Dr. Azeem Ibrahim

Once again, it seems that efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table and end the dispute between them and the Western-backed government in Kabul will come to nothing. We may think that this is regrettable, but from their point of view, this is the most reasonable course of action.

Mohammad Jamil

...It is hoped that both the Afghan government and the Taliban would start the dialogue without forcing their conditions, and the matter could be resolved through give-and-take. It has to be remembered that in the past all rulers in Afghanistan were Pashtuns, except once for a brief period in 1929 when Habibullah alias Bacha-e-Saqa, a Tajik, and second time from 1992 to 1996, Burhanuddin Rabbani, again a Tajik ruled Afghanistan.

Ajit Kumar Singh

Unless the Taliban is defeated militarily, and the spread of IS is contained, no stability can be brought into Afghanistan. At a time when the Taliban is rampaging across the country, the talks process can only confer legitimacy on the extremists and cede undue leverage to the external forces that have long been guilty of aiding and abetting terrorism. It is now critical time to bring to account the powers - both state and non-state - that have been responsible for the enduring suffering of the people of Afghanistan.

Bearing in mind the establishment of caliphate as the ultimate objective, the Islamic State has begun to shrewdly exploit the political tensions rampant in Afghanistan in its own stride. The public beheadings of security personnel as well as local residents along with the swelling contingent of foreign militants enticed by the extremist interpretation of Sharia laws by ISIS ....

Or the shocking notion that the false Islamic State regardless of how murderous is ‘still an Islamic State’.  The self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria is not something that Muslims would ever want to live in. In conversation with British Muslims few will discount the idea of an Islamic State though. Many will point to the fact that this is necessity.....

One consequence of this and of the fact that Islam does not focus on ethnicity is that ethnic Russian Muslims become part of the Umma as a whole rather than forming “any separate Russian diaspora inside it,” but because they lack an Islamic tradition, they are an easy catch for “radical ideological” groups....

Isabel Hunter

A crucial component ISIS uses to control its roadside bombs is made in America, a new report reveals. The 'microcontrollers' are manufactured by an innocent Arizona firm but their normal use is subverted by the terror group's armourers and they are turned into deadly improvised explosive devices. The hi-tech components are among hundreds of items produced around the world which are sourced by ISIS and trafficked into their terror heartland in Iraq and Syria. These include hair bleach and even Nokia mobile phones.....

Dr. Mehrdad Khonsari

Removing Daesh from its strategic strongholds, in addition to depriving it of its various sources of income (e.g. sale of oil and antiquities, 'taxation', extortion) as well as recruitment of foreign fighters is an urgent mission that can be completed in 2016....

As a matter of fact, Islam is a peaceful religion, and never ever allows its followers to carry out destruction on earth.  The concept of holy war in Islam arises only in self-defence, which is everyone’s right. Throughout the Muslim history, and during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Muslims fought when attacked by the opponents of Islam.

Hiranmay Karlekar

Boko Haram, which has killed 20,000, and displaced 2.5 million, people since 2009, continues to suffer reverses at the hands of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin acting in concert....

In order to tackle the menace of terrorism, the culture of extremist ideologies and intolerance must be defeated. This can be achieved through teaching our students critical thinking, flexibility and respect for human difference. We must learn to become more open, flexible and tolerant to diverse ideas and ideologies...

Amira Elghawaby

Besides, such terminology winds up affecting the millions of Muslim citizens who are just as horrified by these terrorists as anyone. “Terms like ‘Islamic terrorism,’ ‘Islamist terrorism,’ ‘Jihadism’ and ‘Islamofascism’ succeed only in conflating terrorism with mainstream Islam, thereby casting all Muslims as terrorists or potential terrorists,”....

Nicholas Kristof

Today Rafi is a voice against the Taliban, against conspiracy theories and against blind anti-Americanism, in part because the United States did not take Donald Trump’s advice to ban Muslims. Extremist American voices like Trump’s, Rafi says, empower extremist voices throughout the Islamic world. “It’s people like Donald Trump who are put forward by the extremists back home,” Rafi told me. “It pours cold water on us.”.....

Mahmut Akpinar

Despite the fact that the majority of Syrian Kurds do not support the PKK, the terrorist organization focused its forces in the north of Syria between 2013 and 2015, setting up a de facto, forced structure there and thus surrounding Turkey from the south. .....

Makhan Saikia

Boko Haram follows the Wahhabi understanding of “Tawhid” meaning “the oneness of God or monotheism”. The larger rhetoric of the group says that a secular polity, which is based on western precepts, preaches idolatry i.e. state worship and it is punishable by death....

Nile Green

Considering that the Sufis always presented themselves as the loyal heirs of the Prophet Mohammad, it’s even harder to understand why Muslims should despise them. And yet over the past century, wave after wave of Muslim reform and renewal movements have rejected almost every aspect of Sufi Islam. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) – whose franchises have sentenced Sufis to death in Syria and bulldozed their shrines in Libya – is only the latest of these anti-Sufis. ....

Issandr El Amrani

What options are left to check the Islamic State’s progress in Libya? Since the prospect of large-scale intervention has always been fanciful, the remaining options include covert operations of the kind that have taken place in Libya since 2011, and coordinating a military operation with militias closest to IS’s stronghold in Sirte. ....

Sabria S. Jawhar

Saudi Arabia can be just as mystified as any other country why some of its bright young citizens stray so far from the path of Islam to commit murder. But why put the onus only on Muslim countries? Home-grown terrorists, often second-generation French, British and American citizens, have engaged in terrorist acts. So it must be asked whether those countries are doing enough to combat the disease and not just its symptoms. Religious extremism is a global problem, often born and nurtured in non-Muslim countries.....

Carlotta Gall

Pakistan regards Afghanistan as its backyard. Determined not to let its archrival, India, gain influence there, and to ensure that Afghanistan remains in the Sunni Islamist camp, Pakistan has used the Taliban selectively, promoting those who further its agenda and cracking down on those who don’t. The same goes for Al Qaeda and other foreign fighters. Even knowing this, it might come as a surprise that the region’s triumvirate of violent jihad is living openly in Pakistan.....

"On account of the exceptional circumstances the Islamic State is facing, it has been decided to reduce the salaries that are paid to all mujahedeen by half, and it is not allowed for anyone to be exempted from this decision, whatever his position."......

S. Mubashir Noor, New Age Islam

Unfortunately, question marks still dog the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) a year later, crucial madrasa reforms are stuck in limbo and known rabble-rousers like Hafiz Saeed and Maulana Abdul Aziz continue to roam free courtesy of legal loopholes. The army added torque to Operation Zarb-e-Azb after the APS attack, but scolds the Sharif government for not moving in lockstep. The ISIS analogy, to me, is where Gall's narrative creeps into foggy, conspiratorial territory because she offers no motive…..

Dr. Azeem Ibrahim

There are still plenty of failed states left in the Muslim world where ISIS could re-establish their territorial “caliphate”. And it seems that the new designated location might be Libya.....

The mounting concerns about IS in Libya have spurred diplomatic efforts to end the civil war through the creation of a government of “national accord”. Hopes were raised by a peace deal brokered by the UN that was signed in Morocco on December 17th by delegates from the rival parliaments.....

Viju Cherian

According to the Global Terrorism Index 2015, India is the sixth-most affected nation in the world by terrorism. India has been on the list of the 10 worst-affected nations for the past 14 years. The NIA’s arrest of Abu Musab, along with a dozen other people, last month is disturbing proof that India cannot ignore the IS, not anymore....

Zahid Hussain

An intelligence report last year warned that the Maulana’s links with militant groups involved in terrorist activities presented a grave security threat. The report also cited a video message recorded by students of the Madressahs Hafsa pledging allegiance to the militant Islamic State group...