Violence and Security

Fatwas Signal Support for IS Use of Nuclear, Chemical Weapons

July 26, 2017

Although Islamic State (IS) supporters have used relatively low-cost and easily available conventional weapons to this point, radical imams have issued fatwas approving the use of nuclear and chemical weapons for jihad.
NGO Criticizes Indonesian Ban of Islamist Group

July 26, 2017

Human Rights Watch has posted a press release asserting that the Indonesian government's decision to ban the Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir, which supports the replacement of democracy in the country with a caliphate based on sharia law, "constitutes a troubling infringement of the rights of freedom of association and expression."
Canadian Police Issue Warrant for Imam Inciting Killing of Jews

July 21, 2017

Canadian police have issued an arrest warrant on a hate crimes charge for a Jordan Imam who sermonized in Montreal's Saint-Michel mosque, where he cited Koranic passages to support his call for killing of Jews.
ECtHR Affirms Broad Grounds for "Hate Speech" Criminalization

July 21, 2017

In the case of Belgium's conviction of the leader of the "Sharia4Belgium" movement for promoting violence against non-Muslims, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) supported the conviction on the grounds that states may prevent incitement to "hatred, discrimination and violence" and "oppose political movements based on religious fundamentalism."
UN Chief: Target "Hate Speech" to Prevent Atrocities

July 20, 2017

At the launch of an initiative to prevent atrocities, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that averting such crimes requires combating "the proliferation of hate speech - both online and offline" that could "spread hostility and hatred" and lead to the normalization of violence.
UNESCO Event Prioritizes Diversity in Preventing Terrorism

July 20, 2017

At a UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) event on how to use "educational media" to prevent "violent extremism," speakers emphasized the importance of promoting "inclusion and respect for diversity" and "citizenship education" in school textbooks and curricula to blunt the force of extremist messaging.
OSCE Event Counters Religious Clothing Restrictions

July 20, 2017

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights recently held a roundtable in Amsterdam for NGOs and representatives of the Muslim and Jewish communities to discuss state restrictions on religious rites and practices, including on religious clothing, within the OSCE and how to form "sustainable national advocacy coalitions" to combat such restrictions.
Experts Brace for Potential IS-Qaeda Merger

July 19, 2017

Experts on Islamist extremism are suggesting that the near future of global jihadism will very possibly be shaped by a merger between the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda movements, which will generate renewed resilience and impact in the internationalization of Islamist extremist ideology and strategies of violence aimed at the singular goal of achieving a global caliphate.
UN Official Seeks Distribution System for Migration in Europe

July 19, 2017

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has called for European countries to offer a "joined-up, comprehensive regional approach," a distribution system, and expanded legal avenues for migration to relieve Italy of problems related to mass migration to the country.
UN Officials Seek Global Deal on Migration Pathways

July 19, 2017

At a recent UN Global Forum on Migration and Development in Berlin, UN officials emphasized the international organization's desire to create a globally harmonized migration policy expanding legal pathways for cross-border movement beginning with a global compact on migration to be based on human rights law and agreed in 2018.