Violence and Security

Austrian Authorities Respond to Vienna Attack by Closing Two Mosques and Conducting Security Review

November 09, 2020

In the wake of a lone-wolf jihadist attack that killed four people in Vienna, Austrian security authorities have closed two mosques deemed a risk for promoting Islamist extremism and anti-Westernism and are reviewing intelligence lapses that failed to act on warnings about the attacker.
Philippines IS Branch Shows Durability & Resilience Despite Huge Counter-Terrorism Ops & Expenditures

November 04, 2020

The IS branch in the Philippines continues to demonstrate resilience and durability in the face of multi-million-dollar, US-Philippines counter-terrorism training and operations, using local-familial networks for recruiting and a combination of narcotics trade and hostage-taking to generate sustained financing.
Turkey Appeals to Islamists Accusing France of New Christian Crusades

November 02, 2020

Turkey's president is turning up civilizational discourse pitting Muslims against Christians, accusing France of "relaunching the Crusades" and guilty of "a culture of barbarity" in the aftermath of an Islamist beheading a French school teacher who showed his class satirical cartoons of Islam's prophet Mohammed.
Islamist Knife Attack Kills Three at French Basilica in Nice

November 02, 2020

France's security officials are treating the killing of three people by a Tunisian undocumented immigrant in a knife attack at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice as an Islamist terrorist episode, based on the escalating cycle of violence related to the Charlie Hebdo satirical cartoons condemned as blasphemous by Muslim-majority countries worldwide.
Turkey Pushes Neo-Ottomanist Foreign Policy in Jerusalem

October 28, 2020

Turkey's President is pushing its neo-Ottomanist foreign policy and Muslim world leadership aspirations to Jerusalem, using a combination of Islamist and nationalist rhetoric to claim Turkey's rights as a custodian over Temple Mount and Al Aqsa mosque.
Seven Charged in Beheading of French Teacher

October 28, 2020

French authorities arrested seven individuals on terrorism charges associated with last week's beheading of a Paris middle school teacher, who believed they were acting upon an Islamist "fatwa", or legal ruling, for blasphemy by the teacher for showing images of Islam's Prophet Mohammed to his students.
Expanding Jihadist Threat in Burkina Faso Further Destabilizes African Sahel

October 21, 2020

NY Times reports that violence is expanding in Burkina Faso, as Islamist extremists groups are taking full advantage of African state militaries and government failures in West Africa to expand jihadist violence and destabalize the Sahel region.
Jihadists Continue West African Violence by Kidnapping and Killing in Cameroon

October 21, 2020

Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), two jihadist groups operating across West Africa, continue their campaign of violence in Cameroon, killing three civilians and kidnapping five children.
BBC Investigation Uncovers Child Abuse in Sudan's Islamic Schools

October 21, 2020

An 18-month undercover investigation by BBC News Arabic in 23 has revealed extensive evidence of child abuse in many of Sudan's Sufi Islamic schools, including physical violence and sexual assault.
Beheading of French Teacher Highlights "Cyber-Islamism" as a Problem

October 21, 2020

Due to the role that social media may have played leading up to the beheading of a French middle school teacher by a Chechen Islamist for using cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammed in a classroom discussion about free speech, French state authorities met with global social media company representatives to address the problem of "cyber-Islamism," which enables Islamist propaganda to be deployed on social media in order to incite violence.