Religious Extremism

Saudi Cleric Faces High-Profile Trial

November 28, 2018

A Saudi trial is pitting the hyper-conservative Islamist theocratic regime against a high-profile Islamic cleric in a legal drama that underscores unknowns about competing versions of Islamism and the meaning and objectives of reform presented in Islamist discourse.
Facebook Reveals Iran’s Global Cyber Ops

November 28, 2018

Facebook recently dismantled what it described as a sophisticated cyber-operations network run through various agencies of the state of Iran, using social media and hacking campaigns to influence private sector and university users worldwide.
Islamist Intimidation Forces Closure of Coptic Churches in Egypt

November 28, 2018

Hardline Islamist gangs in Egypt’s rural areas are attacking and intimidating Coptic Christians in their churches, using social pressure to influence the Egyptian government to close the country’s many “informal churches” that are awaiting official state recognition under a 2016 law intended to provide churches with the same rights as mosques.
Iran Targets Christians to Bolster Regime

November 28, 2018

The leaders of Iran’s Islamic theocratic regime are responding to US pressure on nuclear proliferation and human rights by ratcheting up a targeted campaign against the country’s Christian minority population, including by using blasphemy and apostasy laws to silence or imprison Christians and excluding Christians from government positions.
Asia Bibi Case Underscores Influence of Anti-Blasphemy Movement

November 20, 2018

Western governments’ rejection of asylum requests for Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian woman recently acquitted of blasphemy and now in hiding from the country's extremist Islamist groups, underscores the global influence of Islamist anti-blasphemy groups aiming to censor free speech in the name of religious tolerance.
Iranian Regime Releases Blueprint for Future Dominance

October 31, 2018

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has released a draft version of the "Islamic-Iranian Blueprint for Progress," a roadmap for the regime's strategy for sustaining the Islamization of the country's domestic socio-political and economic institutions and reinforcing Iran's capacity to weaponize the Islamic revolution at home and abroad.
Hajj Pilgrimage Funds Islamist Extremism of Saudi Arabia

September 26, 2018

The hajj pilgrimage that is considered a religious obligation by Muslims has brought the Islamist theocratic regime of Saudi Arabia billions of dollars in income used to perpetuate the kingdom’s Wahhabist extremist ideology and to provide material support for jihadist activities worldwide.
Death Penalty for Activists Reveals Wahhabist Limits on Saudi Reform

August 31, 2018

Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Courts will seek the death penalty for five Shiite female activists who demonstrated for equal rights for the Muslim minority group in the Sunni theocratic kingdom, a decision revealing the ongoing dominance of Wahhabi fundamentalist actors that demand strict controls over social activism and sectarian expression.
Iran Imprisons Religious Leader for Blasphemy Against Islam

August 31, 2018

Iran's Islamic theocratic regime signaled its continued efforts to control free speech and thought as the country’s courts handed down a five-year prison sentence to a religious leader convicted of blaspheming against "Islamic sanctities."
Pakistan’s New Prime Minister Plays Blasphemy Card

August 29, 2018

Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan is pushing for a global anti-blasphemy law supported by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as the centerpiece of his government’s policy, catering to domestic and foreign Islamist extremists who endorse the death penalty for speech considered blasphemy against Islam.