Religious Extremism

Turkey’s Anti-IS Strategy Belies Reality of Negligence Towards Jihadists

July 21, 2021

Turkey’s intelligence and security apparatus has evidenced a recent shift away from the permissive conditions allowing IS cells to operating with relative impunity from inside the NATO-member’s territory, but the recalibration is exclusively focused on preventing possible attacks inside Turkey rather than a comprehensive policy change that indicates rejection of the jihadist group’s ideology and mission.
Morocco: Security Experts Debate Islamist Extremist Rehabilitation Strategy

July 21, 2021

Morocco has used a strategy of prison rehabilitation to reintegrate convicted Islamist extremists back into society, but leaders are debating the policy as evidence mounts that “rehabilitated” individuals are increasingly relocating to Western countries where speech and media freedoms create permissible conditions for online recruitment and ideological radicalization for transnational jihadist activities.
Jihadist Radicalization & Recruitment via Internet

July 16, 2021

The success of Islamist extremist groups in virtual radicalization and recruitment has been facilitated by the combined use of hard and soft platforms, with the former marked by higher barriers to entry to terrorist operational infrastructures and the latter offering a “friendly” access to social media sites that are useful forl the ideological radicalization that is the gateway to terrorism.
Afghan Women March Against Expanding Control of Taliban

July 12, 2021

Hundreds of Afghan women marched in a street demonstration against the expanding control of the Islamist extremist Taliban across the South Asian country, with women wielding weapons in what they described as their readiness to fight against Taliban bans on female education and freedom of movement without a male guardian.
Jihadist Groups Resilient in Sahel as French Forces Withdraw

July 12, 2021

Jihadist groups across West Africa are proving resilient in implementing sharia law across the Sahel region, at a time when France is shutting down its seven-year troop presence designed to push back Islamist extremism and, instead, turning to participate in a multi-European force deviated to countering the spread of al-Qaeda and Islamic State groups in Africa.
Hamas Joins Other Islamist Militant Groups in Running Child Training Camps

July 07, 2021

Hamas leadership announced a summer camp program for youth recruitment and training in the military operations of the Islamic terrorist group, joining other Islamist militant groups such as Iran's Al-Mahdi Brigades and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in ideological indoctrination and weapons use for purposes of Islamist operations in the Middle East and beyond.
Taliban Captures Territory & Materiel in Afghanistan

July 07, 2021

NBC reports that the Taliban is advancing their goal of implementing a sharia state in Afghanistan as the U.S. withdraws its peacekeeping forces, matching their territorial gains with capture of military materiel from the Afghan government and continuing to intensify targeted attacks against those opposed to an Islamist regime in the country.
Al-Monitor: IS Penetration Into Turkey Is Extensive

July 05, 2021

Al-Monitor reports that the Islamic State (IS) operatives and support agents have penetrated deep into the social and political fabric of NATO’s Islamist member Turkey, due to the porousness of Turkey’s border with Iraq and Syria, the coordination failures of Turkish government agencies working in countering violent extremism, and the well-organized Turkish IS cells.
Iranian Elections Reveal Power of New Islamist Revolutionary Caste

June 30, 2021

Al-monitor reports that the election of Islamist hardliner Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s new president makes clear that there will be no changes in the Shiite theocratic regime’s foundational ideology or policies, but more significantly, points to the growing power of a young revolutionary caste, “Hezbollahis,” committed to the continuing revolution.
Mideast Autocracies Focus on Education to Promote Islamism

June 25, 2021

A newly-completed comparative study by Israeli-based IMPACT-SE, a non-profit organization working on education, tolerance, and peace building, reports that Mideast autocracies are using education as a major tool for monopolizing control over religio-nationalist ideologies at home and for exporting authoritative interpretations of Islamism abroad.