Dispatches from troubled lands
They deserve attention – BHL’s self-promotion notwithstanding
Quran
Al Qaeda praises Taliban’s ‘historic victory’ in Afghanistan
Al Qaeda’s senior leadership has released a two-page statement congratulating the Islamic ummah on the occasion of the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan. The brief message was distributed online by As...
Op-eds
The Realignment
On Iran, Biden is finishing what Obama started. And his top advisers are all on board.
Op-eds
Al Qaeda leader threatens Myanmar in new video
Al Qaeda’s main propaganda arm, As Sahab, has released a new video titled, “The Wound of the Rohingya is the Wound of the Ummah.” The 21-minute propaganda film features undated audio clips of Ayman...
Op-eds
Came the Islamic Revolution
The theocrats who seized power in Iran are still widely misunderstood
Op-eds
Trump Must Hold Hamas’ Terror Proxies Accountable
By employing HAA as a proxy, Hamas can carry out terrorist attacks while maintaining plausible deniability.
Op-eds
Pandemic Exposes the Paranoid Style of Iran’s Supreme Leader
Iran’s supreme leader wants you to know that it’s not his fault. On March 22, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to ravage Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suggested that the United States bore responsibility...
Op-eds
Brothers in Arms
The Consolidation of the Turkey-Qatar Axis
Monographs
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi praises the Islamic State’s global operations
Undeterred by the loss of his territorial caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi preaches patience in a newly released audio message. Baghdadi’s message was released online yesterday via various...
Op-eds
Shabaab’s jihad against the ‘leaders of disbelief’
Shabaab’s latest video features a clip of Ayman al-Zawahiri criticizing “corrupt regimes” that are allied with America. Shabaab, al Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, has released a lengthy video that...
Op-eds
Fraternal Islamists: Getting to Know the Muslim Brotherhood
Episode 38
Foreign Podicy
It’s Time for Saudi Arabia to Stop Exporting Extremism
Trump should not waste his opportunity to begin repairing Wahhabism’s trail of wreckage.
Op-eds
German police rolled out red carpet for Hezbollah-affiliated group
The US, Israel, the Arab League, and Canada classify all of Hezbollah as a terrorist entity. Germany and the EU have merely proscribed Hezbollah’s so-called military wing a terrorist organization.
Op-eds
Some ‘Modernizer’
Is Saudi Arabia’s crown prince joining a long line of absolutist rulers in the Middle East?
Op-eds
Human Rights Groups Slam Iran for Prison Terms of Christians and Dervishes
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch blasted the Islamic Republic of Iran for its sweeping violent crackdown on Christians and Dervishes, including imposing lengthy prison terms on the me...
Op-eds
Censorship and Sanctions: Should the US Sanction Iran’s Minister of Culture?
This past April, the Iranian regime announced an ostensible concession to the country’s beleaguered, long-censored journalists: Tehran would offer 100 of them unrestricted internet access. But there was a catch: The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance (MCIG) would need to vet all candidates for loyalty to the regime’s Islamist ideology.
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia Can Win Islam’s War of Ideas
When U.S. President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House later this month, there will be no shortage of urgent issues to discuss — from the crown...
Op-eds
Did Iran’s Supreme Leader Help Acquit a Koran Reader who Raped Boys?
A member of Iran's quasi-parliamentary body, the Majlis, wrote on Twitter on Friday that individuals connected to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei improperly intervened to compel a co...
Op-eds
A Turkish TV blockbuster reveals Erdogan’s conspiratorial, anti-Semitic worldview
“The Last Emperor” is Turkey’s newest television blockbuster, consistently rating among Turkey’s ...
Op-eds
To Break the Moscow-Tehran Alliance, Target Iran’s Regime
Putin may not like the Islamic Republic, but it serves his interests in important ways.