In The News

Muslim Myopia

Irshad Manji August 25, 2006
Islamic scholar Irshad Manji does not dispute the claims laid out by mainstream British Muslims last week that the blunders in Iraq and Lebanon provide fuel for extremism. However, she also calls upon Muslim representatives in the West to be accountable for any of their own contributions to violence. Muslim-on-Muslim violence is endemic throughout the world, with Muslims responsible for as many...

Iran’s Lebanon Card

George Perkovich August 24, 2006
The growing success of Islamic extremists throughout the Middle East has emboldened Iran. The country flouts demands from the international community and ignores UN Security Council resolutions. As problems mount in the Middle East, Iran can negotiate on several fronts – for example, the country could promise not to interfere in Lebanon or Afghanistan, if it can proceed with nuclear enrichment....

Middle East: Marching Backward to the Future

Barry Rubin August 22, 2006
The fighting in Lebanon marks a return to an old worldview, a view once espoused by pan-Arab nationalists and now taken up by radical Islamists. The prevailing belief of extremist leaders is that the West is weak and can be defeated by Muslims willing to martyr themselves and engage in large-scale bloodshed. Victory, as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a recent speech, requires...

Terror Plot Exposes Flaws in How UK Tackles Extremism

Andrew Higgins August 21, 2006
Preventing extremism requires funds, resources and mutual understanding about the nature of terrorism. In a working-class London neighborhood, some residents take steps to provide a forum for Muslims and local officials to meet and reduce ethnic tensions. Imtiaz Qadir, owner of an Islamic gym and sauna called Al-Badr, has also started a youth center. Local officials visit, playing pool, talking...

British Law Against Glorifying Terrorism Has Not Silenced Calls to Kill for Islam

Souad Mekhennet August 21, 2006
British authorities suspect that extremist speech and writings stoke the anger of young men who turn to radical Islam and terrorist plots. A strict law – the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 – aims to curtail violent speech or publications. But clerics and online radicals test the limits of the law, adjusting their language just enough to avoid prosecution while keeping the angry context clear....

Preventing Misuse of Development Aid

Syed Mohammad Ali August 18, 2006
The difficulties in the appropriation of international aid are nothing new, writes researcher Syed Mohammad Ali. Donor governments have long faced accusations of distributing aid to countries deemed strategically important while shortchanging other crises. Aid groups struggle to distribute supplies in dangerous combat zones or simply in undeveloped areas with minimal infrastructure. Receiving...

Drop the “War on Terrorism” Metaphor

Richard N. Haass August 17, 2006
Although terrorists have yet to launch another attack on the scale of the September 11th attacks, the arrests in London remind the world that extremists still plot. Globalization allows would-be terrorists to move around easily, and modern technology such as weapons of mass destruction increases the potential for destruction and loss of life. The Bush administration insists that promoting...