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Turkish President Eyes Aghia Sophia's Conversion into Mosque
April 22, 2019
The President of Turkey has once again raised the possibility of reverting Aghia Sophia, the 6th-century Orthodox Christian cathedral that was converted into a mosque and then a museum, into a functioning mosque in violation of rules accompanying the structure's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Islamic Banks Attract Unbanked with Lottery-Linked Payments
April 22, 2019
The latest trend in Islamic banking is the use of lottery-linked savings accounts to attract the large unbanked sectors of the Muslim populations in the Middle East and Asia.
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Christchurch Attacks Escalate Turkish Civilizational Threats
April 22, 2019
The recent attack by a white supremacist on two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch is generating intensified geopolitical tensions stoked by the Turkish President’s use of a civilizational discourse of Muslim versus Christian and a threat to send Australian and New Zealander tourists in Turkey “home in coffins.”
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Al-Qaeda Affiliate Ramps up Operations in Sahel
April 22, 2019
Burkina Faso is facing a major escalation of Islamist violence by the local al-Qaeda affiliate, which is seeking to recruit from the predominantly Muslim Fulani ethnic group in an intensifying campaign to bring sharia regimes to the Sahel region of the African Continent.
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Jihadist Groups Place Growing Pressure on West Africa
April 22, 2019
Various jihadist groups are expanding their operations in the West African countries of Ghana, Togo, and Benin from their core activities in Nigeria and Mali, collaborating with criminal networks trafficking in weapons and narcotics to weaken the region’s already fragile states and to secure an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.