When commentators analyze Salafism, it is crucial to distinguish between mainstream Salafism and the kind of revolutionary Salafism promoted by al-Qaeda.  To do otherwise is to lump together peaceful communities and violent revolutionary jihadists.  This distinction has become increasingly important over the last few years... MORE

The conclusion in early November of the trial against 21-year-old Roshonara Choudhry, convicted of attempting to murder British member of Parliament Stephen Timms, marked the end of a case that dealt with the importation of the concept of the “lone jihadi” as espoused by American-Yemeni... MORE

Mass arrests of alleged terrorists in three European countries –Belgium, Holland and Germany– were shown live on TV in Holland and Belgium in late November. The campaign started with bold headlines referring to the arrests of individuals from the Chechen branch of Islamists. In an... MORE

Mohammed Azam Cheema (a.k.a. Baba/Babaji) is widely regarded as the “number three” of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) anti-Indian operations. Azam Cheema has masterminded several high-profile attacks against India over the years from his safe haven in the dusty city of Bahawalpur in Pakistan’s southern Punjab Province on... MORE

Following the discovery of explosive-laden packages addressed to synagogues in Chicago, renewed attention has focused on al-Qaeda’s highly innovative branch in Saudi Arabia and Yemen, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The two packages, each containing an odorless plastic explosive called pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), were... MORE

Since the capture of Abimael Guzmán, the principal leader of the Shining Path (El Sendero Luminoso-SL), 18 years ago, many in Peru believed the Maoist insurgency that had plagued Peru’s countryside since 1980 had ended permanently. The Shining Path was thought to be a spent... MORE

With the January 9, 2011, referendum on South Sudanese independence only weeks away, a long-time rebel commander turned politician stands to become the first president of a new African nation with both abundant oil reserves and a highly uncertain future. Salva Kiir Mayardit, a Roman... MORE

Of the various Salafi-Jihadi militant groups currently operating, few have been as aggressive in their pursuit of financing as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has added narcotics trafficking to its staples of kidnapping for ransom as well as the smuggling of cigarettes and... MORE

Gunmen from the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) took hostages in a Syriac Catholic church in central Baghdad on October 31. About 52 people were killed and 67 injured after Iraqi security forces stormed the church. The ISI claimed responsibility for the hostage-taking and... MORE

Salafi-Jihadist ideologue Anwar al-Awlaki has penned an emotive response to a declaration by Islamic scholars who challenge the theological basis for the violent jihad of al-Qaeda and its associates. In a lengthy essay published in the second issue of the English-language Jihadist magazine Inspire, al-Awlaki... MORE