Religious Extremism

Turkey's Islamists Continue Assault on Media Freedoms

October 31, 2016

In the past week, Turkey's Islamist government has used "anti-terrorist" charges and accusations of complicity in the summer coup attempt to shutter 15 more independent news organizations, jail journalists critical of the country's president, and interrupt internet access in the Kurdish-majority southeastern part of the country, which has been under emergency rule for over a year.
Ancient Christians Will Remain Targets in Post-IS Mosul

October 31, 2016

The communal squabbling of Sunni and Shia Iraqis and Kurds regarding a post-Islamic State Mosul bodes poorly for a return of the ancient Iraqi Christian communities that have been targeted for religious cleansing by various Islamist groups in Iraqi violence since 2003.
States Debate Islamist Alternatives to Saudi Wahhabism

October 31, 2016

The exploration by Chechnya, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates of the Sufi Islamic tradition as an alternative to the Wahhabi extremist version of Islam practiced and exported by Saudi Arabia suggests the ongoing, global impact of competing, violent Islamist movements.
Turkey Appoints Imam to Church of Aghia Sophia

October 25, 2016

The Turkish government has announced the appointment of a permanent imam to the Church of Aghia Sophia, the world's largest Christian cathedral in medieval times, converted to a mosque and then to a museum, underscoring the country's ongoing Islamization policies.
Pakistan Court Delays Hearing of Blasphemy Case

October 24, 2016

Former Member of Pakistan's Parliament Farahnaz Ispahani and Nina Shea of the Hudson Institute write that the delayed Pakistan Supreme Court hearing on the conviction of Asia Bibi, a Christian condemned to death under the country's 1986 blasphemy law, due to religious tensions signals the weakness of the country's institutions in the face of "blasphemy-law vigilantism."
Activists Grow Bolder in Dissent Against Saudi Wahhabi Regime

October 24, 2016

A coalition of civil society dissenters led by the minority Shiite Muslim community, women's activists, and human rights groups is placing the ruling compact between the Saudi royal family and the Wahhabi religious establishment under increasing pressure, with the effects of fiscal tightening and regional military adventurism serving as a catalyst.
Saudi "Vision 2030" Obscures Human Rights Repression

October 20, 2016

The Saudi Arabian government's "Vision 2030” is an ambitious plan for modernizing the country's economy, but the institutionalized repression of human rights, such as speech and assembly freedoms and due process, reflects the authoritarian influences of the country's Wahhabi ruling elites.
Education Is Battleground for Islamists in Jordan

October 18, 2016

The Jordanian Ministry of Education's textbook reform initiative, moving away from messages equating Islam with ethics and citizenship toward messages of religious pluralism, highlights a recognition by state policymakers that Islamists are targeting public education for religious indoctrination, radicalization, and militant activism.
Floggings Increase as Sharia Intensifies in Indonesian Province

October 18, 2016

Indonesia's Aceh Province, governed by sharia law since the negotiated victory of an Islamist insurgency there in 2005, has witnessed a sharp increase in public floggings as a mode of imposing Islamic social conformity, signaling a subtle shift in the local impact of Islamism in the country with the world's largest Muslim population.
Chess Becomes New Islamization Battleground

October 11, 2016

The decision of a US women's chess champion to boycott the 2017 Women's World Chess Championship in Iran due to Islamic Republic laws imposing hijabs on the participants has provoked an international debate over the impacts of forced Islamization in sports on gender rights.