Violence and Security

Islamists Impose Taxation or Beheading on Somali Population

December 05, 2016

Al Shabaab militants beheaded eight villagers in Somalia for refusing to pay taxation in kind, as the Islamist group continues its military campaign to establish sharia law throughout the war-ravaged East African state.
IS Claims Ohio State Attacker

December 05, 2016

The Islamic State (IS) has identified the Somali refugee and Ohio State University student who perpetrated a lone wolf knife attack on the university's campus as a "soldier" of the caliphate, suggesting that the assault was a response to IS propaganda calls for sympathizers to step up low-tech attacks in the name of the jihadi agenda.
EU Investigates IS Access to Slovenian Munitions

December 02, 2016

The discovery of munitions from Slovenia in Islamic State-controlled territories in the Mideast and North Africa is the subject of an EU inquiry aimed at identifying the access points to international weapons markets by which global Islamist extremist groups are able to acquire materiel used for jihadi attacks.
Europol Warns About IS Attacks in Europe

December 02, 2016

A new report by Europol's Counter Terrorism Center warns that, as the Islamic State retreats from its core caliphate territory in the Mideast, the Islamist jihadi group is likely to increase the scope, methods, and targets of terror attacks in European states.
Saudi-Iran Power Struggle Continues to Drive Mideast Chaos

December 02, 2016

Failed states, civilian casualties, and authoritarian regimes in the Mideast, along with the proliferation of global jihadi violence, are the outcomes of nearly three decades of competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran over Sunni-versus-Shiite Islamist hegemony on a regional and international scale.
Salafists Defy German Ban on Islamist Group

December 02, 2016

A German Salafist group that is a potential successor to an Islamist group banned by Germany's Minister of the Interior for its association with religious "hate messages and anti-constitutional ideology" has responded to the ban by distributing biographies of the Muslim prophet Mohammed.
EU Resolution Condemns Anti-Migrant "Hate Speech"

November 30, 2016

The European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee has passed a resolution on the situation of fundamental rights in 2015 criticizing "increasing levels of hate speech" in EU member states and calling on national governments to promote "positive" information campaigns to facilitate the integration of migrants in their communities.
OSCE Advocates "Gender Mainstreaming" to Counter Terror

November 30, 2016

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) recently held a meeting in Vienna on how governments should develop “gender-sensitive and human rights compliant responses," including through "gender mainstreaming," to counter "violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism."
EU Agency: "Hate Speech" Is Driver of Migrant Intolerance

November 30, 2016

A report from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) identifies "hate speech" as a type of "hate crime incident" to be addressed by broader action by EU member states, as such speech, according to the FRA, is a major driver of intolerance against migrants in the bloc.
Court Acquits "Shariah Police" Group in German City

November 30, 2016

Deutsche Welle reports that a German court's acquittal of a group of men in the city of Wuppertal wearing "Shariah Police" uniforms and instructing people not to drink alcohol or listen to music has laid bare tensions in the country, and others in which such uniforms have appeared, over the clash between sharia law and Western culture.