Religious Extremism

2019 Saw Expansion in Scope, Landscape, Impact of Islamist Extremist Groups in Africa

January 22, 2020

The landscape of Islamist extremist groups in Africa demonstrated a expansion in numbers of active organizations, as well as a measurable diffusion of violent and non-violent Islamist activities initially concentrated in East Africa to include the East Africa and Sahel region and North Africa.
Creeping Islamization Continues in NATO-Member Turkey

January 17, 2020

The Islamist government of NATO-member Turkey is implementing new legislation directing state financial auditors to apply Islamic jurisprudence to their regulations and activities, expanding the creeping Islamization of Turkish state and society.
Russia and Islamists Use Religion for Diplomatic and Geopolitical Interests

January 13, 2020

The Russian state is cooperating with "moderate" Islamism as a tool for expanding diplomatic relations and geopolitical influence with Islamist regimes that seek to expand their footprint in the Russian heartland of Eurasia.
Italy Expels IS-Supporting Moroccan Imam as Preventive Security Measure

January 13, 2020

Italy's Interior Minister confirmed the repatriation of a Moroccan Imam because of evidence of his support for the Islamic State.
Chapman: Iran's Long History of State-Sponsored Holocaust Denial

January 08, 2020

As the January 27th International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches, Michael Chapman provides a timeline of the Islamic Republic of Iran's holocaust denial and distortion from 1998-2016.
Polling Shows Weak Support Among Saudi Populace for Religious Tolerance

January 06, 2020

According to a survey in Saudi Arabia conducted by the Institute for Near East Policy, only 20% of those surveyed favored "interpreting Islam in a more moderate, tolerant direction."
Consolidation of Islamist Groups in West Africa Poses Threats of International Terrorism and Population Displacement

January 06, 2020

The possibility that the US and its European allies may draw down their military presence in West Africa raises the likelihood that the range of Islamist extremist groups already active in the region will consolidate their presence.
Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws Produce Another Death Sentence

December 31, 2019

In a decision condemned by international human rights groups, a court in Pakistan has handed down a death sentence to a young professor convicted under the country’s blasphemy laws, for insulting Islam’s prophet Mohammed and for blaspheming the Quran.
Canada’s B’nai Brith Flags Islamist Extremist Speakers

December 23, 2019

The Canadian chapter of the Jewish service organization B’nai Brith has criticized the inclusion of speakers with a public record of both anti-Semitic statements and connections to Islamist violence at a recent conference on Islamic knowledge.
Egyptian Imam Preaches Anti-Semitism

December 23, 2019

Preaching in Egypt's mosques and use of technology to transmit sermons continues to involve hate speech and an Islamist radical rejection of inter-faith tolerance, expressed in a recent internet video of an Egyptian imam preaching anti-Semitic language about Jews as treacherous and untrustworthy.