Violence and Security

Violent Islamist Groups Squeezing out Non-Extremist Forces in Syria

November 05, 2014

Violent Islamism, led by The Islamic State (“IS”) along with Free Syrian Army defections to Al-Qaeda affiliate Al-Nusra Front, is crowding out any non-extremist alternative to the al-Assad regime in Syria.
Jihadi Islamism Has Deepened Roots in the Netherlands

November 05, 2014

A new Dutch Intelligence Service report analyzes the sophisticated adaptation of recruitment, organizational, and ideological tactics by militant Islamist groups that account for the deep rooting of jihadi Islamism in the Netherlands.
Western Allies in Mideast Part of Problem in Spread of Violent Extremist Islamism

November 05, 2014

The support of key Western allies, such as Turkey and the Gulf monarchies, for jihadi caliphate proclaimed in the Mideast by the Islamic State (“IS”) continues to be instrumental in IS's expansion of territorial control in Iraq and Syria.
UN Report Details Globalization of Extremist Islamism

November 05, 2014

A new report by the United Nations (“UN”) Security Council reveals that extremist Islamism committed to violent jihad is successfully and rapidly globalizing its recruitment and that jihadis returning to non-Muslim-majority countries of origin are a potential security threat for violent attacks.
Violent Islamists Try Teen Recruitment for Attacks in Western Assets

November 05, 2014

The Islamic State has tried to recruit a young teen in Austria for a series of bombings in the country, according to state authorities holding the teen for questioning.
Nigeria's Violent Islamists Commit Atrocities Against Kidnapped Girls

October 29, 2014

Boko Haram, the violent Islamist group fighting to impose sharia law throughout Nigeria, has committed wholesale rape and forced marriage against schoolgirls kidnapped by the group, according to a new report based on escaped girls' interviews with Human Rights Watch.
Islamic State Implements Youth Recruitment Program for Violent Extremism

October 29, 2014

The Islamic State (formerly ISIS, or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) has already begun to implement a widespread youth recruitment program in Iraq and Syria – including education in sharia practice and jihad, military service involving frontline fighting and blood transfusions for jihadis – aimed at cross-generational radicalization, according to field data from international organizations and human rights groups.
Jihadi Cells Ally with Illegal Cartels to Foment Unrest in Tunisia

October 29, 2014

In the run-up to national elections in Tunisia, armed jihadi cells are strengthening their ties with drug and arms cartels to foment unrest and influence election outcomes, as detailed in a new report by the International Crisis Group.
Islamist Radicalism Presumed Motivation for Gunman's Attack in Canadian Parliament

October 23, 2014

Canadian authorities are investigating yesterday's shooting by a Quebec citizen who converted to Islam as a sign of spreading Islamist radicalism into Canada, in the wake of the country's participation in the coalition against the jihadi extremist movement known as The Islamic State.
Chinese State Confronts Possible Islamist Radicalization with New Program Combining Economic Development and Intelligence Gathering

October 22, 2014

The Chinese state is undertaking a new program that combines economic development with intelligence surveillance in Xinjiang Province, in an effort to defuse potential causes and catalysts of Islamist radicalization among the country's large Uighur Muslim minority.