Violence and Security

Islamic State Blends Modern State with Islamist Goals

February 25, 2015

The Islamic State ("IS") constitutes a new kind of threat to the international order, distinguished from conventional terrorist groups by the objectives of establishing a territorial state with extractive, administrative, and military that can be used to project sharia law and structures on a global, hegemonic scale.
Islamic State Differs from Other Islamist Groups in Mindset, Methods, and Goals

February 25, 2015

The Islamic State's ("IS") dogmatic commitment to violent, offensive jihad and to the implementation of a literalist interpretation of sharia law by establishing a global, territorial state differentiates IS from al-Qaeda and Salafist brands of violent Islamism.
Extremist Islamism Gets Strong Ideological and Material Support from Qatar

February 25, 2015

Despite diplomatic endorsements of Western and Mideast governments' efforts to counter Islamic State ("IS") and al-Qaeda, the Gulf Emirate of Qatar is using its mosques as a platform to endorse Wahhabi extremist Islamist ideology, while also providing monies, weapons, and sanctuary to those same jihadi groups.
Counter-Narratives Program Gets New Support in U.S. Efforts to Counter Islamist Extremist Recruitment

February 25, 2015

The Summit on Countering Violent Extremism organized last week by the White House announced that the State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications will become the main platform for using social media and electronic networking to generate counter-narratives in order to combat the successful digital recruitment drive of global Islamist terror groups, although skeptics raise concerns about the Center's past lack of impact due to weak funding and poor inter-agency integration.
Copenhagen Attacks Hint at Intersection of Gangs and Radical Islam

February 18, 2015

Danish security officials have expressed concerns that this past weekend's apparent lone-wolf attack at a free speech rally and a synagogue by a young Muslim gang member may hint at a deeper security threat of Islamist radicalization within the country's criminal youth gangs.
White House Summit Shows Complexities of Countering Domestic Threats of Global Islamism

February 18, 2015

This week's White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism is designed to showcase successful community-based initiatives that can serve as models for preventing the spread of global violent Islamism, but many America Muslim organizations are publicly criticizing the U.S. for securitizing and singling out their communities.
Week's Snapshot Shows Worrying Growth of Global Footprint of Violent Islamism

February 18, 2015

Radical Islamism was a common hallmark in episodes of country-specific violence with transnational effects and blowback, cutting across cases and affecting both non-Muslims and Muslims, from Africa and Asia to Europe and North America.
Boko Haram Attacks Impede Nigerian Democracy

February 18, 2015

The violent Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram is damaging democracy in Nigeria, given that regular jihadi attacks have prompted Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission to postpone the country’s general elections, while also damaging popular trust in democratic processes by giving fodder to critics charging that politics informs the postponement.
Countering Violent Islamism Requires Understanding Jihadi Distinctions

February 18, 2015

International policy efforts to counter the appeal and spread of violent, global political Islamism require precise understanding of different narratives of disruptive, oppositional jihad versus caliphate-state-building jihad.
UN Takes Aim at ISIS Finance Networks to Stop Islamist Terror

February 18, 2015

The UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution aimed at choking off Islamic State ("IS") funding by imposing sanctions and authorizing the possible use of force against states that enable IS in oil smuggling, antiquities trafficking, and negotiating kidnap ransoms.