Religious Extremism

Indonesia's Homegrown Islamist Extremists Show Resilience with Support from External Jihadist Organizations

July 20, 2020

Indonesia's homegrown Islamist extremist group, the Mujahidin Indonesia Timur (MIT), is showing notable resilience in the face of state arrests of MIT sympathizers, as the MIT's leader is drawing on foreign Islamist groups for funding of attacks in Southeast Asia's largest country.
Sudanese Islamists Mobilize Against Liberalization & Demand Sharia

July 20, 2020

Islamist groups in Sudan recently used Friday prayers in mosques to mobilize protests against the liberalizing reforms of the country's new government, with protestors calling for the continued use of death for apostasy, prohibitions against alcohol, and restrictions on female dress in order to avoid "conversion into a Western society."
Islamists Intimidate Pakistani Government to Backtrack on Hindu Temple Construction in Islamabad

July 11, 2020

Under pressure from the Council of Islamic Ideology, Islamist media outlets, and popular pressure, Pakistan's government has backtracked on continuing the initial construction on a Hindu temple in the country's capital city of Pakistan, rescinding the government's funding commitment to support construction of the temple.
Belgian Security Warns of Spreading Saudi & Turkish Forms of Islamism

July 07, 2020

Belgium’s State Security Services (VSSE) has identified the spreading influence of Saudi Arabian and Turkish forms of Islamism in the country as a key long-term security threat, along with growing rightwing extremism, and the rising presence of Chinese military students studying in Belgium.
Turkey & Saudi Arabia Compete to Radicalize Bulgaria’s Muslim Communities

July 04, 2020

The governments of Turkey and Saudi Arabia are making use of formal and informal arrangements with the Bulgarian state related to education and religious training of Bulgarian Muslim communities as a means of Islamist radicalization.
Turkey’s Hagia Sophia Conversion Plans Continue Islamization and Advance the Christians Cleansing Policy

July 01, 2020

NATO-member Turkey is planning to activate the famed Byzantine Orthodox Cathedral of Hagia Sophia as a mosque, continuing the regime’s Islamization project and building on the country’s secular and religious governments’ policies of cleansing out Christians.
Qatari Regime and Other Islamist Hardliners Attack Muslim Leader for Anti-Semitism Critique

June 26, 2020

After condemning anti-Semitism and calling for expanded Muslim-Jewish dialogue and cooperation, the Saudi Arabian cleric and Secretary General of the Muslim World League is being attacked by Islamist hardliners on Qatar's main media platform, Al Jazeera.
Indonesia's Slow Tilt Towards Islamism Evident in Domestic & Foreign Policy

June 26, 2020

The past five years have witnessed a decided turn towards Islamism in the domestic and foreign policy positions of the state of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
Anti-Government Protests in Mali Highlight Growing Civil Unrest Related to Spreading Jihadism

June 23, 2020

Although thousands demonstrated in protests in Mali's capital city of Bamako to demand the resignation of the country's president for his failure to stop the spread of jihadist violence in the West African country, the ongoing series of anti-government rallies also has included individuals associated with hardline Islamism.
Iranian Regime Takes Aim at Instagram's "Immorality" as Antithetical to Islam

June 21, 2020

Iran's Islamic Development Organization, a religious and cultural organization under the direct supervision of the Islamic Republic's Supreme Religious Leader, has condemned Instagram as "immoral and un-Islamic," with the Islamist regime taking direct aim at the social media platform estimated to account for the majority of the country's internet bandwidth.