Violence and Security

IS Collapse Enables Iranian Islamist Model

November 28, 2017

The military defeat of Islamic State (IS) has created a window of opportunity for the consolidation of an alternative model of global Sunni jihadism, as Iran strengthens its anti-IS client relationships in Syria and Iraq to consolidate a Shiite Islamist arc in the Mideast that will function as a platform for export and promotion of global jihad.
US Islamic Charity NGOs Host Islamist Extremists

November 28, 2017

Two Islamic charities registered in Virginia recently hosted at a fundraising conference extremist Islamist imams from Pakistan, the US, and Canada who advocated the legitimacy of violent jihad against "ignorant Infidels," urged attorneys to use the courts to restrict the religious freedom of heretics, and pushed American Muslims to combat "conspiracies against Islam."
Pakistan Releases Alleged Mumbai Attacker

November 28, 2017

A judicial review court in Pakistan ordered the release from detention of the Islamist cleric who allegedly masterminded the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, despite the fact that the US has offered a $10 million bounty for the cleric, who is affiliated with the militant Islamist group Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which the UN has designated a terrorist organization.
IS Proves Resilient Threat to Global Security

November 28, 2017

Though anti-Islamic State (IS) coalition forces have terminated the IS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, a new Israeli think tank report warns of resilient IS activity localized in Libya and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and that highly skilled, ideologically committed IS foreign fighters pose a long-term threat to stability in their Eurasian and North African countries of origin.
Jihadist Kills Nigeria Mosque Worshipers

November 27, 2017

A teenage suicide bomber blew up a mosque on Nigeria’s border with Cameroon in the most recent high-casualty attack bearing all the hallmarks of the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram, which continues its guerrilla war to spread sharia law to all of East Africa.
NGO Seeks Nuanced View of Sources of Terrorism

November 21, 2017

In the wake of the Barcelona terror attack, Cristina Goni of Open Society Foundations calls for national leaders to adopt a nuanced view of the causes of violent extremism and avoid feeding into hateful discourse that promotes "polarizing" narratives and a "Eurocentric understanding" of identity in European countries.
CoE Publishes Report on Countering "Information Pollution"

November 21, 2017

The Council of Europe (CoE) recently commissioned a report calling for national governments, tech companies, and other actors to implement policies to counter the phenomenon of "information pollution," in which dis-information campaigns rely on social media platforms to create an environment of disorder.
CoE Official Opposes Refugee Family Restrictions

November 21, 2017

Arguing that "simply playing the numbers game" in migration policy "is short-sighted," the Council of Europe's (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks has issued a report arguing that family reunification restrictions for refugees "are often incompatible with the letter or spirit of human rights standards" and calling for litigation to address "unnecessary" restrictions.
Boko Haram Strategy Aims to Weaken Nigeria’s Military

November 20, 2017

Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram is expanding its approach to terrorist imposition of sharia in the geopolitically crucial West African country by augmenting jihadi direct attacks on urban soft targets with direct attacks on rural military sites to capture materiel and degrade infrastructure.
Belgian Parliament Debates Control of Grand Mosque

November 20, 2017

The Belgian Parliament is debating the current legal contract with Saudi Arabia that gives the Kingdom control over Belgium's largest mosque, as concerns mount in the EU capital city over Islamist extremism and terror attacks in Europe that experts have linked to the radicalized preaching and networks centered in the mosque.