17, 2016

Saudi Arabia's Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, the religious police infamous for arbitrary arrests and detentions of individuals charged with violations of the kingdom's Islamist theocratic laws, arrested a doll-costumed adult male, the mascot for a new sweet shop opening in the country's capital, for disregarding sharia dress codes by "pretending to be a woman."
Georgian Official Questions "Blasphemy" Bill

February 09, 2016

The Guardian reports that the Ombudsman of the Republic of Georgia Ucha Nanuashvili has voiced doubts about a bill to be considered in the country's Parliament that would criminalize "insults of religious feelings," arguing that the language would "subject one individual to another's will."
2015 Was Marked by Islamist Activism in America at Local and National Levels

February 01, 2016

The past year reflected robust activism by Islamist groups in America through social and political advocacy at the local, state, and federal levels.
Saudi Leadership Struggles Fuel Mideast Islamist Conflicts

January 29, 2016

An official German intelligence report and public statements by Germany's Vice-Chancellor reveal Western concern that the power struggle for the next succession to the Saudi throne is fueling reckless foreign policy moves by the country's Deputy Crown Prince, in the form of pro-Sunni military interventions against Shiite actors and provocations of Iran, as well as financial support for Sunni extremist ideological movements.
Marrakesh Declaration by Muslim Scholars Meets Mixed Responses as Protection for Religious Minorities

January 29, 2016

The Marrakesh Declaration, the product of a summit in Morocco of 300 prominent Muslim clerics that is being touted positively by some participants and observers as a "Muslim Bill of Rights for non-Muslims," has also been met with serious skepticism by those arguing that the statement is superficial because it overlooks both the need and enforcement mechanisms for institutional and cultural changes necessary for rule-of-law religious pluralism.
Freedom of Expression Takes Another Hit from Islamic Blasphemy Ruling Against Egyptian Writer

January 29, 2016

An Egyptian court sentenced one of the country's prominent writers to a three-year jail sentence for "contempt of Islam" on account of her Facebook post about slaughter of animals for Muslim holidays, thereby dealing another blow to freedom of expression from Islamic blasphemy laws that corrode speech and media freedoms.