Religious Extremism

Transnational Jihadist Fratricide Destabilizes Local & Global Security Environments

June 13, 2022

The emerging civil war under way in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) is a high-threat example of the broader phenomenon of transnational jihadist fratricide rooted in the plethora of offshoots from al-Qaeda (AQ) and the Islamic State (IS) spreading across the Mideast, South Asia, Africa, and while their internecine violence reflects competing Islamist ideologies and power politics.
Afghanistan Emerges as Key Battleground for Competing Islamist Extremist Groups

June 08, 2022

A new UN expert report on security conditions in Afghanistan warns of increasing cooperation between the ruling Taliban Islamist extremist regime and al-Qaeda in a competitive front against the local Islamic State branch, pointing to the geopolitically crucial South Asian country as a regional epicenter for global jihadist groups who have a shared commitment of hostility to Western values and willingness to use violence against Western countries and interests.
Islamism in Western Societies Grows

June 08, 2022

According to Lorenzo Vidino writing for the Hudson Institute, the multi-generational growth of Islamism in European and North American contexts is defined by a steady expansion in numbers, political influence, and social impact, as a result of an entrepreneurial approach to identity issues, multi-stakeholder coalition-building, and multi-media messaging.
Istanbul Mosque Ceremony Points to Deeper Turkey-Iran Islamist Ties

June 08, 2022

One of Istanbul’s largest Shiite mosques recently held a commemoration ceremony of the 33rd anniversary of the death of Iran’s Islamic revolution leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, with the mosque also the site of recent political meetings by members of Turkeys ruling Islamist regime, highlighting the deep ties between the intelligence and security networks between two of the Mideast’s most globally active Islamist regimes.
Arabian Gulf Islamist Theocracies Expand Influence in African Maghreb

June 03, 2022

The Arabian Gulf Islamist theocracies of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have been pursing longterm strategy of political-economic and military penetration of the strategic African Maghreb region stretching from the Atlantic through the Mediterranean to the Middle East, using a series of policies that have increased the spread of Islamist extremist ideology.
Singapore Deports Extremist Islamist Preacher

June 03, 2022

The government of Singapore recently deported an Indonesian extremist Islamist preacher whose firebrand preaching and efficacious use of social media platforms have spread his message promoting a global Islamic caliphate, countenancing discrimination against non-Muslims, and endorsing suicide bombings, with the deportation undertaken as part of the East Asian state's effort to push back against the regional growth of radical Islamist ideology and practices.
Transnational Shiite Islamist Influence at Work in Iraq

June 01, 2022

The influence of transnational Islamism was evidenced in the recent decision by Iraq’s Parliament to criminalize normalization of political and business relations with Israel under a proposal submitted by Iraq’s high-prior Shiite cleric Mourad’s Al-Sadr, with the Iran’s Islamist theocracy and its Shia allies in Lebanon, along with Sunni jihadist groups in the Mideast, lauding the decision against normal relations with “the Zionist entity.”
Turkey’s Islamist Reach on Display at Erdogan’s Meeting with US Islamic Umbrella Organization

June 01, 2022

The transnational Islamist activism of NATO-member Turkey’s regime were underscored in the recent meeting held by Turkey’s President Erdogan with the United States Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), an umbrella group whose Secretary-General is a Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer who discussed how to elevate and expand the Diyanet-funded mosque complex in the US state of Maryland as a convening location for the pan-Islamist priorities of Turkey.
Pending Irish Court Decision Highlights Domestic Radicalization & Foreign Fighters

June 01, 2022

Ireland’s Special Court that deals with terrorism and organized crime cases is set to rule on the trial of a former member of the Irish Defence Forces who converted to Islam and travelled to Syria to provide material support to the Islamic State (IS) as part of her expressed desire to line under sharia law and die a martyr”.
VOA: Mali’s Reality Shows Islamist Extremism Threatens World’s Cultural Heritage

June 01, 2022

Mali’s security officials have announced the likely cancellation of the annual restoration-preservation event at the country’s Great Mosque of Djenné, a site designated by UNESCO as World Heritage at risk, because of the intense, ongoing deterioration of the country’s security environment posed by expanding conflict perpetrated by Islamist extremist groups active in the West African country.