Violence and Security

IS Goes Global, Local in Attacks Despite Caliphate's Collapse

May 29, 2019

The Islamic State (IS) Easter attacks on churches in Sri Lanka underscore that the territorial collapse of the caliphate in Iraq and Syria has failed to deter the Islamist jihadi group's cause, instead indicating a shift to a global insurgency model that relies on local support to target foreigners and wreak economic havoc.
UN Implicates Quranic Schools in Senegal in Child Trafficking

May 29, 2019

International human rights organizations and the UN have identified Quranic schools in Senegal as sources of child trafficking and exploitation networks extending regionally across West Africa.
Sri Lanka Bombings Reveal Broader South Asian Patterns

May 24, 2019

The Islamist terror Easter attacks on churches in Sri Lanka reveal a broader pattern of sectarian intolerance aggravated by economic inequity that is generating social fragmentation and religious violence across South Asia.
Paper Warns of Impacts of Broad UK “Islamophobia” Definition

May 24, 2019

A paper published by British think tank Policy Exchange warns that a broad definition of “Islamophobia” promoted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims threatens UK counterterrorism efforts that have a proven track record of preventing violence by permitting opponents to label these policies racist.
Taliban Leader Talks Sharia Goals Against Backdrop of “Peace Talks”

May 15, 2019

The Taliban’s lead negotiator in “peace talks” with the US for an American troop withdrawal from Afghanistan has gone public with his longterm objectives of establishing a sharia state in the geopolitically critical Southwest Asian nation after the Taliban “defeats the US superpower.”
IS Leader's Video Shows Caliphate's Staying Power

May 08, 2019

The recent video message of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after his long hiatus from public appearance is an important signal of the staying power and vision of IS, which al-Baghdadi made clear is now a global jihadist group committed to local disruptive operations and a long time horizon.
Sri Lanka Bans Islamic Face Coverings

April 29, 2019

The government of Sri Lanka has banned Islamic face coverings for women in the aftermath of the Easter Day suicide attacks by Islamist militants, citing security concerns that link wearing of the niqab/hijab to the creeping influence of Saudi Arabia on radicalization of Sri Lanka's Muslim population.
Al-Qaeda Leads as Islamist Threat in South Asia

April 26, 2019

Al-Qaeda in South Asia (AQIS) has pursued a strategy of radicalization and recruitment to make the key geopolitical region of the Indian subcontinent a new front in global jihadism.
Perpetrator of Sri Lanka Attacks Showed Warning Signs of Islamist Terror

April 26, 2019

The radical Muslim cleric who masterminded the Easter Sunday assaults on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka was an open preacher of Islamist fundamentalism and an advocate of violence against non-Muslims and non-conforming Muslims whose use of social media and Islamist rhetoric offer a blueprint for predicting future Islamist terror attacks.
IS Continues to Profit from Looting of Christian Sites

April 26, 2019

Islamic State (IS) fighters targeted Christian cultural and religious sites in Iraq and Syria for destruction, rapine, and looting, permitting IS networks to profiteer from the illicit sale of Christian artifacts on global black markets well after the military defeat of the caliphate in its core territories.