In The News

Call for Inclusiveness May Not Work for Middle East's Sectarian Divide

Dilip Hiro June 18, 2014
ISIS, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, began as an Al Qaeda offshoot in Iraq and is described as more fanatical than the parent group. With up to 5000 troops, ISIS controls an area of Syria and now storms through northern Iraq exploiting power vacuums and frustrations over minority rights. The group imposes a rigid Sunni interpretation...

ISIS: The Greatest Terror Threat Since Osama bin Laden

Jamsheed Choksy and Carol E.B. Choksy June 17, 2014
The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, otherwise known as ISIS, is storming through Iraq. The Iraqi army as so failed to stop or contain the Sunni militants, and ISIS retrieves equipment abandoned by the Iraqis. The group is well funded, initially with aid from Qatar and Saudi Arabia for Syria rebels. “The Obama administration claims it will stand alongside the elected government in Baghdad,...

Severity of Crisis in Maghreb/Sahel Regions Intensifies: MEA-Risk

Arezki Daoud June 12, 2014
The Northern African region faces new security challenges of terrorism, separatism and organized crime that stem from regional conflicts, political persecution, poverty, inequality and mobility. The North Africa Journal and its sister company MEA–Risk detail the risks for the nations of North Africa. Libya, after international intervention that led to the downfall of longtime dictator Muammar...

Boko Haram Beyond Nigeria: Girls' Education Under Threat

Bina Shah June 11, 2014
Many are quick to blame Islam in the aftermath of Boko Haram’s kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in Nigeria.. The real danger is not the religion, but rather fundamentalists’ beliefs that girls should not be educated, argues Bina Shah in an article for Al Jazeera. Directing anger at all Muslims is another form of extremism, she suggests, and the more pressing and solvable issue is that...

Why There Is No Stopping Boko Haram

Gayatri Chandrasekaran May 12, 2014
Law-abiding citizens are frustrated about extremism and acts of terrorism – including Boko Haram’s kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria as well as their violent attacks on towns and markets. The group’s aim is to establish a religious state in Nigeria and impose archaic rules. “A world that had become accustomed to news of the usual manifestations of terror from groups...

Jihad in Nigeria: Past Lives On

Lamin Sanneh April 29, 2014
Boko Haram, a Salafist extremist group continues to terrorize northern Nigeria in a quest for a strict Islamist state. A bomb killed 75 in Abuja, April 14, followed the next day by the kidnapping of more than 200 girls from a school in Chibok. The group’s Arabic name suggests intention to wage jihad. But violence and coercion belie the meaning of jihad – a struggle against unbelief, mainly within...

Taliban Victory in Afghanistan Would Pose Problem for Pakistan

Riaz Hassan April 15, 2014
Perhaps no country depends more on stability in Afghanistan – as determined by fair elections, smooth withdrawal of foreign forces, long-term military agreement with the United States, and ongoing foreign aid – than Pakistan. Because of demographics and a history of conflict, Pakistan may well be relieved by Taliban political failure in Afghanistan, suggests sociology professor Riaz Hassan....