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*Is Pakistan failing the FATA? Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) has in recent years seen some fundamental changes in its administrative framework, but not the kind most reformists had... 18-Dec-2008 Kadyrov's Islam creates Chechen autocracy On 17 October, the new Akhmad Kadyrov 'Heart of Chechnya' Mosque was opened in the Chechen capital, Grozny. A massive exercise in political spectacle as... 18-Dec-2008 Azerbaijani leader brushes off opposition On 15 October 2008, Ilham Aliyev, Azerbaijan's incumbent president, won a second five-year term with nearly 89 per cent of the votes. None of the... 18-Dec-2008 Doomsday books fuel militant fervour Islam has a long history of revolutionary movements, with strong messianic dimensions. Hundreds of Mahdis appeared along the centuries and each one pretended to provide... 08-Dec-2008 The state of the opposition in Egypt Egypt's ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) continues to demonstrate its iron grip on power. It has long maintained the internal stability of the country by... 28-Nov-2008 Global jihad versus national jihad The word "jihad" comes from the pattern "j-h-d" and is related to the notion of intense effort. "Jihad" appears just four times in the Quran.... 14-Nov-2008 Interpreting Taqiyya The recent article by Raymond Ibrahim is in this author's opinion well-researched, factual in places but whose interpretation of taqiyya is ultimately misleading. It focuses... 12-Nov-2008 Lines drawn over Iran's resources Since the Iran-Iraq war ended in 1988, cross-Persian Gulf trade in natural resources has looked like drawing Iran and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states... 30-Oct-2008 Russian Islam find its voice What does it mean to be a Russian Muslim? To many, this is still as much an ethnic as religious distinction, reflecting a basic division... 22-Oct-2008 Shrine tensions deepen Kashmir divide After four years of relative calm in Indian-administered Kashmir, the disputed state has once again been stirred into violence. In particular, communal tensions, rather than... 20-Oct-2008 Pakistan's pride and prejudice September saw the first incursion into Pakistani soil by US troops based in neighbouring Afghanistan. In doing so, the United States not only crossed the... 10-Oct-2008 Nuclear nationalism radiates in Iran - Did you hear that the Iranian government has just designated the date as the "national" fruit? - Why date? - Because it gives ... 10-Oct-2008 Islam's doctrines of deception To better understand Islam, one must appreciate the thoroughly legalistic nature of the religion. According to sharia (Islamic law) every conceivable human act is categorised ... 26-Sep-2008 A turning point in Ingushetia On 31 August, one of Ingush President Murat Zyazikov's most outspoken critics died minutes after being arraigned by special police forces at Nazran airport upon... 26-Sep-2008 Turkey's soft-power options and the Kurds In late February, the Turkish Armed Forces initiated Operation Sun, an eight-day military offensive targeting the operational bases of the Workers' Party of Kurdistan (Partiya... 12-Sep-2008 Minority report: discrimination in Myanmar T he Rohingya community is largely confined to the swampy border areas between Myanmar and Bangladesh. As an unrecognised Muslim minority in Myanmar, speaking a... 11-Sep-2008 Human trafficking in Egypt's Sinai Egypt is coming under growing pressure to staunch the rising flow of sub-Saharan African asylum seekers and migrants being trafficked across its eastern border into... 10-Sep-2008 UK's Muslim Brotherhood facing storm In recent months, British individuals and groups representing the Muslim Brotherhood have launched a series of events and initiatives that aim to appeal to non-Muslims... 29-Aug-2008 Divisions emerge in Afghan drug strategy In February 2008, the annual UN study of Afghanistan's narcotics production found that the country had produced another record harvest of opium poppy. Although opium... 29-Aug-2008 Afghans to shoulder Kabul's security According to the Afghan Ministry of Defence, the formal hand-over of Regional Command - Capital (RC-C) from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to the... 22-Aug-2008 Gas fires up Turkmen foreign policy When Turkmenistan shut off the natural gas supply to Iran in December 2007 in an apparent effort to negotiate a higher price from its powerful... 18-Aug-2008 Fearing multiple insurgencies in Yemen A perfect storm made up of a multi-front insurgency, a water crisis, declining oil production and rampant population growth threaten to further destabilise and fragment... 18-Aug-2008 Pakistan's alienated Northern Areas The Northern Areas, or to be more accurate, the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), is Pakistan's province that never was. It sits alongside North West... 18-Aug-2008 Political Islam courts Somalia The Islamic Courts movement had controlled most of central and southern Somalia during the second half of 2006 until it was ousted by an Ethiopian... 31-Jul-2008 Militants and the Kurdish question in Iran The assertion of Kurdish demands for cultural rights and local autonomy is an enduring feature of the political landscape in Iran, much as it is... 31-Jul-2008 *US soft power in the Maghreb The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was created in January 2004 by the Bush administration to reduce poverty through sustainable economic growth. According to its ... 23-Jul-2008 Islam v Islam: What is Uzbekistan's future? Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov is an authoritarian figure who has ruled his country since it became independent in 1991. One of the factors which make... 23-Jul-2008 Islam and ethnic politics in Malaysia The poor electoral performance of Malaysia's ruling coalition in March 2008 can be attributed to a litany of grievances: a slowing economy, corruption and growing... 14-Jul-2008 The militarisation of Iran's politics With Iran facing formidable challenges in its nuclear stand-off with the West, and given the internal pressures for political and economic reforms, the political leadership... 20-Jun-2008 Turkey's changing landscape under the AKP Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi: AKP), which came to power in November 2002, is often credited as a liberal party.... 30-May-2008 *Nepal's small but assertive Muslim population In late March, multiple bomb blasts at a mosque in Biratnagar, near the Nepal's border with India, left two people dead. According to local online... 29-May-2008 The way ahead for Moqtada al-Sadr Reports over the past months that Moqtada al-Sadr is attending a theological seminary in Qom, Iran, have focused attention on the Iraqi politician's status in ... 14-May-2008 Pakistan's new counter-terrorism policy The new Pakistani government's counter-terrorism strategy is still developing, forcing the United States to rethink its position regarding one of its main allies in the... 09-May-2008 Mixing religion and politics in the Holy Land At the core, the Israelis and Palestinians have been waging the same ceaseless battle for decades: who controls the land between the Mediterranean Sea and... 08-May-2008 Russian Muslims wrestle with nationalism Russian nationalism is on the rise, bringing with it new pressures on Russia's growing Muslim population. Muslim ethnic groups within Russia account for, as of... 02-May-2008 |
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Jane's Islamic Affairs Analyst sponsor
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