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Islamic State Gaining Traction in Central Asia and in Child Recruitment
January 15, 2015
A newly released video by The Islamic State ("IS") showing a Kazakh child soldier executing two Russians reflects the growing sophistication in propaganda tools, recruitment techniques, and geographic scope of the jihadi Islamist group, which continues to ramp up its recruitment of child soldiers and its expansion beyond the Middle East.
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Islamist Attack in Paris Renews Debates About Links Between Islam and Violence
January 15, 2015
The deadly attack by violent Islamists on the French newspaper offices of Charlie Hebdo has added to the already-fraught global debates about the nature of the relationship between Islam and violence, catalyzing particularly intense disagreements amongst Muslim scholars and public intellectuals.
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Charlie Hebdo Episode Highlights Pernicious Effects of Blasphemy and Apostasy Laws in OIC Countries and Beyond
January 14, 2015
The Islamist extremist attack on the Charlie Hebdo newspaper offices in Paris highlights the continuing, pernicious effects of blasphemy and apostasy laws common across member-states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation ("OIC"), where limits on freedom of expression are commonly used by both Islamist and secularist governments in conflict with each other.
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Global Political Islamism Has Deep Roots and Sharp Internal Divides
January 14, 2015
The current expressions of political Islamism that are creating global instability are rooted in a century-long evolution of competing, fractious movements and groups, all of which define themselves in terms of Islam, with differing approaches to politics, economics, and resort to violence.
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Saudi Arabia Publicly Flogs Journalist as Islamic Punishment for Free Speech
January 14, 2015
A well-known blogger and rights activist was publicly flogged today in Saudi Arabia, as punishment for "insulting Islam and promoting apostasy," crimes according to the country's Sunni Wahhabi religious establishment.