North Africa
Mauritania: death sentence for blasphemy
Blogger Cheikh Ould Mohamed of Mauritania was sentenced to death for apostasy after a court convicted him of "speaking lightly of the Prophet Mohammed" on websites.
Tag: struggle within Islam
Europe
#JeSuisCharlie, #JeSuisMusulman: contradiction?
The dueling hashtags #JeSuisCharlie (I am Charlie) and #JeSuisMusulman (I am Muslim) reveal a pathological dichotomy: we can defend free speech and oppose Islamophobia.
Greater Middle East
Egypt: secularism and dictatorship?
A sweeping "anti-terrorism" decree and expanded crackdown on opposition come as Egypt's President al-Sisi is making overtures to the Copts and invoking pluralism.
South Asia
Bangladesh sentences Islamist leader to death
The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh sentenced Islamist leader ATM Azharul Islam to death—leading to calls for a general strike from his supporters.
Europe
‘Car Intifada’ comes to France?
An outbreak of motorist attacks on pedestrians in France is spun exclusively in terms of Islamist extremism, leaving out the critical factor of car culture.
Palestine
ISIS in Gaza?
A supposed ISIS flyer circulating on social networks has warned 18 writers and poets in Gaza against what it calls criticizing Islam, stating that ''apostates will be punished."
Greater Middle East
Jihadis declare open season on school children
The Taliban massacre of children at a school in Peshawar, Pakistan, was shortly followed by a deadly Qaeda attack on a schoolbus stopped at a Houthi rebel checkpoint in Yemen.
Oceania
ISIS in Sydney?
Internet and media slueths scramble to identify the faction behind the jihadist flag raised by the militant in the Sydney hostage crisis—which follows Austrailian air-strikes on ISIS.
Africa
Somalia: women slain in spiralling reprisals
At least seven women were killed in "barbaric" attacks in Somalia after Shabab insurgents beheaded a soldier's wife, prompting revenge executions of the wives of jihadists.
Afghanistan
Afghan tribes rise against Taliban in east
Pakistani Taliban fighters who have established control over parts of eastern Afghanistan are under pressure from air-strikes and an uprising by local tribesmen.
The Caucasus
ISIS hand in Chechnya attack?
The Russian policy establishment is hypothesizing an ISIS hand in the bloody attack by Chechen insurgents in Grozny—and implying that the West is in turn behind ISIS. (Map via La Croix International)
Greater Middle East
New Syrian rebel coalition: tilt to Turkey
Syrian rebels announced formation of a new Revolutionary Command Council at a meeting in Turkey—dominated by conservative Islamists but excluding Nusra Front and ISIS.