Category: Islamists

Evolving Terror: how to roll back innovative jihadists’ ‘toxic ideologies’

     

It was a quarter of a century ago this week, on February 26, 1993, when a group of jihadist terrorists, some of whom had trained in Afghanistan, tried to bring down the… Read more »

‘God That Failed’ former extremists now champion liberal democracy

     

Just as ‘The God That Failed’ generation of former Communists became some of the most articulate and effective opponents of Soviet totalitarianism, some former radical Islamists are emerging as champions… Read more »

Use counter-narratives to combat extremist ideology

     

Many efforts to provide counter-narratives for Salafi-jihadism are currently failing to address extremists’ abuse of religious scripture directly, according to analysts Rachel Bryson and Milo Comerford. Efforts to combat extremism… Read more »

‘Dark clouds’ of extremism threaten Indonesia’s democracy

     

The United Nations’ human rights chief has warned of the “dark clouds” of political extremism and intolerance that are building over Indonesia. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has highlighted the blasphemy laws… Read more »

Merits and limits to democracy promotion in the Middle East

     

To advocate true democracy in the Arab world is a tough sell at the best of times. In the wake of the “Arab Spring,” a half-decade that witnessed some of… Read more »

Egypt’s ‘classic authoritarian bargain’ proves to be the worst ever counterterrorism strategy

     

When it comes to the Middle East these days, the buzzword in the international community is “stabilization,” as opposed to “transition,” notes Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European… Read more »

Political Islam After the Arab Spring: Between Jihad and Democracy?

     

  Around 1,000 Indonesians, led by hardline Islamist groups, protested outside parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers approved a presidential decree banning civil organizations deemed to go against the country’s secular… Read more »

‘Islamic State not finished’ – governance key to preventing resurgence

     

As the campaigns to wrest the Islamic State from the territory it held in Iraq and Syria near completion, new conflicts may arise if old political arrangements prevail, according to… Read more »