On June 15, the lower house of the Tajik parliament voted to approve a controversial parental responsibility bill, which has been heavily criticized by local religious communities. Only two deputies from the opposition Islamic Revival Party (IRPT) voted against the bill in the 63-deputy house... MORE

On June 21, the Russian Public Chamber’s working group on the North Caucasus held a public hearing on the problems of divided peoples who involuntarily found themselves separated by state boundaries. The Circassian issue was one of the most discussed themes, as a majority of... MORE

A source in Russia’s interior ministry was quoted on June 24 as saying that the number of security personnel killed in a battle with an estimated 30 militants in a wooded area near the village of Kuznetskovka in Dagestan’s Kizlyar district had reached 13. The... MORE

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev continues to surprise everyone with his management reshuffle in the Russian interior ministry. This time it involved the North Caucasus as well. Major-General Aleksandr Trofimov, 48, has been appointed Ingushetia’s Interior Minister. He had, since May 2009, held the position of... MORE

While parts of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s regime attempt to ensure their survival, Yemen’s multitude of opposition, tribal, and newly formed anti-government groups continue to vie for a role in whatever government might follow Saleh’s administration. As these various groups jockey for position in Sana’a,... MORE

Almost completely overshadowed by the death of Osama bin Laden, jihadi publishing house Sawt al-Islam released a bilingual video from the Turkistan Islamic Party in mid-May. [1] The video recounted various historic grievances held by western China’s Muslim Uyghur people against Chinese communist rule while... MORE

Even as Somalia’s radical Islamist al-Shabaab movement announced its allegiance to the new al-Qaeda leader, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the movement has displayed signs of weakness that have led to the loss of territory in recent clashes in Mogadishu and in towns close to the border... MORE

Last week at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, President Dmitry Medvedev outlined an ambitious program of political and economic reform. Medvedev touted an end of government manipulation of the economy he called “state capitalism” and called for the devolution of power to the regions... MORE

On June 21, unusually fierce clashes between government forces and the insurgents took place in northern Dagestan’s Kizlyar district. The security services and the rebels fought each other throughout the day in a wooded area near the village of Kuznetsovka. The government forces suspended the... MORE

The issue of official support for “traditional Islam” to counterbalance radical Islam once again emerged as a pressing theme following the June 7 murder of the Head of the Institute of Theology and International Affairs, Maksud Sadikov, in Makhachkala, Dagestan. Yet, Islam cannot itself be... MORE