Religious Extremism

Bahrain-U.S. Diplomatic Dustup over Sunni-Shia Human Rights Tensions

July 11, 2014

The government of Bahrain has expelled a senior U.S. diplomat, the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, accusing him of interfering in the country's domestic affairs, after he met with Shia opposition groups that charge the country's Sunni government with violations of human rights and religious freedom.
Islamists and Secularists Implicated in Violence Against Women in Egypt

July 11, 2014

Studies of patterns of sexual violence, harassment, and associated human rights violations against women in Egypt indicate reveal systemic patterns implicating state institutions under both Islamist and secularist governments in the Middle East's most populous country.
Controversial Al Jazeera T.V. Reflects Splits Among Islamists

July 11, 2014

The sentencing of three Al Jazeera journalists by Egyptian courts to a decade in prison for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood reflects the view that the Qatar-funded network is a provocateur for extremist Islamist groups aiming to oust both military authoritarian regimes and Muslim theocracies across the Middle East and North Africa.
OIC Condemns Boko Haram Attacks Against Nigerian Churches

July 11, 2014

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) Iyad Ameen Madani has condemned the recent killings and destruction of churches in Nigeria by Boko Haram, the extremist group aiming to establish a sharia state in Nigeria.
Human Rights Group Reports Atrocities by Islamist Extremists in Syria and Iraq

July 11, 2014

According to a detailed report by the internationally respected nongovernmental organization Human Rights Watch, massive atrocities and summary executions have been committed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”).
U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Compares Islamic Caliphate to EU

July 11, 2014

Mohamed Elibiary, an advisor to the Department of Homeland Security, has created an online controversy after his recent tweets about the inevitability of an Islamic Caliphate, which he likened to an Islamic version of the EU.
Islamist Advance in Iraq Cleanses Christian Presence

July 11, 2014

The capture of ever-greater parts of Iraq by the extremist terror group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (“ISIS”) has been accompanied by the continuing cleansing of Iraq's ancient Christian presence by Islamists.
Iran's Islamist Hardliners and Reformists Sharpening Lines of Division

July 11, 2014

Islamist hardliners at the Society of Seminary Teachers in the Iranian city of Qom, the country's religious epicenter, have issued a warning against the perceived liberalization agenda of the clerical group headed by Iran's Prime Minister Hassan Rouhani.
Iran at OIC Calls out Islamists Attacking Iraq

July 11, 2014

Iran used the recent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) Parliamentary Union as a platform to call for measures against "extremists and takfiris" using violence for Islamic sectarianism, an obvious reference to Sunni radicals operating in Iraq.
OIC and EU Condemn Anti-Muslim Violence in Sri Lanka

July 11, 2014

Officials from both the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (“OIC”) and the European Union (“EU”) have denounced the recent communal violence by Buddhist militants against Muslim-majority towns in Sri Lanka, where Buddhist-Muslim violence has been rare.