Religious Extremism

Report Examines Factors of Success in North African Parties

July 25, 2018

According to a new study from the Brookings Doha Center, the electoral success of Arab Spring Islamist parties in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia has been shaped by the willingness of party leaders to moderate their maximalist agendas in the interest of governing coalitions and support of policies of social pluralism and gender inclusion.
Indonesia Uses Canings as Punishment for Sharia Violations

July 23, 2018

In violation of domestic human rights agreements in Indonesia’s Aceh Province, authorities continue to use public canings as punishment for violations of sharia law in the world’s most populous Muslim country, with crimes ranging from homosexuality to selling and consuming alcohol in public to public displays of affection.
Saudi, British Media Deal Will Increase Wahhabi Soft Power

July 23, 2018

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned media conglomerate Saudi Research and Marketing Group has scored a major media agreement with Britain’s Independent news website in a move Saudi leaders view as an increase in Saudi Wahhabi soft power at the expense of competition from Iranian, Qatari, and Turkish brands of Islamism.
Pakistan’s Elections Highlight Plight of Religious Minorities

July 23, 2018

The predominance of Sunni Islamist extremist platforms and candidates in upcoming Pakistani national elections is highlighting the embattled conditions for the country’s non-Sunni and non-Muslim citizens, who are subjected to systemic violence and discrimination.
Egyptian Islamists Threaten Country’s Christian Citizens

July 23, 2018

Recent attacks and threats by a Muslim mob protesting the legalization of a Coptic Orthodox Church in an Egyptian town, supported by the local police, underscore the predominance of Islamist majoritarianism that threatens the country’s Christian population.
New Presidential System Moves Turkey Toward Islamist Dictatorship

July 23, 2018

The inauguration of Turkey’s new presidential system under the leadership of Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan began with a 143-page decree centralizing unchecked authority over all political and military institutions in the country’s executive and moving the NATO member-state closer to an Islamist dictatorial regime.
Islamist Theocracies Clash in Run-up to Pilgrimage Season

July 23, 2018

Sunni-Shiite sectarian tensions fueled by competition between the Mideast’s two largest Islamist theocracies, Saudi Arabia and Iran, are escalating in the run-up to the haj-pilgrimage season to Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia for the world’s Muslim population.
Malaysian Man Receives $450 Fine for Islamic Family Law Violation

July 16, 2018

A 41-year-old Malaysian man was fined $450 for violating certain parts of the state’s Islamic family law when he married an 11-year-old girl, although his fine did not include marriage to a minor.
Turkey Moves Closer to Islamist Republic Status

July 16, 2018

The swearing-in of Recep Tayyip Erdogan as President of Turkey under a new constitution that transfers expansive powers from the legislative and judicial branches to the executive has moved the NATO member-state one step closer to Islamist Republic status, as the ruling party advocates a neo-Ottoman regime that prioritizes Islam in government and society.
Turkish Government Continues Purge Against Competing Islamist Group

July 16, 2018

On the eve of the swearing-in of Recep Tayyip Erdogan with presidential powers unparalleled in the country’s history, the ruling Islamist government purged 18,000 civil servants for threatening national security through alleged membership in the competing Islamist organization of US-based Islamic preacher Fetullah Gulen.