Religious Extremism

British Court Convicts Mother for Daughter's Forced Marriage

May 24, 2018

A British court has convicted a Pakistani woman in London for forcing her then-14-year-old daughter to marry a 36-year-old man in Pakistan, in the first successful prosecution related to the work of the country’s Forced Marriage Unit.
Turkey Expands Market for Sharia-Compatible Tourism

May 23, 2018

Turkey is rapidly expanding its sharia-compatible/compliant tourism offerings, aimed at appealing to tourists from Muslim-majority countries and at balancing the sharp decline in Western visitors who have been put off by the deterioration in the country’s security environment that is associated with Islamist terrorism and political Islam.
Iran Consolidates Shiite Imperialism as Foreign Policy Plank

May 23, 2018

Leaders of Iran’s Islamic Republic are pushing Shiite revolutionary imperialism as a foreign policy that can unite Persians and Arabs across the Middle East in anti-Western wars and that seeks to compensate for waning domestic support for the Islamist theocratic model.
Saudi Pressures Mount Against Activists over Women Driving Ban

May 21, 2018

With Saudi Arabia’s driving ban on women slated to be lifted on June 24, rights activists report a sharp uptick in arrests and other intimidation tactics against public supporters of the reform by the conservative social strata who have long supported second-class for women in the Islamist theocratic kingdom.
Islamic Consultancy Claims "Islamophobia" in Pennsylvania Suit

May 18, 2018

HIRA Educational Services of North America, an education consulting firm specializing in Islamic schools, is suing the township of New Castle, Pennsylvania, claiming HIRA's inability to secure a loan to purchase a youth development center for multi-purpose use, including an Islamic boarding school, was the result of "Islamophobia."
Expert Examines Origins of Islamism's Opposition to Democracy

May 18, 2018

According to a new book by Shadi Hamid of the Brookings Institution, Islam's founding as a religion committed to control of the state and governance, as well as the belief in the immutability of the Quran as divine word, are the root causes of the emergence of political Islamism and Islamist violence as oppositional forces to the foundational principles of democracy.
Islamist Theocracies Threaten Mideast Nuclear Arms Race

May 15, 2018

In the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s threats to resume uranium enrichment for weapons purposes are now being matched by pressure on the US from Saudi Arabia to complete a pending deal with American companies to acquire nuclear technology and fuel.
Sectarianism, Saudi-Iran Struggle Shape Iraqi Elections

May 11, 2018

Saudi Arabia and Iran are working behind the scenes to cultivate Sunni-versus-Shiite sectarian clients in Iraq’s electoral politics in the run-up to Iraq's first parliamentary elections since the military defeat of Islamic State forces, creating impediments to a post-sectarian, stabilizing reconfiguration of Iraqi politics and society.
Wahhabism Presents Impediments to Saudi Reform

May 11, 2018

History and current evidence indicate that the social hegemony of Saudi Arabia's Wahhabist religious establishment and the traditionalist economic culture of institutionalized bribery remain severe impediments to any liberalizing shift beyond the extremist Islamist theology and terrorism associated with many of the world's jihadi groups.
Turkey’s Islamists Engage in "Hostage Diplomacy" with US Pastor

May 10, 2018

Turkey’s Islamist government is using American pastor Andrew Brunson as a pawn in hostage diplomacy, moving the US citizen to trial on charges of espionage and terrorism after a prolonged detention without charge and pressing Washington to exchange Brunson for US-based Turkish preacher Fetullah Gulen.