Religious Extremism

Egypt's Establishment Aims to Ban Popular Film

January 25, 2017

Signaling a clampdown by hardliners in Egypt's Islamist religious establishment on cultural criticism of Islamist militancy, government agencies for religious affairs and members of the Al-Azhar university have joined forces to condemn a popular film called Preached as subverting Islamist orthodoxy and to pressure the state to ban the film from cinemas.
Rights Group Warns of Extremist Islamization of Mali

January 25, 2017

A new report by Human Rights Watch warns of the rising strength of a cluster of Islamist extremist groups in Mali, reflected in the imposition of sharia law in a growing number of villages in the West African nation, the targeted persecution and repression of Christians, and the intimidation and forced conscription of Muslim children into jihadi militias.
Riyadh Rebukes Critiques Linking Saudis with Extremism

January 24, 2017

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister has rebuked French presidential candidates critiquing Saudi Arabia as a global funder and exporter of Islamist extremism, accusing the politicians of contributing to a misperception of the Islamist theocracy as a purveyor of religious intolerance and religious radicalism.
Bangladesh Textbooks Signal Growing Islamist Impact

January 23, 2017

Last-minute revisions to Bangladesh's public school textbooks at the demand of an umbrella group of conservative Islamist religious scholars. whose goals are gender-segregation of education and a national curriculum and textbook board that exclude non-Muslims from membership, signal the growing influence of Islamists on the country's government and society.
Iran's Conservatives Seek to Undermine Reformer's Legacy

January 23, 2017

The hardline conservatives in Iran's Islamist theocracy have moved into high-gear to rewrite the history of Islamist reformer Ayatollah Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, whose recent death has re-energized political and media debate in Iran about the value of liberalizing reforms to the country's hardline Islamist regime.
Turkey Reforms Education to Include Jihad Curriculum

January 23, 2017

Turkey's Minister of Education has announced plans to further the government's use of public education as an active tool in the Islamization of society by incorporating teaching on the concept of jihad as a compulsory component in the middle school and high school curriculum.
Saudi Grand Mufti Targets Vision 2030 Reforms

January 23, 2017

In a statement widely viewed as a warning to the country's Deputy Crown Prince to avoid the introduction of any political-cultural reforms as part of the "Vision 2030" economic modernization program, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, the top religious authority in the Wahhabi Islamist Kingdom, has condemned cinemas and music concerts as corruptions of Islam.
Indiana Curriculum on Sharia Causes Controversy

January 23, 2017

The New Albany-Floyd County School Board in Indiana is reviewing a curriculum assignment on sharia law in response to parental concerns that a student worksheet asking for views on sharia law whitewashes the human rights violations associated with strict Islamist laws and practices, especially those related to gender equality.
Activists Disappear After Critique of Pakistan's Military

January 16, 2017

In the aftermath of their most recent critiques of the authoritarian collaboration between Islamist clerical hardliners and state security institutions, four of Pakistan's most prominent civil and religious rights activists have disappeared, and the government has shut down their blogs.
Saudi Prince Prepares for Opposition to Reform Program

January 16, 2017

The Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince who is spearheading the country's Vision 2030 economic reform package has announced a multifaceted strategy, combining punitive measures and dialogue, to ameliorate anticipated opposition to reform from the Islamist extremist Wahhabi religious establishment.