Tag: Islamic extremism

Indonesia: ‘Saudi influence behind rise in Islamic extremism’, as churches continue to be closed

September 19, 2017 Indonesia Banten, Bekasi, Bogor, Churches, Indonesia, Islamic extremism, Java, Nahdlatul Ulama, Pentecostals, Santa Clara, Saudi Arabia, Tangerang, Wahhabism

Thousands of Muslims from across Indonesia joined the Islamic-hardliners in Jakarta to protest against Jakarta’s (former) Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ('Ahok') on 4 November 2016 for allegedly insulting Islam when citing a Quranic verse. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

“The election and trial of Jakarta’s former governor ‘Ahok’ have exposed increasing radicalization in Indonesia, especially among the young … and it has led to a more aggressive campaign to confront Islamist radicalism,” writes Paul Marshall. In his article for the Lausanne Movement, the Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at . . . Read More

Filipino priest Teresito Suganob free after 4 months as hostage

September 18, 2017 Philippines Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Islamic extremism, Marawi, Maute, Mindanao, Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, Teresito Suganob

Fr. Teresito “Chito” Suganob in a still taken from a video shortly after his release.

Catholic Filipino priest Teresito “Chito” Suganob is finally free, having been held hostage by Islamic State-linked militants for almost four months in the war-torn city of Marawi. According to The New York Times, the priest was rescued late on Saturday (16 September) by the Philippines military, as it moved closer . . . Read More

Saudi schoolbooks ‘teach students to hate those of other faiths’

September 18, 2017 Saudi Arabia Children, Education, Islamic extremism, Saudi Arabia, Sunni, USA

The Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Grand mosque in the capital Riyadh. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Students in Saudi Arabia’s schools receive religious education that “contains hateful and incendiary language” towards other Islamic traditions than Sunni Islam, and severe criticism of Jews, Christians and people of other faiths, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report says. The comprehensive review of schoolbooks for religious studies for the 2016-17 . . . Read More

Women in Tunisia now free to marry spouse of choice

September 15, 2017 Tunisia Islamic extremism, Middle East, North Africa, Tunisia, Women

A group of women in Tunisia. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Women in Tunisia can now marry whomever they wish, even if their spouse is a non-Muslim, reports the BBC. The announcement today was made by the spokeswoman for President Beji Caid Essebsi. Previously, only men in the 99 per cent Muslim nation had the freedom to marry a non-Muslim, while, . . . Read More

Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits ‘they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in’

September 14, 2017 Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Cairo, Copts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Kidnapping, Minya, Salafism, Women

“I remember a Coptic Christian girl from a rich, well-known family in Minya. She was kidnapped by five Muslim men. They held her in a house, stripped her and filmed her naked. In the video, one of them also undressed. They threatened to make the video public if the girl . . . Read More

Nigerian government ‘complicit’ in ‘stealth jihad’, say Christian leaders

September 13, 2017 Nigeria Boko Haram, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria

A group representing senior Christians in Nigeria has accused the government of trying to Islamise the country. In a statement on 6 September, ‘Jihad in Nigeria: burying the head in sand’, the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) said jihad threatened the unity of the country. NCEF is composed of a number . . . Read More

Pakistani, 17, targeted by teacher and students, dies after beating on second day of high school

September 12, 2017 Pakistan Burewala, Caste, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Islamic extremism, Mardan, Pakistan, Punjab, Sharoon Masih, Vehari

The mother of a 17-year-old Christian beaten to death in his classroom, on his second day in high school, has told the police that her son was “hated because of his religion”. Sharoon Masih was on only his second day at MC Model High School in Vehari, Punjab when it . . . Read More

5 Things to know about violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt

September 11, 2017 Nigeria Boko Haram, Fulani herdsmen, Iran, Islamic extremism, Kaduna, Middle Belt, Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Taraba, West Africa

A village head inside his destroyed home in one of the villages in Southern Kaduna that were attacked by Fulani herdsmen, in May 2017. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

In northern Nigeria, targeted violence against Christians comes not only from the Islamic militants of Boko Haram. Clashes with militants among the predominantly Muslim Fulani herdsmen have claimed thousands of Christian lives in Nigeria’s Middle Belt – the handful of states straddling the pre-colonial line dividing Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north from . . . Read More

Fulani’s family had him jailed on false charges – because he’s a Christian

September 11, 2017 Nigeria Converts, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Jos, Nigeria, Sharia

A Fulani boy herding cattle in Bauchi State, northern Nigeria.

Belonging to the ethnic Fulani tribe means you are almost certainly Muslim. When Bulus*, a Nigerian living in northern Bauchi State, decided he wanted to become a Christian, he was not only ostracised by his family – they also made sure he ended up in prison on false charges. Bulus’ . . . Read More

‘There will never be peace for Nigeria’s Middle Belt unless there’s equality and justice’

September 11, 2017 Nigeria Boko Haram, ECWA, Fulani herdsmen, Islamic extremism, Kaduna, Middle Belt, Nigeria, Sahel, West Africa

Obscured by Boko Haram’s headlines, violence has also raged further south, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt: a less reported, years-long campaign which experts now believe has been responsible for more deaths than Boko Haram. Militants among the ethnic Fulani, a predominantly Muslim and nomadic population of cattle herders, are suspected of targeting . . . Read More

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