Violence and Security

Weakening of IS Boosts Appeal of Islamist Caliphate

June 20, 2016

The expanding, globalizing appeal of an Islamist caliphate is the paradoxical and dangerous byproduct of the Islamic State's current military contraction in its core territories, as Sunni Muslims tend toward an extremist and defensive political reaction against what they characterize as a US-led sectarian (Shiite and Kurdish) campaign against IS.
UN Commission Finds IS Genocide Against Yazidis

June 17, 2016

A newly released report by the special UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria has concluded that the Islamic State has committed genocide against the Yazidis of Iraq, a religious minority considered by Islamists to be pagans who are treated as spoils of war.
NGO Warns of Breadth of European "Hate Speech" Laws

June 17, 2016

The nongovernmental advocacy organization ADF International warns that authorities are using broad restrictions on "hate speech" to shut down and chill speech related to religious issues across Europe.
UN Official Praises EU "Hate Speech" Code

June 17, 2016

At a conference in Paris, UNESCO's Director for Freedom of Expression and Media Development, Guy Berger, praised the EU's "code of conduct" for social media companies on when to remove "illegal hate speech" from their platforms and called for governments to assess restrictions on hate speech in terms of UN and other international instruments.
EU Anti-Radicalization Agenda Prioritizes "Hate Speech" Measures

June 16, 2016

The European Commission has prioritized countering "illegal hate speech online" and "promoting inclusive education and EU common values" in its announcement of how it will counter violent radicalization of European youth as part of its European Agenda on Security.
EU Launches High Level Group on "Intolerance"

June 16, 2016

The European Commission has launched a High Level Group on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Other Forms of Intolerance that will bring together an array of supranational and international organizations to coordinate an agenda on countering hate crimes and "illegal hate speech" on the internet in Europe.
Europe Faces Potential Jihadi Threat from Radical Islamist Inroads in Morocco

June 15, 2016

The uptick in radical Islamist ideology and jihadi recruitment in Morocco, due to spiking youth unemployment in the country and a relocation of Islamic State activities from the Levant to North Africa, poses a significant security threat to nearby Mediterranean European countries.
Radical Islamism Creates Pernicious Effects Inside US

June 15, 2016

The dangerous effects of radical Islamism inside the US are rippling beyond the lethal Islamic State-inspired shooting in Orlando, Florida, as President Barack Obama squabbles with other US political leaders about the strategic importance and homeland-security value of identifying the recent terror attack in terms of its origins in extremist Islamism.
FRA Takes on European "Hate Speech"

June 15, 2016

At a meeting of the EU’s High Level Group on combating racism and xenophobia in Brussels, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights Michael O'Flaherty asserted that countries must take a "zero tolerance" approach toward hate speech in the EU in order to promote an "open and tolerant society."
IS Follower Kills French Police Employees

June 15, 2016

Fears over terrorism and foreign fighters have resurfaced in France as a French citizen who pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State and had been convicted of working in a jihadi recruitment network killed a police officer and his partner, also a police employee, with a knife in Magnanville.