Religious Extremism

Role of Islamists in Sudan’s New Regime Raises Tensions

May 29, 2019

The political and social jockeying for a new regime after the fall of General Omar al-Bashir’s dictatorship in Sudan is intensifying over the role of Islamist parties, which had been implicated in the country’s military dictatorship that produced sharia law across the geopolitically critical African state.
Islamist Regimes Battle over Future Control of Jerusalem

May 22, 2019

The hardline Islamist regimes of Saudi Arabia and Turkey are pushing to marginalize moderates Jordan and, to a lesser extent, Morocco in representing Muslim interests involving control over the city of Jerusalem in the runup to the US’s anticipated rollout of a comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
Islamist Radicalization in Sri Lanka Points to Saudi Influence

April 29, 2019

The Muslim communities in the hometown of the mastermind behind the Easter terror attacks in Sri Lanka have undergone a steady process of social and political radicalization in the expanding numbers of mosques, cultural centers, and schools funded by Saudi Arabia and other Wahhabi regimes from the Arabian Gulf.
Sisters' Plight Reminds World of Saudi Rights Violations

April 25, 2019

The plight of two now-disappeared sisters who fled Saudi Arabia to the Republic of Georgia to seek asylum has reminded the international community of the systematic, expansive human rights violations perpetrated by Saudi Arabia's Islamist theocracy.
Saudi Arabia Announces 37 Executions

April 25, 2019

The official news agency of Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 37 individuals, including via crucifixion, convicted on charges of terrorism and inciting sectarian strife, in a pattern that figures into the current Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's crackdown against dissent and, especially, against the country's Shiite minority.
Taliban Halt Humanitarian Work in Afghan Regions

April 23, 2019

The Taliban have imposed a ban on humanitarian work by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in areas under its control, arguing the humanitarian groups are engaged in “suspicious activities” and citing polio vaccination campaigns as inconsistent with Taliban principles.
Latest Saudi Dragnet Includes Two US Citizens

April 23, 2019

Saudi security services have arrested eight people, including two dual US-Saudi citizens, in an apparent crackdown on individuals suspected of supporting women’s rights activists whose trial has provoked widespread condemnation from international rights groups.
UN Official Condemns Brunei's New Sharia Laws

April 23, 2019

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has called on the government of Brunei to halt implementation of the country's new penal code, which would impose the penalty of death by stoning for homosexuality, adultery, rape, and blasphemy against Islam's Prophet Mohammed.
Religious, Social Cleavages Harden in Iran

April 23, 2019

The growth in the Islamic Republic of Iran of regime-funded "safe havens" in the form of housing enclaves and commercial and social complexes designed to operate according to Shiite religious principles points to the deepening of social and religious cleavages in the country.
Observers Accuse Saudi Arabia of Diversion in Releasing Activists

April 23, 2019

International human rights groups widely view the temporary release by Saudi Arabia’s courts of three women’s rights activists who are part of a larger trial of female activists charged with undermining the security of Saudi Arabia as a political attempt to divert attention from the discriminatory laws against which the indicted women protested.