Sunni Islam

February 17, 2025 | Janatan Sayeh |

From Afghanistan to America: the rising reach of the Islamic State Khorasan Province

Four years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the threat posed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has expanded beyond the region, now endangering both American and European soil.

February 13, 2025 | Jonathan Schanzer |

Disruptions and Challenges in the Middle East

Significant challenges await the Trump administration’s attention.

February 12, 2025 | |

A ‘Country of Particular Concern’: Iran Rearrests Two Christians for Practicing Their Faith 

Iran’s Renewed Discrimination: The Islamic Republic once again incarcerated two Christians in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for practicing their faith, the religious freedom...

February 3, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

From Al-Qaeda Commander to Syrian President: Ahmad Al-Sharaa’s Ascent

The seismic transformation of the Syrian political landscape continues. On January 29, the country’s de facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, formally assumed the presidency, while the country’s 2012 constitution...

January 31, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Syria gets a new autocrat as Sharaa styles himself ‘president’

If the economy tanks, it’s likely Sharaa will return to his Islamic roots and produce a state similar to ISIS

January 29, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Continued chaos in Syria: Iraqi militias and an Alawite insurgency

On January 25, a new Iraqi militia, Kataib Awliya’ al Haq (Guardians of Truth Brigades), announced its formation. So far, the group has issued a single statement displaying its full name, logo, and...

January 29, 2025 | David Daoud |

Lebanon’s prime minister-designate is unlikely to confront Hezbollah

After a two-year vacancy, Lebanon finally has a president. On January 9, Joseph Aoun was swept into office as its fourteenth holder to Lebanese and international acclaim. More importantly, if...

January 28, 2025 | Matt Pottinger |

Memo to Trump: Beware the ‘Reverse Teddy’

I was proud to serve the president in his first term. But Trump’s strength in the Western Hemisphere could portend weakness in Europe and Asia in his second, writes Matt Pottinger.

January 28, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Syrian Government Uses Islamic Teaching to Recruit, Train New Security Forces

Syria’s new leaders insist they are committed to religious tolerance, yet they are employing their preferred variant of Sunni Islamic beliefs to recruit and train the country’s new security forces....

January 23, 2025 | |

During Ongoing Jenin Operation, IDF Eliminates Terrorists Who Killed Three Israelis

2 Gunmen Killed by IDF in Jenin: The IDF said it eliminated two Palestinian terrorists during counterterrorism operations in the West Bank who were responsible for murdering three...

January 21, 2025 | |

Kurdish-Led Syrian Democratic Forces Battle Turkish Proxies Amid Calls for Their Dissolution 

Battles Near Tishreen Dam Continue: Heavy fighting between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) around the Tishreen...

January 19, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Israel’s Dilemma in Lebanon

The 60-day ceasefire in Lebanon will end on January 26, six days after President Trump takes office. While Hizbullah suffered heavy losses during the two months of fighting from late September to...

January 17, 2025 | |

Syria’s New Rulers Call for UN Peacekeepers Along Syria-Israel Border

Al-Sharaa Says IDF Presence on Border No Longer Needed: Syria’s de-facto leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, said on January 16 that the new government would welcome UN peacekeepers in the...

January 16, 2025 | Ahmad Sharawi |

Alawite Fears Ignite Syria’s Coastal Chaos

Violence is spreading in Syria’s Mediterranean coastal region, home to the country’s largest concentration of Alawites, the religious minority whose members include the ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad....

January 15, 2025 | Sinan Ciddi, Sophia Epley

Turkey and HTS: A New Era of Extremism in Syria?

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2023, Syria is now controlled by an alliance of opposition groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). While there has...

January 15, 2025 | Mariam Wahba |

Former HTS fighter Ahmad Hammad al Mansour reportedly detained in Syria after threatening Egyptian president

The hashtag “Your turn, dictator” has been widely shared on Egyptian social media in the past two weeks. Modeled after the 2011 rallying cry “your turn, doctor” used against then-Syrian President...

January 15, 2025 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Good news and bad news from Lebanon as Nawaf Salam elected premier

Israel-bashing president of the International Court of Justice hardly seems the one to bring peace with neighbor

January 8, 2025 | Seth J. Frantzman |

Iran-Backed Militias Face Crisis After Assad’s Fall in Syria

Four years ago, in January 2020, a US drone carried out a strike in Iraq near Baghdad International Airport, killing Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force leader Qasem...

January 7, 2025 | David Adesnik |

In Verified Footage, New Syrian Justice Minister Presided Over Woman’s 2015 Execution  

The woman kneels on the pavement, waiting for a bullet to the back of her head. She has been convicted of “corruption and prostitution.” Standing behind her is Shadi al-Waisi, who currently serves...

January 3, 2025 | Behnam Ben Taleblu |

The Shadow War

A review of Yonah Jeremy Bob and Ilan Evyatar, “Target Tehran: How Israel Is Using Sabotage, Cyberwarfare, Assassination—and Secret Diplomacy—to Stop a Nuclear Iran and Create a New Middle East” (Simon & Schuster, 2023).