Islamic Extremism
Grooming the Next Generation of ISIS Terror
In the string of grisly videos released in the past seven months, beginning with ISIS’ execution of James Foley through the February beheading of 21 Coptic Christians, there is one that haunts me most. It is not one that showcases the devastating...
China’s Wild West
China’s largest province, Xinjiang, could become another front in the global war on terror if the government’s policies against Uyghur separatism do not become more nuanced soon. Marginalized from the country’s economic boom, separatists from the...
Religious Extremism Across Faiths
More than 20,000 foreign fighters from 80 countries have joined the ranks of ISIS and other extremist groups in Iraq and Syria. Somewhat surprisingly, of that total, almost 4,000 fighters have come from Western Europe. Why would so many leave...
Prisons – Incubators for Extremists
What do the perpetrators of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris and Copenhagen have in common? Beyond the similarity of their chosen targets, three of the four men were homegrown Islamist extremists radicalized in European prisons. Paris shooters...
Extremism – The Charitable Thing To Do?
The United Arab Emirates labeled two U.S. non-profit groups, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim American Society, as terrorist organizations in late 2014 due to connections to the Muslim Brotherhood. The U.S. has not...
The Foreign Fighter Phenomenon
As many as 20,730 foreigners have joined armed militant groups in Iraq and Syria, making the two countries the most popular destinations for Muslim foreigner fighters in modern history. While garnering tremendous media attention of late, the...
Female Suicide Bombers: What Makes Them Tick?
At one time, it was assumed that it was impossible to study the motives of women who sacrifice their lives during acts of terror, simply because those instances were so rare and isolated. However, as female participation in suicide bombings has...
Qutb: In His Own Words
Sayyid Qutb, (1906-1966) was a prominent Egyptian author and the intellectual father of modern jihadism. Following are representative examples of the frequently violent, divisive and extremist rhetoric characteristic of the man who became an icon of...
Broadening the Cybercrime Front
As evidenced by the recent cyberattack against Sony Pictures, acts of cyberterrorism are increasingly being committed by state actors. From mid-2012 to early 2013, a group called the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Cyber Fighters launched more than 200...
Al-Qaeda’s Hostage Business
Al-Qaeda cells and affiliated groups are increasingly reliant on the money they collect through kidnap-and-ransom operations. Although each group develops its own financial strategy, hostage-taking is a consistent and major source of income for AQ...
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