Search: “Islamist extremists”

(I just realised that the title of this blog could be seen as offensive.  Please believe that I am not equating those that build bridges and improve our way of life with those who wantonly slaughter innocent people in the name of ideology.  The two have nothing in common.  Or do they?) Building on my […]

I learned a long time ago not to jump to conclusions based on very little information (a cardinal sin in intelligence analysis).  Hence some of this post will be tenuous in nature.  I am writing of course on the attack at a Canadian Armed Forces recruiting centre in Toronto on March 14th in which a knife-wielding […]

From time to time a bizarre case crops up in the world of terrorism, even in Canada.  We have all read of individuals who are portrayed as incompetent or cells described as “the gang that couldn’t shoot straight” (that was the consensus on the Toronto 18 for a long time and may still be believed […]

We all remember when the Taliban blew up two huge Buddha statues in Bamyan, Afghanistan back in March 2001.  These religious objects, almost 1500 years old, were reduced to rubble when the extremists gleefully dynamited them and bragged about their act of demolition.  At the time, their crime made headlines around the world and was, […]

One of the paradoxes of modern Islamist extremism (including AQ (or IS) inspired terrorists) is that while it is impossible to predict who buys into the violent narrative offered by terrorist groups and engages in extremism, those that end up doing so all look and sound more or less the same when you look at them.  We […]

Twice in the last week I have read articles about the prevalence of right-wing extremism in Canada.  A study by two Simon Fraser University students claimed that there are 100 such groups “active” in this country (see a story on that report here) while a column in The Hill Times on February 15 says that […]

A friend and colleague, Dr. Amar Amarasingam, has reported some disturbing news of late.  Some of the young Canadian women who have gone to join Islamic State have given birth to babies in the self-styled “Caliphate”, in essence baby warriors (IS calls young mujahideen “lion cubs”, a reflection of its belief that jihadis are the […]

I just know that this blog is going to get me some flack. What in heaven’s name does a non-Muslim have to say that is remotely informed or relevant about Islam?  What is an outsider doing commenting on the “soul of Islam”?  Why doesn’t this person quit before he writes something stupid? Sidenote – my […]

Like in most fields of study, terrorism analysis has made great contributions to our understanding of this violent phenomenon.  Whether it is in-depth examinations of the ideology or longitudinal data on whether or not de-radicalisation programmes work, we are better off than we would be in the absence of this knowledge. Unfortunately, however, terrorism analysis […]

I see that Saudi Arabia and 33 other Islamic nations have created an anti-terrorism coalition with an operational headquarters to be established in the Saudi capital, Riyadh (see story here).  The coalition will reportedly fight terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan. Three cheers for the Saudis and their allies, right?  On the one hand, […]