Ethiopia near civil war as PM sends army into defiant region

Ethiopia approached civil war on Wednesday as its Nobel Peace Prize-winning prime minister ordered the military to confront the country’s well-armed Tigray regional government, accusing it of a deadly attack on a military base and declaring “the last red line has been crossed” after months of alleged provocations.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s move against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, in one of Africa’s most populous and powerful countries, sent a shock wave through the long-turbulent Horn of Africa region. Ethiopia’s neighbors include Somalia and Sudan, and the prospect of spreading instability sent a chill down observers’ spines.

Vienna shooter tried to join Islamic State in Syria

The gunman who killed four people in Austria on Monday night was convicted last year on charges of trying to join the Islamic State (IS) in Syria.

The shooting took place near Vienna’s main synagogue in an area with many open restaurants and bars. The gunman, identified as Kujtim Fejzulai, killed four people and injured 22 others before he was shot dead by police, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Cybersécurité : « Internet offre un sanctuaire à l’idéologie jihadiste »

Après la décapitation du professeur français Samuel Paty, survenue après des campagnes de cyberharcèlement, Laurence Bindner, spécialiste des discours extrémistes en ligne, revient sur le rôle joué par le web dans le jihad.

N’y a-t-il qu’un pas du discours de haine en ligne au passage à l’acte ? La question est de nouveau posée depuis l’attaque ayant entraîné le décès par décapitation du professeur d’histoire-géograhie Samuel Paty, le 16 octobre, à Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, dans la banlieue ouest de Paris.

Why Belgium is not Europe’s jihadi base

An attack on Belgium was not a matter of “if” but “when,” experts and officials warned. And still, the tragic events of March 22 came as a shock to us all — the counter-terrorism community included. These were the first large-scale suicide bombings coordinated in our country.

How to Define Political Islam

Very few books have tackled the exploitation of Islam by political organizations to achieve wealth and power. As a result, those who ascribe to these ideologies and ways of life are rarely held accountable. However, Mohamed Said Al-Ashmawi’s book Political Islam scrutinizes the phenomenon of Political Islam and exposes the true motives of such organizations. It distinguishes between these groups and the true essence of Islam based on tawhid and its central value of mercy.

Muslim No-Go-Zones in the West – A Myth or a Reality?

The concept of “no-go-zones” has been a hot topic in media discourse in recent years. Sensational claims have been made about the existence of exclusively Muslim neighborhoods where non-Muslims are not allowed to enter. For instance, in 2015, to emphasize the gravity of the situation, Fox News guest and “terrorism expert” Steve Emerson stated that the city of Birmingham in the UK is totally Muslim. The city is in fact only 22% Muslim. The statement led David Cameron to brand Emerson a complete idiot.