ISLAMIC STUDIES

Milica Ćurčić,
(PhD candidate at Faculty of Security Studies, Belgrade University, Serbia
& RIEAS Research Associate)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 3 April 2016

Studies have shown that women have had an extensive history of participating in terrorist activities. It is has been proven in modern terrorism that female involvement began in the nineteenth century with the Russian People's Will, with the onward appearance of Chechen Black Widows and the Tamil Tiger's Birds of Paradise, and other terrorist organizations. Today, we witness that more and more women join terrorist organizations, especially to the Islamic state, and that the role of women are altering and growing, which creates the need for a detailed examination of this phenomena.... Read more

Aya Burweila
(RIEAS Senior Analyst)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 24 March 2016

Only three months into the year, no less than 27 countries across the globe have come under jihadi attack. Mujahideen working for groups or as lone wolves have carried out attacks in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North Africa and East Asia.

A new chapter in a very old war, today in Europe, the enemy is no longer at the Gates of Vienna, the enemy is already within the gates...Read more

Sohail Mahmood (PhD)
(Member, RIEAS International Advisory Board)

Copyright @ 2016 Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) – Publication date: 10 January 2016

The Shia cleric Nimr al Nimr was among the 47 execution on January 2, 2016. Nimr's execution had resulted in Shia protests in several countries of the region. He was a fierce critic of the Saudi rulers and had once even advocated the establishment of a separate Shia state in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia which had a large Shia population. Iran had quickly promised revenge for the execution and so did the Shia Houthis in Yemen. After the execution of Nimr protesters in Tehran responded by torching part of the Saudi Embassy. On January 3, 2016, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced Saudi Arabia was severing ties with Iran. Bahrain had also announced it will sever ties with Iran. Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were close U.S. allies. Sudan and the UAE also joined in though the UAE's action was limited to downgrading diplomatic relations....Read more

Ioannis Mantzikos
(PhD candidate at the Free State University of South Africa & RIEAS Research Associate)

Copyright: Research Institute for European and American Studies (www.rieas.gr) Publication date: 5 May 2015

Nigerians celebrated the electrifying victory returned one of its harshest former dictators to power, sobering challenges confront Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari warned the country's brutal Boko Haram insurgents that he would be coming after them. The victory of Muhammadu Buhari, in the March presidential poll, was viewed as a landmark - the first time a sitting president had been voted out of office. Equally important was incumbent Goodluck Jonathan's acceptance of defeat - not a given on a continent in which rulers have often gone to great lengths to retain power. He won 52.4 percent of ballots cast in a March 28-29 vote to unseat President Goodluck Jonathan and his People's Democratic Party, the first lawful transition of power since British colonial rule ended in 1960. Buhari's inauguration is scheduled for May 29 2015...Read more

Hussein Solomon
(Professor Hussein Solomon lectures in the Department of Political Studies and Governance at the University of the Free State, Republic of South Africa and is a Member of the Advisory Board of the Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS).

Copyright: Africa Center for Strategic Studies (Updated: 04/23/2015)

Recent weeks have revealed a long-building crisis of African migration. In South Africa, xenophobic attacks against mainly African immigrants erupted across several cities prompting the South African government to deploy the military as a deterrent. Following the terrorist attack in the northeastern town of Garissa, the Kenyan government has told the United Nations to close down the Dadaab refugee camp, which houses close to 450,000 Somali refugees. In the Mediterranean, warmer weather has brought a steady stream of vessels transporting migrants desperately attempting to enter Europe. The capsizing of a ship off the coast of Libya, killing an estimated 850 would-be refugees, represents the single worst migrant disaster in the Mediterranean. Many of those trying to make the crossing are fleeing conflict and political repression in places like South Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia... Read more .

By Ioannis Mantzikos
(PhD candidate at the Free State University of South Africa & RIEAS Research Associate)

Copyright: http://warontherocks.com/2014/11/joining-and-betraying-al-qaeda-a-how-to-guide/ Publication Date on RIEAS (www.rieas.gr) on 5 March 2015

Agent Storm feels like a James Bond story or one of John Le Carre's marvelous spy-thrillers. Yet, the story written by CNN's Paul Cruickshank and Tim Lister is a true account. The journey of Morten Storm provides valuable insights into high-stakes intelligence operations, as well as the social issues surrounding radicalization and extremism. It is a first-rate account of how a troubled young Danish Christian, with a history of petty criminality, incarceration and drug use converted to Islam and entered into its most extremist jihadi circles in Denmark and Britain, ultimately becoming a trusted member of al-Qaeda (AQ). Storm represents the highest level of Western intelligence penetration of AQ's most dangerous affiliate – al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP...Read more