Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the new face of al-Qa’ida (and why he’s nothing like Osama bin Laden)
Robert Fisk on what he really means in the ‘war on terror’ “Had he his hurts before?” Siward asks of his slain son in Macbeth. He wants to know if […]
Middlemen : Swiss tread carefully in Mali mediation efforts
by Samuel Jaberg, swissinfo.ch Jan 30, 2013 – 11:00 Switzerland is trying to leverage its 35-year history in Mali, a priority country for Swiss development aid, to mediate between the […]
Haven’t We Seen This Movie Before? The Open-Ended Global War on Terrorism
by PEPE ESCOBAR COUNTERPUNCH.ORG And the winner of the Oscar for Best Sequel of 2013 goes to… The Global War on Terror (GWOT), a Pentagon production. Abandon all hope those who thought the whole thing was over with the cinematographic snuffing out of “Geronimo”, aka Osama bin Laden, further reduced […]
French-led troops ring Timbuktu, Islamists burn manuscripts
by Serge Daniel Daily Star, Lebanon Story Summary French-led troops ringed Mali’s fabled desert city of Timbuktu Monday after seizing its airport in a lightning advance as fleeing Islamists torched […]
Algeria, Mali, and why this week has looked like an obscene remake of earlier Western interventions
We are outraged not by the massacre of the innocents, but because the hostages killed were largely white, blue-eyed chaps rather than darker, brown-eyed chaps by Robert Fisk, The Independent, […]
Dozens held after Islamists attack Algerian gas field
Jan 16, 2013 – 10:58 By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS (Reuters) – Islamist militants attacked a gas field in Algeria on Wednesday, claiming to have kidnapped up to 41 foreigners including seven Americans in a dawn raid in retaliation for France’s intervention in Mali, according to regional media reports. The raiders […]
Syria jihadists eye post-Assad Islamic rule
AF JORDAN TIMES BEIRUT — Jihadist rule must spread over Syria after the ouster of Bashar Al Assad, the head of the hardline rebel Al Nusra Front said on Friday, […]
Student’s Tongue Cut in Possible Islamist Attack
Source: Spiegel An Indian man in Bonn claims to have been attacked and had his tongue lacerated by Islamists. He told police that a pair of perpetrators demanded that he convert to Islam before the assault. Police believe his story to be credible. More:
Islam, Liberalism and Egypt, Dr. Khalid Batarfi: Saudi Gazette
OPINION Islam, liberalism and Egypt Last Updated : Tuesday, December 25, 2012 12:38 AM Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi What’s going on in Egypt? I keep receiving questions about events in Egypt and not only from non-Arabs. Saudis and Egyptian expatriates are confused, too. Among the most frequent questions: Is it […]
French Government acts to protect secularism from religious extremists
The French Government appears to be lining up for a full-scale confrontation with the Catholic Church, which is increasingly trying to interfere in political processes. The socialist administration has announced it intends to establish a new agency to ensure the nation’s secularism is protected from religious extremism. The agency will […]
‘Islamists’ behind botched Bonn bombing
Source: The Local German prosecutors said on Friday they believed Islamist extremists were behind a botched bomb attack at Bonn train station. Media reports suggested the detonation device was triggered but for some reason the bomb did not go off. More:
Syria: Sunni Syrian rebels burn Shiite mosque: video
Story Summary A video posted on the Internet shows Sunni Muslim rebels burning a Shiite mosque in north Syria — a sign that the country’s civil war is spiralling into […]
Jordanian tapped to lead jihadist forces in Syria
by Taylor Luck | Dec 13, 2012 | JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — A Jordanian national has been tapped to lead jihadist forces in Syria, Islamist sources unveiled on Thursday. According to a Syrian Islamist source, the Jabhat Al Nusra Li Ahl Al Sham coalition has named Mustafa Abdul Latif Al […]
Religion and state in Egypt: An intractable problem
KHALED AL-DAKHEEL Monday 10 December 2012 THERE were three elements that led to the Arab “awakening” only to become a political force embraced by the masses and feared by the rulers. These elements are an issue of religion and state. This was the case of the relationship between the state […]
Egypt’s president cancels decree that sparked protests
Reuter ARABNEWS CAIRO: Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi has canceled a decree that gave him sweeping powers and sparked huge protests, but did not delay a referendum on a constitution as his opponents had demanded. The announcement came from the spokesman for politicians and other figures who took part in a […]
Six jihadists arrested near Syrian border
by Taylor Luck | Dec 08, 2012 | JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Authorities have arrested six jihadists along the northern border over the past 48 hours, officials said on Saturday, amid a reported rise in attempts by Islamic militants to infiltrate Syria. According to a security source, authorities arrested four […]
As Egypt’s Morsi remains defiant, a former top Brother speaks out (+video)
A former senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood outlined his disappointment in President Mohamed Morsi today, who is rushing through a new Egyptian constitution. By Gert Van Langendonck, Correspondent / December 6, 2012 Christian Science Monitor Cairo Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi addressed the nation tonight after two days of protests […]
U.S. might name Syrian rebel Nusra Front a foreign terrorist group
By Jonathan S. Landay and Hannah Allam — McClatchy Newspapers WASHINGTON — In an apparent bid to isolate Islamist extremists and bolster a new Western-backed Syrian opposition alliance, the United […]
Islamists (in Jordan) suggest two options to end Kingdom’s ‘political crisis’
by Khaled Neimat JORDAN TIMES AMMAN — Islamists on Monday suggested “two options” to overcome the current political crisis, under which they believe the Kingdom can restore stability. They called […]
Syria presents foreign fighter list in bid for UN to acknowledge terror acts
Syria has presented the UN Security Council a list of 143 foreign citizens killed in Syria fighting government troops. Damascus hopes the move will force the UN to declare the […]