The Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) is currently engaged in a violent jihadist insurgency against the Algerian government with the goal of replacing the secular regime with an Islamic state. The GSPC splintered from a rival Algerian organization, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA)... MORE

In early February, the emir of the Taliban in South Waziristan reached a peace deal with the central authorities in Islamabad. Baitullah Mehsud promised not to shelter or support foreign militants nor attack government installations and forces. If the agreement holds, it will help pacify... MORE

Investigations by the Italian security services since 2001 indicate that Italy has become a platform for al-Qaeda associated terrorist operations in Europe and Iraq. Italy's Muslim population is concentrated in Milan, with an estimated 100,000 Muslims residing in the northern city. Not surprisingly Milan appears... MORE

Mauritania, the vast desert refuge of the Arab/Berber Moors in northwest Africa, may seem a distant front in the war on terrorism. Yet the pro-Israel/U.S. policies of its President, Maaouya Ould Taya, have sparked an Islamic revival in this traditionally moderate nation, a country that... MORE

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih appears to have weathered the worst of his terrorist problem. Indeed, with no al-Qaeda related incidents in two years, Salih's previously suspect security credentials are beginning to look brighter. A high-profile visit from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder scheduled for March,... MORE

Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT – Army of the Pure) is the most well-organized and powerful Islamic militant organization in Pakistan. Designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department and banned by the Pakistan government after the September 11 attacks, and notorious for its suicide attacks in... MORE

In October 2004, three explosions rocked Egypt's red sea resorts killing 33 people, mostly Israeli tourists. Despite an official Egyptian denial, Israel and other Western governments were quick in blaming these attacks on al-Qaeda. They associated the attacks with an audio tape broadcast on al-Jazeera... MORE

Like many African countries, Ethiopia is impoverished and under-developed. With an ethnically diverse population numbering just over 70 million, it is also one of Africa's largest states. Despite being religiously split between Christian and Muslim, historically there has been little animosity between the two major... MORE

Being one of only four countries in the world with a majority of Shiites, Azerbaijan represents an interesting case of secular Shiism surrounded by countries and regions where theocracy and religious movements (both Shiite and Sunni) seem to thrive. After the fall of the Soviet... MORE

The Uzbek regime of Islam Karimov held parliamentary elections in December, simultaneously with the contested second round of voting in Ukraine. As a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Tashkent government is openly anxious about the possibility of rapid and extensive democratic reform... MORE