Religious Extremism

Critics See Egyptian ID Change as Insufficient

December 17, 2018

Critics argue that proposed Egyptian legislation striking religious affiliation from the country’s identity cards will have little impact on the widespread discrimination caused by the constitutional privileging of Islamic sharia law as "the main source of legislation" in the country.
Islamist Regimes Maintain Media Silence on Uighur Muslims

December 17, 2018

The media silence about China’s persecution of its large Uighur Muslim community in many of the world’s most active Islamist regimes can be explained in light of those countries’ repressive human rights and media policies and significant trade relationships with China.
Iran Hangs Two Gold Traders for Economic Crimes Under Islamic Law

December 14, 2018

Iran hanged two financial traders for stockpiling gold coins and convicted of "spreading corruption on Earth," a high crime under the Shiite theocratic regime’s Islamic laws, in a move reflecting the ruling Islamic clerics’ efforts to stop Iran’s citizens from holding gold as security in the country’s worsening currency crisis.
Netherlands Recalls Embassy Staff in Pakistan

December 14, 2018

Hardline Islamists in Pakistan continue to demand the death penalty for judges and politicians involved in the acquittal of a Christian woman imprisoned for years on blasphemy charges and have threatened violence against personnel at the Dutch Embassy in Islamabad, forcing the Netherlands to recall a sizable number of staff for security reasons.
Saudi Ruler Shores up Support for MBS

December 14, 2018

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is touring the fundamentalist Wahhabi heartland in a damage control campaign designed to shore up support for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in the continuing fallout from the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Turkey Slams US and Buys Oil from Iran

December 14, 2018

Turkey’s Islamist government secured a waiver from the US to continuing buying oil from Iran’s Islamist theocratic regime and promptly slammed the US sanctions as “imperial,” signaling that Islamist ideological ties and associated commercial interests remain the drivers in Middle East geopolitical alignments.
Saudi Leaders Discussed Assassination of Iranian Officials

December 14, 2018

The New York Times reports that leaders of Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi fundamentalist Islamist theocracy used international business connections to explore hiring private hit squads to assassinate top officials in Iran’s Islamic theocracy.
Pakistani Christian Woman Acquitted of Blasphemy Remains in Hiding

December 14, 2018

A Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, who was acquitted of blasphemy charges that kept her in state prison for almost a decade, remains in hiding since her release as mobs of radical Islamists continue public protests demanding that the government of Pakistan publicly execute her.
WHO Warns of Impacts of Vaccination Fatwa

December 13, 2018

World Health Organization (WHO) officials are warning of possible measles contagion and a spike in associated birth defects in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, as millions eschew the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine after the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI) issued a fatwa religious ruling forbidding the vaccination.
Egypt Considers Burqa Ban in Battle Against Islamist Extremism

December 13, 2018

Egypt’s Parliament will consider a draft law to ban wearing the burqa in specific public spaces, including hospitals, schools, and cinemas, as Egypt confronts public security risks that include intensifying violence by Islamist extremist groups.